If you find disaster movies too unnerving because they strike a little too close to reality, we suggest you avoid films like 2012, San Andreas, The Impossible, and any other earthquake-themed movies.

Just weeks after a massive earthquake in Russia triggered tsunamis, and President Donald Trump issued warnings across multiple US states, more alarming reports have surfaced about the next big natural disaster.

Predictions from supposed mystics like Baba Vanga and Nostradamus pointed to a difficult 2025, with Japan's version also forecasting a massive megathrust earthquake along the Nankai Trough.

There are mounting fears that a massive earthquake, potentially The Big One, could soon strike the USA, with experts especially concerned about California's San Andreas Fault.

What Is 'The Big One' Earthquake?

Concerns about 'The Big One' grow as scientists continue to warn of its possible arrival, particularly after 2025’s Myanmar earthquake. Researchers have been looking into how events like the Myanmar disaster, which struck in March 2025, could play out along the San Andreas Fault. This earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.7, hit Myanmar along the Sagaing Fault, killing more than 5,400 people and injuring over 11,400.

There are fears 'The Big One' could follow 2025's Myanmar earthquake (Anadolu / Contributor / Getty)

Caltech's team, based in Pasadena, used satellite imagery of the Sagaing Fault to study the earthquake and predict whether a similar event could occur in California. Their research was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, with lead author Solène Antoine explaining that the earthquake provided an ideal case for applying their imaging methods to study ground displacement. This was crucial as radar interferometry struggles to measure the shifting of the fault accurately.

Historical tremors from the Sagaing Fault suggested that the earthquake might impact a 300-kilometer stretch of land where seismic activity hadn’t been recorded since 1839. However, the satellite imagery revealed that the actual rupture occurred along a far longer 500km stretch, with the fault shifting a staggering 9.8 feet.

The Future of 'The Big One' Earthquake

The 1906 earthquake devastated San Francisco, causing the destruction of 80% of the city. Scientists are now trying to determine if a similar disaster is coming to California. They are focused on whether 'The Big One' might follow the example of the 1857 earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.7 to 7.9, splitting the San Andreas Fault from Monterey County to Los Angeles County. Or could it resemble the 1906 San Francisco quake, which started offshore and spread to other counties like Humboldt and Santa Cruz?

1906's earthquake destroyed 80% of San Francisco (Ivy Close Images / Contributor / Getty)

The 1906 earthquake resulted in 3,000 deaths and wiped out most of San Francisco. For the potential 'Big One,' the earthquake could manifest either as several smaller quakes or, more catastrophically, an 8.0 on the Richter scale, tearing through multiple counties including San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial.

Jean-Philippe Avouac, a co-author of the study, explained that future earthquakes might not follow past patterns, and successive ruptures could release more energy than previously expected. He emphasized the challenges of creating a model to predict these events, as historical records are often too brief to build reliable statistical models.

While Avouac is working on developing a model to understand how the San Andreas Fault might behave in the future, he admits that this process is exceptionally complex and might take years to perfect. “It’s not going to happen soon,” he said, acknowledging the difficulty of the calculations involved.

The threat of 'The Big One' continues to loom large, and experts caution that the situation remains unpredictable, making preparedness even more critical for those living near fault lines.