The other thing I think people don't often understand (or appreciate, or respect) is that the richter scale is logarithmic.
A 7.0 isn't just a little bit worse than a 6.0. It's 10 times worse. And an 8.0 is 100 times more powerful than a 6.0.
So we're not too terribly concerned with these smaller quakes, even if 6.0 is still pretty big. The one we worry about is hundreds of times more powerful. There are some levels of energy you simply can't prepare for.
"The temblor struck about six miles south of Napa around 3:20 a.m., according to the United States Geological Survey. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit the Bay Area since the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, which collapsed a section of the Bay Bridge. The shaking was felt over an area that encompassed hundreds of miles.
The earthquake threw much of the Napa Valley — normally an edenic retreat famed for its wine and fine dining — into chaos of falling glass and collapsing bricks. Dozens of water and gas mains were ruptured, and at least six fires broke out, including one in a mobile home park that destroyed four homes and damaged two others. Thousands remained without power."
Now, can you imagine what a 10x more powerful earthquake at 7.0 would do? (Roads, Bridges, and Buildings collapsed).
An 8.0 would be so catastrophic that deaths would be in the hundreds, and damage would be horrific.
A 7.0 isn't just a little bit worse than a 6.0. It's 10 times worse. And an 8.0 is 100 times more powerful than a 6.0.
So we're not too terribly concerned with these smaller quakes, even if 6.0 is still pretty big. The one we worry about is hundreds of times more powerful. There are some levels of energy you simply can't prepare for.
Don't mean to fear-monger, but that is the truth.