The last earthquake to happen at the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a fault off the Pacific Northwest, happened about 316 years ago and was so severe it caused damage to Japan via tsunami. According to deep sea records the Cascadia Zone has had a similar major earthquake 41 times in the last 10,000 years, meaning on average a major Earthquake happens every 243 years, we are almost 73 years overdue for one.
Modern science has predicted the probability of an earthquake to be major in the next 50 years at 40%. (http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2012/jul/13-year-cascadia-study-c...).
The federal government should mandate that states implement policies that would help reduce the damages and loss of life in the event of a devastating earthquake.