An M2.0 is equivalent to standing under a freeway overpass. Is this really newsworthy? I’m biased towards earthquake reporting because I live in Japan. However, what makes this newsworthy at FR?
Chris Christie had to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom?
This small earthquake is equivalent to the proverbial “last straw.” New Jersey last week suffered devastation of many of its towns along the coast. Throughout the state they lost power, some homes are still without. The gas lines are hours long. The temperatures are freezing at night, and cold by day. So even a minor earthquake within the same weeks is at least worth knowing about.
I see you are from California. Trying to equate California earthquakes with east coast earthquakes are apples and oranges. West coast earthquakes are like tapping a piece of cracked, stale pizza crust with a hammer. If you're near where the tapping happens you feel it, but you have to tap hard for there to be much damage.
East coast earthquakes are like tapping a cast iron bell with a hammer. You don't have to hit it hard, but the shock travels very far, and it resonates quite a bit. That's why a lower Richter scale causes more damage on the east coast, and travels further. For example, a 3 pointer that happened a few years ago way up in Quebec Canada was felt by me 700 miles south, near Baltimore, MD.