Although the eastern United States has considerably less seismic activity than the area west of the Rocky Mountains, the lower probability of major earthquakes in the East needs to be balanced against the greater population densities, less stringent seismic codes, and less well-developed earthquake preparedness programs, and lower public awareness of the earthquake problem in the eastern states, as well as the fact that earthquakes in the East exert damaging effects over a much wider area for an event of a given magnitude. Other vulnerable regions in the United States include the Puget Sound region in Washington state and the Salt Lake City region in Utah. Only a few Gulf states such as Florida are considered at very low risk.