100 kids were in the right place at right time when earthquake came.(The Seattle Times)

SEATTLE _ Some 100 babies and toddlers had what were arguably the best set of rescuers any kid could want Wednesday: 85 earthquake-preparedness experts.

Wednesday morning, the pros gathered at the Phinney Neighborhood Center to celebrate Project Impact, a 3-year-old federal program aimed at preparing communities for earthquakes.

"We had special displays and decorations the food looked wonderful," said the Phinney Neighborhood Association's Roger Faris, a participant along with folks from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, city governments and school districts. Then the earthquake hit.

"Everyone knew exactly what to do," Faris said. "We got under those lunchroom tables" in the former elementary school, three stories of red brick built in 1915.

When the shaking stopped, they headed upstairs to check on children who attend two in-house day-care centers.

Debbie White, who directs Allegro Child Care, initially thought the swaying was an extreme exercise by the quake pros. But her assistant, Bethany Freeman, a survivor of the San Francisco Bay Area's 1989 jolt, knew better. When the strangers started appearing at the door, Freeman "just ...