Sounds like it’s a very widespread area..which could mean that the fault slipped over a great distance..thus reducing the stress...and the magnitude...had it locked up it would have been much worse at the epicednter..
While that is true Ken, the release in one section on a fault line, does what to other areas that didn’t break free?
I would suggest people in that region brush up on Emergency Preparedness related to earthquakes.
This may be the last temblor for decades, but it never hurts to know what to do in case another one does hit, and it could dramatically reduce the impact on your family if one does take place.
So there are dangerous faults on the east coast. I knew about the Madrid fault...but I wasn’t aware of those on the east coast. Yikes.
Another factor that contributes to being felt over a large area is that the substrate is granite. I didn’t feel this quake (in Maine), but we’ve felt some that were centered hundreds of miles away.