It seems like everyday we see a report of a three point something or whatever earthquake that none of us felt that happened somewhere in the Coachella Valley that gets posted on the local news websites because #content and “Did you feel it?” #engagement on social media. But, as someone who has grown up in Southern California and experienced earthquakes both big and small, I just don’t get worked up about anything unless it’s at least a, ummm, God, I don’t know…a 4.2? Maybe a 4.4?? I don’t know.
As you have already guessed, I am no earthquake expert, rather just a person who, like you, feels the occasional earthquake that I am interested in seeing how big it was reported on the news while also laughing at a 2.9 being reported because, c’mon, we’re Californians and a 2.9 is probably happening right now and, with the exception of Lucy Jones, we could all care less.
And yes, I know, it’s not about the exact magnitude, really. More about that feeling you get when you go from, “Oh, hey, I think this might be an earthquake,” to “Oh, shit! Should I duck and cover or run outside or, at the very least, freak the fuck out?!?!” – which, if you have lived in California long enough, you know what I am talking about.
So let’s put our non-scientific minds together and discuss what that is, exactly. In other words, please let me know what magnitude earthquake you think becomes newsworthy in the comments.
