[DoughtyOne]

I experienced four or five 6.5 to 7.0 (roughly) earthquakes in Southern California during the 90s. The Northridge quake damaged property in a straight line from Northridge (some say Canoga Park) down to Long Beach.

Even blocks away, there was very little serious damage in some cases. Across the valley some 30 miles away, there was almost no damage.

Down in Mexico quakes take place and there is some rather heavy damage at times up to 100-200 miles away.

This may be a misperception LINK) on my part, but I believe I've seen it a number of times.

[TXnMA]

In Mexico, the difference in damage may well be a measure of inferior construction -- as well as soil conditions (like soil liquefaction in filled areas of San Francisco & Mexico City).

Also keep in mind, that due to the the logarithmic nature of the Richter Scale, tenths are really significant when you pass 7.0:

IOW, an increase from 7.0 to 7.5 is a greater increase than from 6.0 to 7.0...