A 4.8 is not “a series of little jolts” in CA, it causes damage here too - we also must stop train service, check for damage on essential services, bldgs, etc. That size is notable anywhere & the response is universal. But we’re used to negligible East Coast airtime.

We had a good 72 hours of delirious media coverage when it looked like a hurricane was going to make landfall in California. A 4.8 in a region filled with unreinforced brick high-rises merits a bit of excitement.