Released on May 29, 2015 the summer blockbuster movie, San Andreas, is far from scientific.
In an article just released by the New York Post, they discuss the live tweeting by United States Geological Survey seismologist and 30-year veteran in the field, Dr. Lucy Jones’ during the LA premiere of the earthquake-disaster flick. Jones states in one of her tweets that the biggest fail of the movie, had nothing to do with the earthquake itself — but rather the tsunami that followed the impossible 9.6 magnitude rattler. Dr. Lucy Jones also states, “A tsunami is not a cresting wave — it’s a sudden rise in sea level.” “And it doesn’t turn off gravity: The water flows back in, it doesn’t sit there. What’s most damaging is the current moving in and out. They had a lot of the water sitting there, and they had to do it for drowning scenes.” Jones said the film does, however, factually portray earthquake triggering as well as the strategy of “drop, cover and hold on” in the event of a quake. “This is a summer blockbuster movie, and you shouldn’t consider it a course in seismology,” she says.
The Earthquake Country Alliance released a comprehensive response to what “San Andreas” got right and wrong, so read up for the proper safety strategies.
Sources: http://nypost.com/2015/05/29/all-the-science-san-andreas-gets-wrong-according-to-a-top-seismologist/