This paper reports the results of a study designed to understand and facilitate disaster mitigation for communities located in low frequency/high magnitude earthquake zones. The study is based on a small town located near the New Madrid Fault Zone and is therefore at significant earthquake risk. A system dynamics model describes the variables and policies governing the distribution of building safety over time. Data from this town is used to establish a 25-year baseline. Simulations are run to demonstrate the consequences of different building policies.