There's a sense that if it's modern, code-designed, it's earthquake-proof and everything should be great, but that's not the reality. John Stewart: The building code, with its minimum requirements, does not ensure that the building will be serviceable after an earthquake. Narrator: Unreinforced structures are the least stable, but even buildings up to code could crumble. Older steel buildings, the connections in them have not necessarily been designed to withstand the maximum forces that actually can be generated. Wallace: 'Cause the San Andreas will produce the kind of long-period shaking which would be very damaging to very tall buildings, say, in downtown LA, and Century City, and Long Beach, and so forth. Narrator: In this time-lapse video, you can see how building components would hold up in a high-magnitude earthquake. John Wallace: The number of buildings that were constructed before about 1980 is really significant, and most of these buildings are very vulnerable to damage and collapse. Narrator: During and immediately following the shaking, buildings could collapse. The main point is to protect your head and chest. The best thing to do, like we always say, is duck, cover, and hold. Vidale: People have this idea of running out of bed, out of their buildings, and that's a terrible idea, because a lot of what we see in earthquakes is people with broken legs and people who've run through glass. Narrator: If you are near the epicenter of the earthquake, it will be nearly impossible to stand. Basically something that we as a civilization have trouble creating, short of, like, a nuclear explosion. So the power of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake is probably close to the power used in the whole state for a year. Vidale: It's basically moving the ground several yards over an area of 50 square miles. According to a 2008 federal report, the most likely scenario is a 7.8 magnitude quake that would rupture a 200-mile stretch along the southernmost part of the fault. Narrator: In other words, we're overdue for a major shake. Vidale: We haven't had a big earthquake in Southern California really since 1857. The southern parts of the fault have remained inactive for over 200 years. Narrator: On average, the San Andreas Fault ruptures every 150 years. The major danger is from the earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault system. John Vidale: You know, here in California you have dangers from a number of different kinds of earthquakes. California is located in a hot zone of fault lines, the most notorious of them the San Andreas Fault. Narrator: While experts can't know exactly when a quake will occur, they have a pretty good idea of where. But when it hits, what will that actually look like? Here's what experts say could happen in the seconds, hours, and days after the big one. But neither of these compare to the long-awaited big one, which scientists predict will eventually rattle the golden coast. Narrator: On July 4, 2019, Ridgecrest, California, was hit with a 6.4 magnitude earthquake and then a 7.1 just one day later. Here's what will happen if the big one hits the West Coast. Narrator: Catastrophic earthquake scenarios have played out on the silver screen for decades, terrifying viewers with quakes that can collapse skyscrapers or topple entire cities. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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