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* BlatantLies: Rosa tries to scare Jody off by telling him she has another brother, who is in the ''Mafia''.


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* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Averted for the most part (thanks in part to LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters), but in the end, they have to portray some hapless first responders as a group of [[DirtyCoward dirty cowards]] so that Lew and Graff can be the ones to save the folks trapped in the parking garage.
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* MaleGaze: Invoked in-universe as the reason Miles and Sal need Rosa. Slade even pays $10 just to see her, um, [[SignificanMonogram t]]-shirt.

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* MaleGaze: Invoked in-universe as the reason Miles and Sal need Rosa. Slade even pays $10 just to see her, um, [[SignificanMonogram [[SignificantMonogram t]]-shirt.

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* AdultFear: Denise is beside herself when she can't find Corry, then has to figure out how to rescue him.



* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Here's the dialogue of a [[SarcasmMode happy couple]]:
--> '''Remy:''' ''[shouting]'' God damn it!
--> '''Graff:''' Your last words to me last night; your first words this morning. Ever thought about expanding your vocabulary?



* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Played with. Due to exposure to phosgene, Royce gets very sick and coughs. Shortly afterwards, though, the doctor declares that he has had a heart attack and writes him off as a goner.
* InfantImmortality: Played straight. It looks like Corry's going to be fine.



* MaleGaze: Invoked in-universe as the reason Miles and Sal need Rosa. Slade even pays $10 just to see her, um, t-shirt.

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* MaleGaze: Invoked in-universe as the reason Miles and Sal need Rosa. Slade even pays $10 just to see her, um, t-shirt.[[SignificanMonogram t]]-shirt.



* NotEvenBotheringWithAnExcuse: The doctor, confronted by Remy about her father, pauses a beat to think of a comforting lie, then replies with the single least empathetic line ever:
--> ''Don't bother me now!''
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Graff, forced to choose between trying to rescue his jilted wife or escape to safety and his young mistress, opts for the nobler course; he dies futilely trying to save Remy.




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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Miles reappears briefly and pointlessly in the flood scene, but essentially vanishes from the story as soon as he leaves the group.
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* {{Foreshadowing}}: The long aerial intro includes a relatively lengthy look at the dam which will fail in act three.
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* MaleGaze: Invoked in-universe as the reason Miles and Sal need Rosa. Slade even pays $10 just to see her t-shirt.

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* MaleGaze: Invoked in-universe as the reason Miles and Sal need Rosa. Slade even pays $10 just to see her her, um, t-shirt.
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* {{Fanservice}}: As noted under MaleGaze, Slade gets a good, long look at Rosa's t-shirt, but the camera does not fail to share it with us.


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* MaleGaze: Invoked in-universe as the reason Miles and Sal need Rosa. Slade even pays $10 just to see her t-shirt.
--> '''Sal:''' Now, Rosa, would you listen to me. Daredevil motorcyclists always have to have beautiful, sexy broads hangin' around.
--> '''Miles:''' Rosa, I'm your best friend. What do you want us to look like? Phonies or what?
--> '''Sal:''' Right.
--> '''Rosa:''' Sal, I'm your sister! What about Maureen? She's your girlfriend.
--> '''Miles:''' Come on, Rosa. Maureen is too flat-chested!
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* GroinAttack: During the big earthquake the cook in the bar takes a pot of boiling water to the crotch.
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Added explanation to AL-Geology


** You don't get 9.9 on the Richter Scale, because rock lacks the capability to build up that much pressure before it gives to the quake. The greatest quake recorded in history was 9.5 in Chile, 1960. The Strike-Slip plates around LA can only hold about an 8.0 (which is 'only' 1000 atom bombs). The Richter Scale is being directly associated with damage.

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** You don't get 9.9 on the Richter Scale, because rock lacks the capability to build up that much pressure before it gives to the quake. The greatest quake recorded in history was 9.5 in Chile, 1960. The Strike-Slip plates around LA can only hold about an 8.0 (which is 'only' 1000 atom bombs). The Richter Scale is being directly associated with damage.damage which is not its design or function; damage-based assessment is the Mercalli scale.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/earthquake_movie2_8402.jpg]]

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[[quoteright:350:https://static.[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/earthquake_movie2_8402.jpg]]
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* CowboyCop: George Kennedy's character Lew Slade. His EstablishingCharacterMoment is flying into a rage after DaChief gives him a talk because he wrecked a hedge while chasing a man through Beverly Hills... a chase he was doing because the man did a hit-and-run on a young woman that Slade describes "splattered her blood all over the sidewalk like a fresh coat of paint".

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* CowboyCop: George Kennedy's character Lew Slade. His EstablishingCharacterMoment is flying into a rage after DaChief gives him a talk because he wrecked a hedge while chasing a man through Beverly Hills... a chase he was doing because the man did a hit-and-run on a young woman that Slade describes "splattered her blood all over the sidewalk like a fresh coat of paint".paint" and killed her on the spot.



* DisasterMovie: Ladies and gentlemen, behold "the Big One"

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* DisasterMovie: Ladies and gentlemen, behold "the Big One" One".



* GoingPostal: Jody.

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* GoingPostal: Jody.Jody is a reservist soldier that goes completely crazy on the day he's most needed and blows away his bullying fellow tenants because his orders technically allow him to.



* SceneryGorn: The ending shot.

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* SceneryGorn: The ending shot.shot is a pan of a devastated L.A.
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The film was originally written by Mario Puzo, of ''Film/TheGodfather'' fame. He dropped out from production due to contractual obligations to work on ''The Godfather: Part II''. The script collected dust for a time until Universal Studios thought they could make a buck off of it due to the success of ''Film/{{Airport}}'' and ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure''. In order to draw audiences in, screenings of the film used a technique called "Sensurround", in which loud speakers simulated an earthquake within the cinema. Despite lukewarm reviews at best, Universal Studios's predictions were correct and the film was a rollicking financial success, grossing $79 million whereas its budget had been a mere $7 million.

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The film was originally written by Mario Puzo, of ''Film/TheGodfather'' fame. He dropped out from production due to contractual obligations to work on ''The Godfather: Part II''. The script collected dust for a time until Universal Studios thought they could make a buck off of it due to the success of ''Film/{{Airport}}'' and ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure''. In order to draw audiences in, screenings of the film used a technique called "Sensurround", in which loud speakers simulated an earthquake within the cinema. Despite lukewarm reviews at best, Universal Studios's predictions were correct and the film was a rollicking financial success, grossing $79 million whereas its budget had been a mere $7 million.
million. (Adjusted for inflation, the budget amounts to $36 million and the gross $379 million.)
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Quintessential DisasterMovie from the outbreak of that genre in the [[TheSeventies 70s]], alongside ''Film/{{Airport}}'', ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and ''Film/TheToweringInferno''. Directed by Mark Robson, and starring Creator/CharltonHeston, Creator/AvaGardner, Creator/GeorgeKennedy, Creator/LorneGreene, Geneviève Bujold, Creator/RichardRoundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Creator/BarrySullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis and Walter Matthau.

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Quintessential The quintessential DisasterMovie from the outbreak of that genre in the [[TheSeventies 70s]], alongside ''Film/{{Airport}}'', ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and ''Film/TheToweringInferno''. Directed by Mark Robson, and starring Creator/CharltonHeston, Creator/AvaGardner, Creator/GeorgeKennedy, Creator/LorneGreene, Geneviève Bujold, Creator/RichardRoundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Creator/BarrySullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis and Walter Matthau.
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Quintessential DisasterMovie from the outbreak of that genre in the [[TheSeventies 70s]], alongside ''Film/{{Airport}}'', ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and ''Film/TheToweringInferno''. Directed by Mark Robson, and starring Creator/CharltonHeston, Creator/AvaGardner, George Kennedy, Creator/LorneGreene, Geneviève Bujold, Creator/RichardRoundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Creator/BarrySullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis and Walter Matthau.

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Quintessential DisasterMovie from the outbreak of that genre in the [[TheSeventies 70s]], alongside ''Film/{{Airport}}'', ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and ''Film/TheToweringInferno''. Directed by Mark Robson, and starring Creator/CharltonHeston, Creator/AvaGardner, George Kennedy, Creator/GeorgeKennedy, Creator/LorneGreene, Geneviève Bujold, Creator/RichardRoundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Creator/BarrySullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis and Walter Matthau.
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* SpecialEffectsFailure: The blood splatter in the elevator scene, which they don't even try to make look realistic.
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* SpecialEffectsFailure: The blood splatter in the elevator scene, which they don't even try to make look realistic.
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Quintessential DisasterMovie from the outbreak of that genre in the [[TheSeventies 70s]], alongside ''Film/{{Airport}}'', ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and ''Film/TheToweringInferno''. Directed by Mark Robson, and starring Creator/CharltonHeston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Creator/LorneGreene, Geneviève Bujold, Creator/RichardRoundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Creator/BarrySullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis and Walter Matthau.

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Quintessential DisasterMovie from the outbreak of that genre in the [[TheSeventies 70s]], alongside ''Film/{{Airport}}'', ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and ''Film/TheToweringInferno''. Directed by Mark Robson, and starring Creator/CharltonHeston, Ava Gardner, Creator/AvaGardner, George Kennedy, Creator/LorneGreene, Geneviève Bujold, Creator/RichardRoundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Creator/BarrySullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis and Walter Matthau.

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* CoolCar: Graff's 1970s monster of an jeep, which had its transmission custom-built completely from scratch.



* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin
* ExtremelyShortTimespan the whole movie takes place in one day

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* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin
* ExtremelyShortTimespan
ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: It involves a vision of the biggest and most destructive earthquake California has suffered so far.
* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The
whole movie takes place in one dayday.
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* CameraAbuse

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* CameraAbuseCameraAbuse: Holy crap, the cameras took a whole lot of shaking during the earthquake sequence.



* CowboyCop: George Kennedy's character Lew Slade.

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* CowboyCop: George Kennedy's character Lew Slade. His EstablishingCharacterMoment is flying into a rage after DaChief gives him a talk because he wrecked a hedge while chasing a man through Beverly Hills... a chase he was doing because the man did a hit-and-run on a young woman that Slade describes "splattered her blood all over the sidewalk like a fresh coat of paint".



* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: for 49 minutes
* DisasterMovie

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* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: for For 49 minutes
minutes. And then the earthquake comes.
* DisasterMovieDisasterMovie: Ladies and gentlemen, behold "the Big One"



* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters

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* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharactersLoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: And many of them drop like flies from the halfway mark onwards.
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Quintessential DisasterMovie from the outbreak of that genre in the [[TheSeventies 70s]], alongside ''Film/{{Airport}}'', ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and ''Film/TheToweringInferno''. Directed by Mark Robson, and starring Creator/CharltonHeston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Creator/LorneGreene, Geneviève Bujold, Creator/RichardRoundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Barry Sullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis and Walter Matthau.

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Quintessential DisasterMovie from the outbreak of that genre in the [[TheSeventies 70s]], alongside ''Film/{{Airport}}'', ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and ''Film/TheToweringInferno''. Directed by Mark Robson, and starring Creator/CharltonHeston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Creator/LorneGreene, Geneviève Bujold, Creator/RichardRoundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Barry Sullivan, Creator/BarrySullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis and Walter Matthau.
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Quintessential DisasterMovie from the outbreak of that genre in the [[TheSeventies 70s]], alongside ''Film/{{Airport}}'', ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and ''Film/TheToweringInferno''. Directed by Mark Robson, and starring Creator/CharltonHeston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Creator/LorneGreene, Geneviève Bujold, Richard Roundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Barry Sullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis and Walter Matthau.

to:

Quintessential DisasterMovie from the outbreak of that genre in the [[TheSeventies 70s]], alongside ''Film/{{Airport}}'', ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and ''Film/TheToweringInferno''. Directed by Mark Robson, and starring Creator/CharltonHeston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Creator/LorneGreene, Geneviève Bujold, Richard Roundtree, Creator/RichardRoundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Barry Sullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis and Walter Matthau.
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The film was originally written by Mario Puzo, of ''Film/TheGodfather'' fame. He dropped out from production due to contractual obligations to work on ''The Godfather: Part II''. The script collected dust for a time until Universal Studios thought they could make a buck off of it due to the success of ''Film/{{Airport}}'' and ''ThePoseidonAdventure''. In order to draw audiences in, screenings of the film used a technique called "Sensurround", in which loud speakers simulated an earthquake within the cinema. Despite lukewarm reviews at best, Universal Studios's predictions were correct and the film was a rollicking financial success, grossing $79 million whereas its budget had been a mere $7 million.

to:

The film was originally written by Mario Puzo, of ''Film/TheGodfather'' fame. He dropped out from production due to contractual obligations to work on ''The Godfather: Part II''. The script collected dust for a time until Universal Studios thought they could make a buck off of it due to the success of ''Film/{{Airport}}'' and ''ThePoseidonAdventure''.''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure''. In order to draw audiences in, screenings of the film used a technique called "Sensurround", in which loud speakers simulated an earthquake within the cinema. Despite lukewarm reviews at best, Universal Studios's predictions were correct and the film was a rollicking financial success, grossing $79 million whereas its budget had been a mere $7 million.
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* AmbiguouslyGay: Jody Joad. His dresser has several pinned pictures of semi-naked men (although it may have just been aids for his exercising--it is never clearly said). The other tenants of his building (a whole lot of Jerkasses) have no problem assuming that he's gay and riff him out over it--which means he's got quite a good reason to blow them all away when they meet again and he's packing a rifle and orders to keep the peace by any means necessary...

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* AmbiguouslyGay: AmbiguouslyBi: Jody Joad. His dresser has several pinned pictures of semi-naked men (although due to his interest in Rosa, it may have just been aids for his exercising--it is never clearly said). The other tenants of his building (a whole lot of Jerkasses) {{Jerkass}}es) have no problem assuming that he's gay and riff him out over it--which means he's got quite a good reason to blow them all away when they meet again and he's packing a rifle and orders to keep the peace by any means necessary...
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Stewart Graff (Heston) is a construction engineer stuck in a forlorn marriage to Remy Royce-Graff (Gardner). Denise Marshall (Bujold) is the widow of a friend of Stewart's whom he has an affair with. Sgt. Lew Slade (Kennedy) is a disgruntled cop. Miles Quade (Roundtree) is a motorcycle stuntman who is preparing for the biggest stunt of his life with his partner Sal Amici (Gabriel Dell). Rosa Amici (Principal) is Sal's sister. Jody Joad (Gortner) is a soldier with a part-time job as a store clerk who is on the verge of a psychotic breakdown. Amidst all these characters and all this drama, however, the California Seismological Institute has calculated that Los Angeles is going to be hit by a massive earthquake, the worst ever recorded, in the next day or two. Walter Russell (Kip Niven), the amateur staffer of the Institute who discerned this, proposes that the city be evacuated, but his superior insists that the cost of evacuation could be even greater than that of the earthquake itself. Can you guess where this is all heading?

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Stewart Graff (Heston) is a construction engineer stuck in a forlorn marriage to Remy Royce-Graff (Gardner). Denise Marshall (Bujold) is the widow of a friend of Stewart's whom he has an affair with. Sgt. Lew Slade (Kennedy) is a disgruntled cop. Miles Quade (Roundtree) is a motorcycle stuntman who is preparing for the biggest stunt of his life with his partner Sal Amici (Gabriel Dell). Rosa Amici (Principal) is Sal's sister. Jody Joad (Gortner) is a soldier National Guardsman with a part-time day job as a store clerk who is on the verge of a psychotic breakdown. Amidst all these characters and all this drama, however, the California Seismological Institute has calculated that Los Angeles is going to be hit by a massive earthquake, the worst ever recorded, in the next day or two. Walter Russell (Kip Niven), the amateur staffer of the Institute who discerned this, proposes that the city be evacuated, but his superior insists that the cost of evacuation could be even greater than that of the earthquake itself. Can you guess where this is all heading?
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* AmbiguouslyGay: Jody Joad. His dresser has several pinned pictures of semi-naked men (although it may have just been aids for his exercising--it is never clearly said). The other tenants of his building (a whole lot of Jerkasses) have no problem assuming that he's gay and riff him out over it--which means he's got quite a good reason to blow them all away when they meet again and he's packing a rifle and orders to keep the peace by any means necessary...
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* TruthInTelevision: There's a reason South California is the preferred location for earthquake disaster movies - it's due 'The Big One' any day now.

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* TruthInTelevision: There's a reason South Southern California is the preferred location for earthquake disaster movies - it's due 'The Big One' any day now.
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* AllInTheShow: At least one real earthquake was not noticed in a theatre showing the film because the audience thought the (actual) earthquake was part of the movie.

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* AllInTheShow: AllPartOfTheShow: At least one real earthquake was not noticed in a theatre showing the film because the audience thought the (actual) earthquake was part of the movie.
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* AllInTheShow: At least one real earthquake was not noticed in a theatre showing the film because the audience thought the (actual) earthquake was part of the movie.

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* ArtisticLicenseGeology: You don't get 9.9 on the Richter Scale, because rock lacks the capability to build up that much pressure before it gives to the quake. The greatest quake recorded in history was 9.5 in Chile, 1960. The Strike-Slip plates around LA can only hold about an 8.0 (which is 'only' 1000 atom bombs). The Richter Scale is being directly associated with damage.

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* ArtisticLicenseGeology: You ArtisticLicenseGeology:
**You
don't get 9.9 on the Richter Scale, because rock lacks the capability to build up that much pressure before it gives to the quake. The greatest quake recorded in history was 9.5 in Chile, 1960. The Strike-Slip plates around LA can only hold about an 8.0 (which is 'only' 1000 atom bombs). The Richter Scale is being directly associated with damage.damage.
**With the limits to the faults in mind, the duration of the quake in the film is also questionable. The quake clocks at around 4 to 5 minutes, which for a quake greater than magnitude 9.0 is technically correct despite duration and magnitude having no concrete link. In a real-life scenario, however, the duration of the "Big One" would likely be much shorter as the faults aren't capable of producing that kind of magnitude (Case in point, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake hit a magnitude 7.8 and lasted around a mere minute, foreshocks included). The longest earthquake ever recorded was the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which lasted around 8-10 minutes and hit 9.1-9.3 on the scale. This isn't to say that the potential damage to Los Angeles should be downplayed, however, as the 1994 Northridge earthquake showed.
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* TruthInTelevision: There's a reason South California is the preferred location for earthquake disaster movies - it's due 'The Big One' any day now (though not likely in the manner this film depicts it as, either over-exaggerated or even underestimated).

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* TruthInTelevision: There's a reason South California is the preferred location for earthquake disaster movies - it's due 'The Big One' any day now (though not likely in the manner this film depicts it as, either over-exaggerated or even underestimated).now.
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* TruthInTelevision: There's a reason South California is the preferred location for earthquake disaster movies - it's due 'The Big One' any day now.

to:

* TruthInTelevision: There's a reason South California is the preferred location for earthquake disaster movies - it's due 'The Big One' any day now.now (though not likely in the manner this film depicts it as, either over-exaggerated or even underestimated).

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