5.4-Magnitude Los Angeles Quake Felt Like 13.7 Inside “Earthquake” Thrill Ride

LOS ANGELES - A 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck Southern California yesterday afternoon killing 162 people on the Earthquake Thrill Attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. 

Outisde the Earthquake attraction, the quake caused only moderate damage and no serious injuries, but inside the attraction, which simulates an 8.3-magnitude quake, the combination of the real and the simulated quakes created a 13.7-magnitude earthquake, the highest ever recorded anywhere.  The previous most powerful earthquake was a 9.6-magnitude Chilean earthquake in 1960.

One eyewitness said that the remains of the riders trapped in the attraction ”looked more like pudding than human beings.”  They were scooped up and carried out on shovels as thousands of curious riders cued up in lines to enter the attraction.  One park official said the tragedy gave the dowager attraction, one of the park’s oldest, much-needed cachet.

Universal is no stranger to disaster. Earlier this year in the park’s Backdraft attraction, which simulates the hit movie’s blazing inferno of heart-pounding heat in a 10,000 degree blast of searing pyrotechnics and special effects excitement, the temperature doubled when a real-life fire swept through Universal Studios, killing 78.

Similarly, in 1999, a real-life tornado struck Universal’s Orlando, Florida theme park while 52 people rode the Twister attraction, which simulates a twister with a Fujuta scale rating of F5.  Inside the attraction, the combination of the real and the simulated twisters produced the equivalent of an F10 twister, twice as powerful as any ever recorded, killing all 52 riders.

Jul 30