10 Best Movies About Earthquakes That You Should Watching Update 04/2024

Movies About Earthquakes

For decades, Hollywood has released disaster flicks. Here you’ll find a selection of the top earthquake films that will leave you reeling.

She’s called Holly Riordan.

Since the 1930s and 1940s, Hollywood has been producing disaster movies. Movies about natural disasters attract in audiences since they are based on genuine events. At any moment, a tidal wave, storm, tornado, or earthquake may strike. Disaster films allow audiences to envision themselves in the shoes of the protagonists, making it easier for them to connect with the film’s characters. They may have even gone through something similar in the past.

Southern California is the setting for the majority of earthquake movies. State governments have been waiting for something big to happen. The San Andreas fault is anticipated to be struck by a 7.8 or greater earthquake known as the “Big One.” The Pacific-North American plate border is marked by this fault. The San Andreas Fault, according to seismologists like Lucy Jones, will unleash a devastating earthquake at some point. Lucy’s life is devoted to educating people about earthquake safety, conducting earthquake drills, and enhancing social resilience following natural disasters.

It’s unfortunate, because earthquakes can do a lot of damage. They are capable of bringing down entire buildings, obliterating entire neighborhoods, and wreaking havoc on entire cities. It may be difficult to see a documentary on these natural disasters, but it’s far simpler to watch a fictional film about them. If you’re looking for something to keep you occupied as you learn about the world around you, these shows are for you. A sampling of the greatest earthquake films ever made:

1. S.O.S. Tidal Wave (1939)

S.O.S. Tidal Wave (1939)

Election Day is the setting for this film. False disaster footage is used by politicians to dissuade the public from casting their ballots in the upcoming elections. Everyone in New York City is supposed to believe that a massive tidal wave has hit the city. Another science fiction picture, Deluge (1933), is heavily featured in the making of this one. Deluge tells the story of a catastrophic earthquake that wipes away the West Coast and floods the East Coast, causing widespread devastation.

2. Earthquake (1974)

This disaster film is about an earthquake that strikes Los Angeles, California, with an unimaginable magnitude. To survive, the film follows a wide range of people, including a grocery store manager, an off-duty cop and a widow. A 30-story skyscraper traps the characters in a dramatic scene. A number of well-known catastrophe films were released in the same year, including The Towering Inferno (1974) and Airport 1975 (1975). (1974). They were all huge box office successes.

3. And Life Goes On (1992)

And Life Goes On (1992)

A director and his kid visit the site of the Guilan earthquake in this film, which was originally named Zendegi va digar hich. Over 30,000 individuals were killed in this real-life quake. Filmed in documentary format, even though it’s a fictionalized retelling of Iranian events of 1990. Landscapes and highways have been ripped apart, and communities have been demolished. Although it is the second picture in a trilogy, it is not required to have seen the previous one to follow the story in this one.

4. Escape From LA (1996)

John Carpenter directed this high-octane sci-fi thriller. Kurt Russell as a man tasked with retrieving a deadly weapon from Los Angeles. Snake Plissken, the character he played in Escape From New York, made his return for a second time (1981). The only sequel John Carpenter ever directed was Escape From LA.

5. Volcano (1997)

Volcano (1997)

Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, and Don Cheadle feature in this science fiction film. It’s about an earthquake that causes a volcano to form beneath Downtown Los Angeles. The lava in the film was created of methylcellulose, which is commonly used in milkshakes. The ash, on the other hand, was made from finely powdered newspaper. This was the second film in 1997 to focus on a volcanic explosion. There’s a lot more scientific accuracy in Dante’s Peak (1997).

6. Dante’s Peak (1997)

Disaster movie Inferno was named after Dante’s Inferno because it represents a journey to hell. Discovered: A dormant volcano that could explode at any time is featured in this film. This film was made at Mount St. Helens, where all the crater shots were filmed. However, the majority of the film’s external sequences were shot in Idaho. Adding digitally completed the rest of the scene’s backdrop

7. Tidal Wave (2009)

Tidal Wave (2009)

In this South Korean film, a woman and her lover live in Busan. They just have ten minutes to flee if a tsunami strikes. Haeundae Beach, an affluent resort near Busan, was the inspiration for the original name of this disaster film. They used old water tanks from “Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” to create CGI effects in this film (2008). Except for a few big drops, the performers did everything in the water on their own.

8. San Andreas (2015)

After a catastrophic earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area, this action film takes place.. A father (Dwayne Johnson) and his ex-wife set out across the state to find their kidnapped daughter. An earthquake fault line that spans through most of California is the inspiration for the film’s title. The Hoover Dam is demolished in one of the most iconic moments in the film. In the meantime, scientists have reassured the public that this is highly unlikely to occur in the actual world.

9. The Quake (2018)

The Quake (2018)

Following the events of The Wave (2015), which dealt with a major flood following a tsunami, this film serves as a sequel. The Quake, on the other hand, is a story about an earthquake that occurred in Oslo. Despite the fact that this is a fictional film, the earthquake shown in the movie actually occurred in the year 1904. Damage to the Johannes church was caused by that massive earthquake. Eighteen aftershocks have been reported, according to reports.

10. Underwater (2020)

After an earthquake destroys their deepwater research and drilling facility, a group of scientists must flee for their lives in this science fiction horror film. The actors and crew had to shoot underwater scenes in complete darkness. Their air-tight garments made it difficult to hear William Eubank’s comments. Their weight was approximately 140 pounds.