San Andreas Hollywood Movie: First Impressions

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Am I the only one who thought it was about GTA? Who else thought that the upcoming San Andreas movie was a GTA movie? You know, the GTA San Andreas game with CJ as the main character?

Kidding aside, I thought this was just going to be another 2012 movie, but of course they'll be boasting of better special effect "exclamationally" punctuated with action and drama brought by the lead characters like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

You can never enjoy films when you're a scientist because you can't help but pick apart all of the inaccuracies

LMAO, anyone who knows anything about seismicity will tell you the San Andreas is a strike slip fault. Meaning the two plates grind against one another not split apart like this shows. Also in order to have a tsunami of that size you really need an undersea earthquake specifically a deep thrust or mega thrust earthquake.  The San Andreas runs mainly inland in California . This movie looks like typical Hollywood dramatic interpretation . Not likely in real life, but as all Hollywood disaster flicks go it is based on sensationalism not actual facts..

The giant tsunami at the end of the trailer is not possible due to the gradual progression of our continental shelf. As opposed to a place like Japan, where tsunamis happen because of the energy from a quake displaces water on the sea floor, and that energy hits their nearly vertical continental shelf cause immense tsunamis, though no where near what is shown in the trailer here. Typical Hollywood BS.
However, remember that the Northridge earthquake--a 6.7--- occurred on a fault line that scientists didn't even know existed! So, we can't be certain what mother nature will do! One thing for sure, I know it would probably be a cakewalk compared to what's coming--and Northridge was the costliest natural disaster in American history up to that time!

The only reason it caused as much damage as it did was because it was centered directly under the San Fernando valley. You know the valley is densely populated. It was an unknown "blind thrust" fault however there was not a major surface rupture. Which mean the major damage was mainly in the valley and the west side The San Andreas runs along the east side of the salton sea north along the coachella valley towards San bernardino up thru Palmdale and northward. The section near San Bernardino is probably the most at risk for a damaging San Andreas event due to population densities and proximity to the fault. The LA area should be more worried about a smaller quake in say puente hills fault or the Newport inglewood fault on the westside those are the most likely scenarios for the la area I wouldn't worry too much about it. Earthquakes in the usa kill far fewer people than hurricanes, tornados, flooding, blizzards or heat waves So I would just prepare for earthquakes but not constantly worry about it.

What about the possibility of a tsunami like wave being generated from the Lasuen Knoll and San Mateo Thrust faults, which lie offshore of Orange and northern San Diego counties, as well as a large submarine landslide offshore of the Palos Verdes Peninsula?

There is a possibility of a localized tsunami on any coast line ocean or lake even, anywhere there is displacement due to landslide, earthquake, volcano etc.      Those localized tsunamis are not anywhere near a large and or destructive on a pacific wide scale .. Also the coastal topography underwater features will enhance or diffuse tsunami impact. Example : Crescent city ca. Tsunamis are more damaging here due to the coastline shape and the depth of the water offshore.

There is a major fault off the west coast of N America that has at present a higher % of possibility due to stress put on it from the faults to its south. Those other faults caused the Chili earthquake that was around a 9 plus others as the stress has moved northward such as the one in Haiti. This one COULD be so powerful that it makes other faults move also. If land moves whether up or down tsunamis can form. Is this a big probability - No its like 7 % but that is highter than previously though and someday it probably will but nobody knows when - could be tomorrow or 200 millions years from now. Guess you just get ready for the maybe as much as you want and you will either be prepared or die.

I understand all the science and can agree with most of it, tho we could have a wonderful discussion on the details. However, one thing: Hollywood disaster movie. You never watch it for science. You watch it for big booms and to see LA slide into the ocean.