Originally Posted by
SrslySirius
I feel like a dumbass for not knowing this already, but apparently the Richter scale is logarithmic. So a 4.0 shakes roughly 10 times as hard as a 3.0 and releases 30x the energy.
The one that just hit Nepal was an 8.1, so I guess imagine yours times 10,000. The one in Japan a few years ago was a 9!
Yes, that's why most earthquakes below 6.0 are basically a joke, unless you're right on the epicenter (and still they're often a joke).
Basically anything in the high 6 range or more tends to do a lot of damage, while lesser quakes scare but don't damage that much.
Obviously 8.1 is terrible.
There is some fear that an 8 magnitude quake will eventually hit Los Angeles or San Francisco (one already hit SF in 1906).
If it hits LA, expect it in the northern San Fernando Valley.