Yes, the East Coast Quake Was Weak

As a California native, yes, the East Coast Quake was rather weak. The real danger wasn't the moderate shaking, but the zillions of brick buildings.

Joanne Razo, a legal assistant who lives in Washington, D.C., has lived through an earthquake in Los Angeles and said she knows that a 5.8-quake is mild by West Coast standards. But for her, the scary part was not the ground shaking but that "this area is not equipped to handle anything like this."

I never want to live in a brick house anywhere.