“5.3? Can people feel that?”
Oh yeah....they sure can. I live about 4 to 5 hours drive south of Mineral, Virginia where there was a 5.8 earthquake about 2 years ago. It shook my entire house for about 20 seconds or so (kind of in “waves” for lack of a better explanation). My son came out of his room and said what is that? I had never felt an earthquake but was sure that’s what is was and told him so. Sure enough. It was.
I’m in southern jersey....I felt that quake also and agree it was like riding a wave.
I lived in CA for 22 years. We got so used to quakes we could tell whether they were 4.3 or 5.3 or 6.2, even 3.1 registered on our mental meters.
And yes, a 5.3 is definitely noticeable. In general, if you live on soft ground, your house would sway for awhile; if you live on a granite cliff, like Nob Hill in San Francisco, the building gives one emphatic jump up and down — stuff inside can shake for a few seconds after.
Most damage from quakes occurs from stuff falling off shelves. Books are killers, so people were advised to NEVER have tall bookshelves, particularly near beds. Canned goods are killers too. Imagine that.
I was on the third floor of a building in Alaska attending a meeting when a minor quake hit. One of the participants had brought their dog. I thought the dog was leaned against my chair scratching himself. I looked down and no dog. But that’s exactly what it felt like. Later, we had a really large one and there was no mistaking it! That one sloshed the water in swimming pools all the way to New Orleans!
I was 200 miles away and felt that one.