Episodes

• Sarno Slides

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  August 28th, 1990. It's the last day of summer vacation for most students in the small town of Plainfield, IL. Forecasters predict another scorcher with thunderstorms developing later in the afternoon. What they don't expect is an F5 tornado that devastates Plainfield and its surrounding communities. At 3:05pm, an amateur storm chaser captures a wall cloud taking shape. It continues to grow in strength and ferocity, dropping a large tornado that will stay on the ground for 16 miles and reach F5 intensity (300-plus mile an hour winds). Caught off guard, several Plainfield High School sports teams run inside for cover. Resident Marypat Gabor is...

• Boscastle Flood

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  August 16, 2004 was a normal summer day in the Cornish village of Boscastle. The seaside town was full of tourists' cars and humming with activity. Then the rain came. A shower was expected - but the heavy thunderstorms that overwhelmed the village, werenot predicted. Combined with the runoff from the surrounding cliffs, the continuous downpour soon became a torrent of fast-moving water. Caught off guard, many people tried to escape the flash flood by moving higher - to the roofs of hotels and businesses. Soon, Search and Rescue helicopters flew in to pluck each stranded victim off rooftops. It is due to a combined effort by the Royal Navy, Royal...

• Thailand Tsunami

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  On December 26, 2004, an enormous earthquake splits the seafloor more than 100 miles off the coast of Indonesia. The trembler causes a tsunami, which races across the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea, ravaging coastal areas from Indonesia to Sri Lanka and reaching as far as India and Africa. It's one of the worst natural disasters in history. 300-thousand are dead and millions are homeless. 8am. At the Khao Lak Beach Resort in Thailand, elephant trainer, Kritsada Salangam, and elephant owner, Animat Jongkit, are getting their Asian elephants ready to take tourists into the jungle. The elephants are raising a ruckus, which puzzles the men. They have...

• Sri Lanka Tsunami

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  It is the morning after Christmas in Navalady on Sri Lanka's northeast coast. Two hundred yards from the beach, in the orphanage he had built, Minister Daylan Sanders lounges in bed, thinking about a sermon he is due to deliver 30 minutes from now. A few yards away, most of the 28 children under his care at the Samaritan Children's Home are in their rooms, grooming themselves for services. With the ocean on one side and a lagoon on the other, the four-acre orphanage is a strikingly beautiful place, set in a grove of stately palms. Meanwhile, in the lagoon, Ravi, a local fisherman, is already out in his boat, hard at work. He needs to catch enough...

• Mexico

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  October, 1999. For over a week, a tropical depression dumps massive rainfall over Central Mexico's Sierra Mountains. One of the most saturated areas is Teziutlán, Puebla. Its location combined with severe deforestation causes dangerous conditions. The mayor orders the evacuation of hundreds of residents, but some refuse. More than 100 mudslides were unleashed in Teziutlán. The official death toll is placed at 116. In reality that number is probably closer to 300. Many of the victims have never been found. Across northeastern Mexico, a total of 400 people died in other slides as a result of the tropical depression.

• Brazil

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  Saturday, March 27th, 2004 -- Brazil. A Category 1 hurricane is barreling straight for the state of Santa Catarina in the southeastern part of the country putting several small fishing crews in harms way. One of those fishermen is Amilton Rosa. He and the crew of the Valio II try in vain to maneuver their boat to safety, but the winds are too intense. The Valio II starts to sink -sending most of the crew, including Amilton overboard. Now, with only a life jacket to protect him, he struggles to stay alive in the merciless and raging waters. On another fishing boat several miles away, Jose Cecilio Maximiniano or Zezinho and his five crewmembers...

• Hurricane Ivan

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  Wednesday, September 15, 2004. In the Grande Lagoon Resort outside Pensacola, Florida, about 30 residents plan to ride out Hurricane Ivan in their homes. Among those residents are Johnny Hawkins, his girlfriend, Betty Jernigan, her elderly mother, Arvie, and Rosanna Robertson, a close family friend. They feel safe staying in their home because the last Category 3 hurricane to hit the area, Opal in 1995, caused only flooding in the streets. Little do they know that soon they will be looking into a howling nightmare with deadly results. Up the street from Johnny's and Betty's house, Dick and Cynthia Lacour are set to wait out the storm as well....

• La Conchita Mudslides

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  Weeks of constant rain lead to a massive mudslide in the oceanfront community of La Conchita, California on January 10th, 2005. Residents, such as Monique Sonoquie, are able to escape by running for their lives, but others are not so fortunate. Diane Hart becomes pinned in her hall closet, buried beneath 10 feet of mud and debris. With a broken back, two broken arms, and shattered ribs, she tries calling for help but hears nothing for the first hour. Sixteen miles away, Diane's ex-boyfriend, Brett Johnston, gets word of the devastating slide in his hometown. He rushes back, only to find Diane's house buried under the rubble. Johnston begins calling...

• Storm Kidney Transplant

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  February 16th, 2003. New Jersey resident Bob Heuser gets the news he's been waiting for---a life-saving kidney is available and on its way from Philadelphia to New Jersey. The only hitch: A major snowstorm is pummeling the East Coast. Ideally a kidney is transplanted within 24 hours of being donated. This storm is expected to dump more than 24 inches of snow in the next two days. Medical Courier Zack Fonseca, who's driving the kidney, knows he doesn't have a minute to waste. As Zack begins the 100-mile journey, he stays in constant contact with his dispatchers. Visibility is only 15 to 20 feet, and the snow is piling up fast.. Zack seeks protection...

• Sierra Hiker Rescue

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  Saturday, October 16th, 2004. Oakland, CA. KTVU-TV Chief Meteorologist Bill Martin checks his computer models and sees a severe weather system moving in from the Gulf of Alaska. The fast-moving and unusual storm is arriving earlier than expected and surely will catch people by surprise. In the Sierra National Forest--east of Fresno -- Frank Horath, his 16 year old son, Dominic, brother-in-law, Paul Bargetto, and Paul's 20 year-old son, Michael, are on a weekend backpacking trip. Wearing shorts and T-shirts, they make their way 13 miles up the craggy trail. As they set up camp Saturday evening, they are unaware of the approaching storm. But by...

• Albuquerque Balloon Crash

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  Sunday, October 10, 2004. It is the 10th and final day of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The festival features about 1,000 balloons from around the world. 10-year-old Aaron Whitacre and 14-year-old Troy Wells have been working on balloon chase crews the entire week. They're hopeful that they will be chosen to take a ride in one of colorful balloons. For 11 years, the Smokey Bear balloon is a festival favorite. The pilot and creator is 69-year-old Bill Chapel. At the last moment, Bill waves Aaron and Troy to come aboard. Filled with excitement, the boys jump into the basket. Smokey Bear launches just after...

• Plainfield Ill Tornado

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  October 4th, 1995. Tony Hlavac is resting peacefully at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. At 4:00 a.m. the phone rings. It's his wife, Barbara, calling from their home in Navarre, Florida. She tells Tony that Hurricane Opal has strengthened from a Category Two to a Category Four in a matter of hours. Now it's headed right for their home in Navarre. The news terrifies Tony. Just two weeks earlier, Barbara found out she was expecting the couple's first baby. Now as she gets into her car to outrun the mighty cyclone, Tony can do nothing to help. He has his own journey to take - his first flight into the eye of a hurricane. Technical...

• Opal Hurricane Hunters

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  October, 1999. For over a week, a tropical depression dumps massive rainfall over Central Mexico's Sierra Mountains. One of the most saturated areas is Teziutlán, Puebla. Its location combined with severe deforestation causes dangerous conditions. The mayor orders the evacuation of hundreds of residents, but some refuse. More than 100 mudslides were unleashed in Teziutlán. The official death toll is placed at 116. In reality that number is probably closer to 300. Many of the victims have never been found. Across northeastern Mexico, a total of 400 people died in other slides as a result of the tropical depression.