People forget the damage that occurs over time as each minor earthquake hits. The stress delivered slowly renders buildings, overpasses, and everything else unsafe for the next.


>>http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/nc40204628.php
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>>I have been through hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and earthquakes and my preference is for earthquakes. You have no warning, it hits and it is over. The other types of events I mentioned always had warnings – sometimes several days in advance. For me the anticipation of an event is nerve racking. People that I mentioned this to who have not experienced an earthquake told me that I am crazy. Well, so be it! :)
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>My friend in Sonoma is a native Californian and has a native's attitude towards earthquakes. She says "the big one" will probably come some day but what's the point worrying about it? Nothing under 6.0 or so even gets her attention other than momentarily.
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>The news media hypes this story on an ongoing basis a lot more than is warranted. "Earthquake in California" is automatically news, even if it's a minor rumble. It was near the top of cnn.com this morning and the pictures with the story were laughable. One of them is of about 10 bottles of shampoo that had fallen off a shelf in a grocery store (surrounded by goods that hadn't fallen off). Wow, that's devastation!