Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake Strikes New York Metro Area and East Coast

will_a113@lemmy.ml to News@lemmy.world – 299 points –
Earthquake hits U.S. East Coast, shaking buildings from Philadelphia to Boston
nbcnews.com
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People who live near active fault lines: "don't even talk to me unless it's a 6.0+"

Remember, a lot of the structures in the tristate area were not designed with quakes in mind. A 4 or 5 might feel a lot more uncomfortable if you’re standing in an unreinforced masonry building that could topple if you fart too hard.

I 100% agree. I was more joking that people who live near fault lines are elitist when it comes to the size of earthquakes..

Humans are weirdly competitive

100%. It’s the same when CA gets a ton of rain or when Texas gets a bunch of ice. The infrastructure wasn’t built for it.

Although it was funny as fuck to see the NY governor do a press conference for a 4.x earthquake a state away.

Also I believe the East has more bedrock so earthquakes are felt more strongly.

I’ve heard a few people say this. I’m curious about where that is coming from.

Siesmographs show that looser soil produces higher amplitude waves, which is much more dangerous. Bedrock produces smaller, but more frequent waves. When you build in earthquake country, the modern goal is usually to drill pillars down to bedrock.

https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/buildings__bedrock_effects_of_amplification__liquefaction

I don't remember exactly where I read it originally, but this article says something similar: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/earthquake-shakes-us-east-coast-rcna146575

Earthquakes on the East Coast can be felt at a great distance and can cause more pronounced shaking in comparison to those on the West Coast because rocks in the region are often older, harder and more dense.

“These are competent rocks that transmit energy well,” Simons said.