Richter schmichter... (Score 2, Informative)

A word to the wise... The Richter scale of Magnitude is not frequently used any longer in today's geological sciences. It is outdated, primarily because it has an inherent saturation point around 8.5. This scale was replaced in the scientific community by a much more meaningful Moment Magnitude scale, which is the number that is generally given to the media by scientists (and is referred to simply as magnitude; e.g. the quake was a magnitude 7.1). Other measurements are also meaningful for those doing the science, but the "magnitude" number is the one that is thrown to the media. Unfortunately, the media are quick to attach buzzwords to anything, and in these cases, it is often "Richter". Though the Richter measurement is likely close in value to the actual Moment Magnitude, it is a different calculation altogether, and I'm doubtful any journalist has taken the time to do the Richter calculations themselves. Though this misrepresentation may have little to do with the outages that occured, I think it wise to be aware. If you see the word "Richter" in a media story, be wary of what other words have been added that may change the meaning!