More than two weeks after the violent earthquake that struck the Turkish-Syrian border on the morning of February 6, reports revealed that the number of victims from the two countries has touched the ceiling of fifty thousand dead and more than 120 thousand wounded, injured and missing, in one of the worst natural disasters witnessed. The Middle East region, over the long decades, has suffered the most losses.

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And with earthquakes in particular being considered one of the most nightmarish natural disasters for humans everywhere and at all times, and the raw material for excitement, horror, drama and fear of the unknown, it was obvious that this particular phenomenon occupies an advanced position in cinematic production, here we highlight 6 films that embody the horrors of tremors The floor, its accessories, and the destruction it leaves behind, conveys to the viewer a feeling of dread as the earth shakes beneath it and the roof falls from above it.

San Andreas .. the horrors of the earthquake on the screen

San Andreas is the name of a huge geological fault that extends hundreds of kilometers across the US state of California on the west coast, from south to north, representing one of the largest natural faults in North America.

This fault is historically known to be one of the largest hotspots of danger that could cause violent earthquakes, in an area full of population, buildings, human activity, and industrial and technical production, which is a threat to the lives of thousands of people.

A violent earthquake strikes the Los Angeles area and San Francisco Bay, causing massive damage to buildings and facilities. Air rescue investigator Ray Gaines goes to the building where his daughter is and rescues her with great difficulty.

At the same time, scientists discover that this earthquake has caused a huge rift in the San Andreas Fault, and that it is only just the beginning of a large package of violent aftershocks, causing huge collapses of facilities and dams and giant tsunamis.

It is here that Ray finds himself in the biggest ethical dilemma: does he use all his air rescue skills to save his family, or does he rush to save others?

This predicament is generated amid many situations and horrors that he sees as a result of the massive devastation caused by the earthquake and its aftershock waves, which resulted in giant tsunami waves that swept the city's coast.

All this was embodied in the 2015 movie "San Andreas", which starred the famous action actor and former wrestler "Dwayne Johnson".

The film is considered one of the most famous and best natural disaster films produced during the current century, and it contains a huge amount of stunning visual scenes that embody the tragedy of the earthquake and its aftershocks, which was reflected in the huge revenues of the movie, which amounted to nearly half a billion dollars at the box office, based on a huge budget that exceeded $100 million.

Although the film discusses a fictional event, it also leaves a disturbing message, stating that the San Andreas Fault is not the safe geological impact that you live next to, and that a strong earthquake in this region, which is already known for its many earthquakes, may cause destruction that no one wants to witness or even imagine!

The wave...a tsunami is on the horizon

A still from the Norwegian movie "The Wave".

(communication Web-sites)

In a wonderful atmosphere, biologist Christian Ekgord was spending his time in a tourist area in northern Norway, carrying out his last assignment in that region, and then spending the rest of the day amidst the picturesque scenery.

But it seems that the fates had a completely different opinion of the plan drawn up by the man on his last day of work.

Christian and the rest of the tourists in the area are surprised by violent earthquakes of unknown origin, and with his geological intuition, the expert fears the possibility of giant tsunamis coming after these tremors.

He believes his intuition, and everyone discovers that there are huge tsunami waves up to 80 meters high on their way to hitting the coast full of tourists who lack the tools to confront this type of major disaster.

A warning arrives on the tourist island that everyone has only 10 minutes until the tsunami reaches the coast, which is expected to cause complete destruction in the area.

Here begins the major events of the Norwegian movie "The Wave", which was produced in 2015, and was considered one of the best Norwegian films ever that shed light on natural disasters.

The film - with its excitement and amazing visual scenes - was produced on a relatively modest budget, and achieved large revenues compared to European cinema.

The tremor.. an earthquake in the heart of the capital

This time the earthquake did not hit the sea, causing a giant tsunami that devoured green and dry land. Rather, the strike was in the Norwegian capital, Oslo itself, to find geologist Christian Ejjord himself in a new confrontation with nature's wrath with a direct strike in the heart of the city.

This is the main story of the Norwegian movie "The Quake", which was produced in 2018 as a second part, following the great success of the movie "The Wave".

Although the story of the film is fictional, it derives some facts from the devastating earthquake that occurred in the Norwegian capital in 1904, and it was considered one of the most devastating earthquakes in the country.

The film is filled with many scenes that embody the massive devastation caused by the earthquake, in one of the most sophisticated, planned and organized capitals in the world, which turns into ruins within minutes, leaving massive destruction and tens of thousands of dead, wounded and injured trying to survive.

The film achieved wide spread and positive critical reviews, and was considered - along with the first part - among the best European disaster films during the past decade.

In 2022, the third part of this series, titled "The Burning sea", was produced, but it did not achieve the same success as the first and second parts.

The Impossible.. The Indian Ocean Earthquake

The movie "The Impossible" is considered one of the best films that embodied the aftershocks of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. (Communication sites)

When the English tourist and his family went to Thailand, he did not think of anything other than spending the Christmas holidays away from their cold country, and enjoying the warmth and life in this charming country known for its cheap and safe tourism.

At first there was just sunshine, chic hotels, glamorous surroundings, swimming pools and a delightful seaside, but everything changed in an instant.

This was at the end of 2004, during the Christmas holidays, to deafen the ears with an alarming sound, and everyone was surprised when looking at the horizon with a huge wall of giant tsunami waves heading towards them at great speed.

Tourists did not know at the time that these huge waves were the result of the devastating earthquake that struck the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004, and later killed more than a quarter of a million people in Indonesia and neighboring countries in Asia.

The journey to survive the giant tsunami with all its chaos, drowning, and terrifying events is the focus of the 2012 movie "The Impossible", starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts.

The film embodies real events recorded in the archives of the disaster that occurred in the region after the earthquake struck, and everyone's attempt to flee from the waves of water that sweep everything in its path, killing thousands of people and destroying facilities and infrastructure, amid a major crisis in rescue efforts.

The film achieved great global success with revenues of more than $180 million, and it is still considered one of the most important disaster films produced during the current century against the background of a real disaster that is considered the worst ever in recent decades.

Earthquake.. tracking of survival stories

The movie "Earthquake" focused on following the stories of a number of victims and survivors following an imaginary earthquake that struck Los Angeles and turned it into ruins.

(communication Web-sites)

The 1974 movie The Earthquake lives up to its name.

The film does not set any comprehensive dramatic plot as much as it is a lengthy scene of an imaginary earthquake of magnitude 9 on the Richter scale that hit the city of Los Angeles and led to its complete destruction, and its events monitor the attempts of many people in different jobs and situations to escape from the devastating earthquake.

More than any other film on this list, the film focused on the details of earthquakes and people interacting with them in panic and fleeing in a realistic manner devoid of impressive visual effects to a large extent, such as those that characterize today's cinema.

Therefore, the scenes of earthquakes and building collapses lost the element of fascination but were closer to reality, with the director deliberately clarifying them, perhaps exaggeratedly, to the extent that there were scenes exceeding seven full minutes that embody the details of the earthquake.

Over the course of two hours, the film presents separate stories of people who were going about their normal lives when the earthquake occurred.

The truck driver under whom the bridge collapsed while driving, the young woman sitting in the cinema to watch a movie, and other situations depicted in the film, which generated good revenues by the standards of the time, exceeding $80 million, in addition to being nominated for a large number of international awards.

Tidal wave.. The disaster ends the differences

The movie "Tidal wave" embodied the most dangerous phenomenon that affects earthquakes on coastal cities, which are giant tsunami waves.

(communication Web-sites)

In the Hyundai suburb of the Korean coastal city of Busan, and in the context of my life is completely normal, full of problems and social differences between a number of people and families who live in the area overlooking the sea, the tsunami comes from afar to turn the whole scene into attempts to survive, nothing more.

All enmities and problems disappeared in moments, and were replaced by one goal, which is to survive the tsunami that struck the city following the Indian Ocean earthquake in 2004.

The first to predict the danger was Professor Kim, a professor of marine geology, who determined the location of the strike, and tried to convince the authorities, the townspeople, and vacationers of the danger they would face shortly, and the coming of giant tsunamis at a speed of 500 miles per hour, with more risks of aftershocks after a series of tremors hit Seabed.

Tidal wave is a 2009 South Korean film that revolves around the tsunami that struck a South Korean city following the earthquake.

The film embodies - like all natural disaster films - the heroes' journey to try to escape from the huge waves, although the most prominent thing in its dramatic context is the great shift from the usual scenes of daily life debates to scenes of panic in front of the destruction of nature and the shift to complete solidarity to try to survive.

The film achieved excellent revenues globally, and was nominated for a group of international awards, of which it won five awards, and was distributed in many international theaters outside South Korea. It was considered one of the most important natural disaster films produced by Asian cinema during the past two decades.

In the end, these films remind us that simply watching the earthquake and its events and results on screens, whether by following its news or watching a fictional movie that tells its details, is in itself a matter of anxiety and panic, let alone experiencing it on the ground?!

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Sources:

1- The earthquake in Turkey and Syria...the death toll exceeds 45,000