Anatomy of an Earthquake
Film Summary
High Definition
52:00 mins
Science & Nature
Worldwide
Brief Summary
"It's long been called the Big One. An earthquake so powerful it could obliterate Los Angeles…tear down its skyscrapers…set its hills on fire…drown it in the sea. But what could actually happen if one of the world's most famous time bombs goes off? Based on the latest super-computer scenarios, we'll follow a potential quake moment-by-moment as it unleashes its phenomenal power on southern California. But, in an unexpected twist, we will come to discover that the biggest danger of all for Los Angeles comes not from the much-feared San Andreas fault but from an unseen - and only recently discovered - fault line, buried deep beneath the surface… It may sound (and look) like the latest Hollywood disaster movie … but many scientists believe that the southern San Andreas fault is due for the 'Big One'. Experts know that it typically goes off every 150 years … and pressure along the two tectonic plates has been building since it last went off in the middle of the 19th century. Using state-of-the art CGI we'll break down, component by component, the detailed destruction the quake could wreak. What in its path will succumb? What might endure? And who, among the millions whose lives hang in the balance, will survive? We'll zero in on the latest in cutting-edge earthquake technology - futuristic designs built to withstand or - at the very least - issue life-saving warnings. Structural engineers have retrofitted some of LA's landmarks with hi-tech base-isolators designed to absorb shock waves and steel coupled girders that can literally pull a building back together. Scientists have also discovered a ""blind"" or hidden fault, known as Puente Hills - not thirty or forty miles to the east, like the San Andreas - but directly beneath the heart of the city. And evidence suggests that if this one goes off, it goes off BIG. We'll investigate the Puente Hills fault, tracking it relative to downtown Los Angeles. We will then reorient our master CGI, and place the epicentre of this worst-case scenario smack at the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Will the city that potentially could experience the Big One be able to withstand…the Bigger One? "
Year Filmed: 2006
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