Friday marked the anniversary of the earthquakes that devastated portions of turkey in 1999. Earthquakes are an ever present potential in this part of the world and while one may argue that there isn't much man's puny science can do to overcome the awesome power of earthquakes, in fact there was much that could have been done that, had it been in place, would have lessened the loss of life and property from last year's quake.

It has been the universal opinion of experts studying this quake that Turkey's earthquake design codes are as good as any in the world - but they also found that the codes had not been followed. Last year the press provided us with many pictures of collapsed buildings and burning refineries. Since CNN and others have already done a good job of showing the face of the disaster, I would like to show what some of the disaster areas look like a year later.

The trauma of those few seconds (about 45) that the earth shook may never fade from the memories of the people who lost family, friends, and property - but the recovery is underway. Come along and see.