Thats about the common size for eq's in this region... they are very old faults (~200 Millon) related to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean (thats assuming my memory is correct; I dont do plate tectonics for my areas of research
They arent thought about all that much int he Northeast, but you can get quakes in very odd areas (not just cali) one of the biggest ever was New Madrid, Missouri
One of the big threats would be a decent sized quake in Bean-town where everything is built on "Boston Blue Clay" which is basically marine sediments deposited during the end of the last glacialiation... soft stuff, would probably liquify if there was enough shaking.. not that there is evidence of that happening any time soon, just a thought...
Bryan
"Ranting and Raving Geologist"
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