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By Darryl Young,
Director
California Department of Conservation
A new science fiction
movie, “The Core,” opens in theaters
March 28 with an interesting premise:
The Pentagon’s attempt to harness the
power of earthquakes as a weapon causes
the Earth’s core to stop rotating. That,
in turn, causes all kinds of ecological
disasters. The only hope to save the
planet is to send a team to the center
of the Earth, where, they hope,
detonating a cluster of nuclear bombs
will jump-start the core’s rotation and
save the day.
The possibility of using seismicity as a
weapon is certainly edge-of-your-seat
stuff. But in the opinion of the
California Department of Conservation’s
team of seismologists and geologists,
it’s not nearly as frightening as the
very real threat that earthquakes pose
to the state.
California citizens are advised to be
prepared or face the consequences: while
yelling “cut” may work in the movie
business, it doesn’t cut it when the
ground starts to tremble.
There are hundreds of known faults in
California, and at least a couple of
hundred are considered capable of
generating damaging earthquakes. More
than 70 percent of the state's
population resides within 30 miles of a
fault where intense ground shaking could
occur in the coming decades.
According to the National Earthquake
Information Center, there are more than
35 earthquakes a day around the world --
12,000-14,000 a year. Each year, there
is generally one "great" (magnitude 8.0
or more) earthquake somewhere in the
world, along with 18 "major" (7.0-7.9),
120 “large" (6.0-6.9) and 1,000
"moderate" (5.0-5.9) earthquakes.
California generally experiences two or
three temblors a year large enough to
cause moderate damage to structures.
To put things in perspective, a
magnitude 6.0 quake releases
approximately as much energy as 6,270
tons of TNT. Kick it up a notch, to a
magnitude 7.0, and you get the energy
equivalent of 199,000 tons of dynamite.
The real whoppers, though, are
spectacularly more powerful: A magnitude
8.0 quake releases as much energy as
6.27 million tons of TNT and a magnitude
9.0 – almost unheard of -- 99 million
tons. Unlike the atomic weaponry
detonated in “The Core,” all that energy
is not focused in one particular spot,
but spreads out in waves, sometimes
causing widespread devastation.
The 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake that knocked down part of the
Bay Bridge, collapsed part of the Nimitz
Freeway and killed 63 people was a
magnitude 6.9 quake. The 1994 Northridge
quake that killed 61 and did $40 billion
in damage in the Los Angeles area was a
magnitude 6.7 temblor. Although
California has some of the world’s most
stringent building codes, it is
estimated that a magnitude 7 or greater
earthquake in an urban setting would
inevitably cause significant loss of
life and more than $100 billion in
damage.
In “The Core,” earthquakes are weapons.
In real life, ignorance and apathy are
the weapons. The movie undoubtedly cost
more to make than is spent on earthquake
preparedness and awareness.
As we move further in time from the
state’s last big earthquake, our
memories fade and we feel less urgency
to be prepared. Yet, at the same time,
we’re getting closer to the next
catastrophic quake.
A look at the seismic record makes it
apparent that a damaging earthquake
somewhere in the state is almost
inevitable in the next 20-30 years. It
could just as easily happen today or
tomorrow. The time to be prepared is
now, not after the fact.
Being prepared means talking to your
insurance agent about earthquake
coverage as well as having at least 72
hours of food and water on hand for each
member of your family, a well-stocked
first-aid kit, and flashlights and a
radio with extra batteries, among other
things. The Department of Conservation’s
Web site has a
section dedicated to earthquakes,
including tips on being prepared and
links to many other helpful sites.
The screenwriter for “The Core,” John
Rogers, holds a degree in physics. Yet
surely even he’d admit that the science
behind some aspects of the movie is
shakier than an un-reinforced masonry
building in a 7.0 quake. The idea of
constructing a vehicle capable of not
only drilling to the Earth’s core but
also surviving the heat and pressure
involved is a bit out there.
But it is, after all, a science fiction
movie, meant to entertain. While the
Department of Conservation does not
offer movie reviews, we will offer this
advice: If you go see the movie, take
the plot – as well as your popcorn --
with a grain of salt, and enjoy. And
when the movie is over, whether you give
it two thumbs up or down, think about
the inevitable reality of earthquakes.
Awareness and action lie at the core of
preparedness.
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