A small quake morning

We had a small quake here in Niigata this morning, with part of the maximum seismic intensity being felt in Tokamachi, just a short drive from where I live. I used to get excited about smaller quakes, because I thought that maybe they were a way of releasing pressure, so to speak, and avoiding a bigger quake in the process.

I went down a big rabbit hole a while ago trying to research whether or not that was actually true or not, and one source (a Californian government website—the region being no stranger to quakes themselves) debunks it. It actually made me mildly more paranoid, since they mention that instead, a small quake can actually be a sign that a bigger one can be imminent. There's just not enough pressure released from a small quake that would alleviate a massive one.

Might be a good time for me to go over my emergency kit at some point this evening!