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A Bunch of People Think a Huge Earthquake Will Destroy California Today

A superstitious video has been making the rounds on Facebook this week.
A simulation of the planets aligning to cause a major earthquake. (Image: YouTube/Ditranium Media)

The biggest earthquake to ever hit planet Earth is coming to California on Thursday. That is, if you believe a random dude on YouTube—and a surprising number of people apparently do.

In a video posted from the YouTube account 'Ditrianum Media,' a narrator who goes by Frank warns viewers of a catastrophic "coastal event" he says will occur at 4 pm on May 28, 2015. The 24-minute-long explainer has been making the rounds on the internet this week, with more than 730,000 views as of the time of writing.

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The reasoning behind his prediction of a magnitude 9.8 earthquake includes something to do with a message from a "spirit," planetary alignment, "energized" planets, and Nostradamus. The narrator doubled down on his theory in a tweet on Monday, saying, "I advice [sic] people in critical areas along fault lines in the world to be on extra alert around May 28. Be prepared. Have an escape plan ready."

Ditrianum also uploaded a video to YouTube on Tuesday arguing that there had been several earthquakes around the world above a magnitude of 6 in the last week as the planets aligned.

The theory laid out in the videos is bullshit, but since many people are buying into it, I called up an expert to ask why.

According to US Geological Survey geophysicist William Ellsworth, not only has the idea that planetary alignment affects seismic activity been disproven, an earthquake of the magnitude predicted would be impossible in California.

"There are no known faults in California that could host an earthquake of that magnitude," Ellsworth said. "Research indicates a larger earthquake, as large as 8.3, could occur, but there's no evidence that will happen."

The largest earthquake ever recorded occurred in Chile in 1960 and was of magnitude 9.5. The second largest ever recorded, a magnitude 9.2 temblor, occurred in Alaska in 1964. Ellsworth said both of these occurred in areas with geology "completely different" than what is found in California.

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He said while planetary alignment does have an effect on earth's behavior, the idea that it could cause earthquakes has been thoroughly disproven. He said the largest effects on the Earth come from the Moon and the Sun.

"There is a tiny, tiny, tiny increase in earthquakes when [the Moon and Sun] are aligned, and it is so small it is completely insignificant," he said. "Other planets would have no effect whatsoever. This comes up once a decade or so but there's clear evidence this is not a phenomena that has any significance in terms of causing earthquakes."

He said this theory comes up periodically, adding, "There's nothing wrong with ideas, that's what science is about, but this is an idea that has been thoroughly tested and thoroughly debunked."

The fact that the planets aligning won't cause an earthquake this week does not mean people in California shouldn't be prepared, he said.

"We're always on guard against earthquakes in California, but there's no reason to think there's one more likely tomorrow or the next day than any time in the next ten years," he said.

Though this YouTube visionary likely means well, Ditrianum isn't offering any reliable evidence an earthquake is more likely to come Thursday than any other time. Send this to your conspiracy theorist friends on Facebook, you can thank me later.