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nmxt t1_ja7jc0x wrote

Worldwide, there are on average about three or four 5.0-5.9 magnitude earthquakes every single day. They are usually not destructive (or not very destructive) and don’t kill anyone. It’s just that these relatively small earthquakes are now getting reported in the media all the time because of the recent big one that was very destructive and killed a lot of people. And there is no wonder that a known seismically active zone keeps getting them.

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mac-and-dream OP t1_ja7kfkv wrote

Ohhhh! I thought those regular ones were lower numbers (like 3s). This clears things up! Thanks.

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RhynoD t1_ja7xnrr wrote

Keep in mind that the scale is logarithmic. Going from 5 to 6 isn't a small increase in power, it's 10x more powerful, and 7 would be 100x. So, 3 is the kind that people may not even notice at all, 5 is a bit shakey, maybe some stuff falling off of shelves, and 7 is buildings falling.

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