Separating Fact from Fiction

10.5 the mini-series is described on the Amazon.com site as: "Disaster Strikes the United States when an earthquake of epic proportions hits the Pacific Northwest causing the West Coast to separate form the rest of the continent and there is only one man who can save it and 50 Million people for annihilation."

Note: I am quoting that production descirption above. personally I like "from" just fine.

I was wandering around EarthquakeCountry.info and discovered a section of their site dedicated to pointing out that 10.5 is a mini-series with some major errors.

One of the Web pages on the site, Separating Fact from Fiction, lists some of the bad science in that movie such as why a 10.5 is impossible.

Earthquake Myths has accurate information that would be helpful for a writer that wants to depict what actually happens in an earthquake. They talk about gaping faults being a poor literary device.

But, the ground can open up....

My mother tells me stories from the 9.2 Good Friday Earthquake in Alaska. She recalls a log cabin that ended up as a bridge of sorts over a huge crack. It was around 30 feet wide and deep enough to kill people that would have fallen into it. She remembers how the logs bowed in the center but were strong enough to keep the main body of the home from caving in.