Why All the Hoopla?!?

Everyone excuse me for being a big whiny baby biatch here for a minute, but seriously, what was the big freakin la-di-da about the quake in Cali? 

We had a quake here in April that was roughly the same magnitude and was felt over 450 miles away (in both Atlanta and Canada).  Don't even get me started on the fact that it actually caused structural damage and injuries as far away as St. Louis and Louisville as well!!!  All of that and it gets all of a 5 minute blurb on CNN.  One hits the LA area, where people and structures are actually prepared for something like that, and it is on CNN for 4 hours straight!  I do realize LA is the second center of the universe (behind NY), but good grief.  Pretty much everyone out there seems to feel the same way.  It wasn't that big of a deal people.

Yes.  We have earthquakes here almost as often as they have them on the West Coast.  But, ours are generally somewhere in the 3-4 range.  Once a year or so we will have one around a 5.  Nothing close to the intensity of the ones on the left side of the country (but I do find it both interesting and scary that the USGS is calling for a bigger and sooner one for us as compared to the left coast- magnitude 8 vs. 7 and occuring by 2040 vs. 2050)).  Again, begging the question, what was the big freakin deal?

Again, excuse my belly aching.  I'm stuck in a hotel room 8 hours from home in BFE Illinois near the Iowa state line.  With all apologies to anyone that may live in this area, I have good cause to be in a pissy mood.  Also, my apologies to anyone that was affected by the quake.  Its scary and it sucks.  I know.