Let’s face it—rigorous East Coast earthquake drills are hard to come by. That’s why it’s a shame to see the one Mother Nature provided on Tuesday fall by the wayside.

The 5.8 magnitude quake, centered in Mineral, Virginia, lasted about 30 seconds and could be felt from Maine to Georgia and as far west as Pennsylvania, according to the New York Times. In the nation’s capital, people streamed into the streets, twittered breathlessly about the experience (or lack thereof), and jammed cell networks, presumably to check in with loved ones and learn what to do next.

The media—faced with a dearth of death, damage, and other sobering destruction to report—did the best they could with on-camera evacuations, shaking web cams, and at least one ridiculously far off picture of a cracked spire on the Washington National Cathedral.

Considering the laughable news coverage, perhaps the jocularity that followed was inevitable. Earthquake humor began spanning the country before the first of the aftershocks rolled in. Despite the potential seriousness of the largest known quake in the region, the media was all too happy to compile lists of facetious blog posts and Twitter hilarity, with humor running the gamut from the political to the comedic. Most, however, focused on waggish nonevent references, perhaps best depicted by this iconic tribute. And at least one person found love.

Of course, an earthquake is no laughing matter, so there was the obligatory coverage of doomsday statements by zealots. Pat Robertson said it “means that we’re closer to the coming of the Lord,” according to the Washington Post, and DemocracyNow! featured a variety of extremists blaming lose morals and same-sex marriage for the shaking.

Given the breadth of the ballyhoo and the deficiency of disaster, it might seem as if every possible quake angle had been covered. But what’s been mostly missing so far is a meaningful conversation about earthquake preparedness.

With people jamming phone lines and running into the street (that drop, cover, and hold on isn’t just for Californians, you know), it would have been a great chance to remind the East Coast what to do in an earthquake.

Don’t be mistaken, plenty of emergency managers and preparedness pundits pointed people to safety resources on their websites and blogs, and so did some mainstream media sources. A Washington Post blog made a brief mention of earthquake preparedness while discussing other things people should do in disasters. And an Associated Press piece talked about how the earthquake highlighted the evacuation difficulties D.C. was likely to encounter in a larger event.

But as of Thursday morning, a Google news search for “earthquake preparedness in Washington, D.C.” revealed precious little attention from major news sources, with the exception of this buried gem from the Washington Post: D.C. police chief needs remedial quake training.

Luckily, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier’s praise of Washingtonians who did exactly the wrong thing when the quake struck inspired columnist Robert McCartney to write a column on the right thing.

And that’s good news, especially if Lanier’s attitude is indicative of others in D.C.—even after McCartney pointed out her faux pas, she had this to say: “Thousands of people did what their instinct told them to do, which is get out,” she told him. “No matter what we tell people, if I’m in a building like I was in yesterday, and it was shaking violently, I’m not getting under a desk. I’m leaving the building.”