The 5.9 earthquake that rumbled in Virginia Tuesday has sparked a West Coast-East Coast rivalry.

Some people on the West Coast have been mocking the reactions of Easterners who were scared by the quake.

"Really all this excitement over a 5.8 quake??? Come on East Coast, we have those for breakfast out here!!!!," one California resident tweeted.

However, residents in New York and Washington were initially concerned it was a terrorist bombing - something that residents of the West Coast have not yet experienced.

Experts also pointed out other key differences.

Buildings and infrastructure in the eastern U.S. were not built to withstand tremors like those on the West Coast.

The North American tectonic plate is huge, covering most of the eastern U.S., while California's plates are broken up, and disperse earthquake energy differently.