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In reply to the discussion: Sorry, i don't get it. Why are people still moving to coastal Florida? [View all]PoindexterOglethorpe
(26,346 posts)Last edited Thu Oct 10, 2024, 02:02 PM - Edit history (1)
exactly where you live matters a lot, as you well know.
Another thing to keep in mind about earthquakes on the west coast, is that the worst effects tend to be in relatively small areas. Unlike, say, one in the center of this country or on the east coast. The Charleston earthquake of 1886 was felt as far away as Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, and New Orleans. The series of New Madrid quakes 1811-12 were likewise felt and did damage very far away. I happen to be fascinated by earthquakes, although I slept through the only one I've ever been in an aftershock of the Northridge event.
Meanwhile, the very worst of the ones you get aren't felt very far away. I'm not downplaying the damage they do. Clearly it's fortunate that they tend to be limited in their area of damage.
Added on edit: depending on your level of interest, I will recommend the book "On Shaky Ground" by John J. Nance. I've read any number of books on earthquakes and the like, and this is, for me, the best. The first five chapters are about the Good Friday quake in 1964, which I'm old enough to well remember, although I lived many thousands of miles away then. Essentially it was the Good Friday quake that confirmed the theory of plate tectonics.