In the wake of the tremendous success of the 1970 disaster-suspense film '' Airport '' , Universal Studios began working with executive producer Jennings Lang to come up with a new idea that would work within the same " disaster-suspense " genre . Inspiration came in the form of the San Fernando earthquake of February 1971 . Director Mark Robson and Lang were intrigued by the idea of creating a disaster on film that would not be confined to an airliner , but rather take place over a large area . Producer Bernard Donnenfeld helped produce the film , but was uncredited
San Fernando earthquake
1971 San Fernando earthquake
Earthquake (1974 film)