Earthquakes...
The Film VS Reality
What this article is about.
The Film:
Info
Location
The location where this type of hazard usually occurs are countries such as Indonesia and Japan, mostly because it has the most earthquakes every year.The country with the most earthquakes per unit area Tinga, Fiji or Indonesia since they are all in extremely active seism.
In the film the hazard was shown to be occurring in the city of Los Angeles. This is a typical location for this type of hazard as shown in the map below. The map shows the frequency of the minimal level of shaking where injuries become a common as a result of damage. As you can see here, most of the west coast is coloured red, representing the most likely places for an earthquake to occur. California is also on the San Andreas fault line.
Reality:
How does the hazard work in reality?
The release of built-up pressure inside the Earth's crust is what usually causes an earthquake. The power is measured on what is called the Richter scale using an tool called a seismometer.
The impact of an earthquake can be extremely harmful which can cause settlements to get destroyed, change the landscapes, and cause deaths.
Causes of earthquakes
An earthquake is the vibration and movement of the earth's crust due to shaking of the plates of the earth also known as plate tectonics. An earthquake takes place when the tension is let out from inside the earths crust. The plates can sometimes collide against other plates causing a vibration, causing pressure to build up. When the pressure is eventually released an earthquake occurs.
Seismic waves
The focus
Impact
Case Study
Example
On the 10th of March 2015, the national police agency reported 15,893 deaths, 6,152 injured and 2,572 missing. They also had listed 127,290 buildings completely collapsed, with 272,788 buildings 'half collapsed', and 747,989 buildings damaged. The hazard was typical to other similar hazard events because Japan usually has many earthquakes.
Comparison
How does the film differ from reality?
Conclusion
In conclusion the clips shown in the film are more unrealistic than realistic although the impact after the earthquake were believable. This hazard is more unrealistic that realistic because too many of the disasters happening in the movie would be to extreme.
Compared to the hazard shown in the recent film San Andreas, the movie Earthquake looks pretty unrealistic. The special effects used in the movie were sometimes unrealistic, but has an exception because it was made produced in 1974. Hollywood chooses to exaggerate natural hazards because if the disaster is not exaggerated, the film won't be as interesting as an unexpected occurrence.
Bibliograpgy
Websites used:
2) "Earthquake (film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
3) Fackler, Martin. "Powerful Quake and Tsunami Devastate Northern Japan." The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
4) "Causes of an Earthquake." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.