I guess the “experts” dont know Manhattan sits on 600 feet of solid granite. And besides what city could take a 5 level quake?
Do you know anything about the Richter Scale? A 5.0 earthquake is not that strong. Since 1900 there have seen sixteen temblors in and around Los Angeles rating 4.9 or greater. There has been extensive damage in areas and some loss of life resulting from those quakes but nothing like what’s described in this report.
Look up the statistics on the 1971 quake in Los Angeles. It was more than 5.0