Montecito is hit by a devastating natural disaster that leaves its residents fighting for their lives. Overnight, the quiet Californian beach town is swamped by a terrifying series of thirty-feet high, boulder-filled debris flows that destroy homes and leave streets swimming in mud. Through eyewitness testimony and footage taken during the disaster, we reveal how split-seconds decisions made the difference between life and death.
The story of the largest wildfire in Portugal's history and how it devastated a rural community. As fire fighters tried to bring it under control, fierce winds from a thunderstorm combined with the fire. It quickly became unstoppable. Fleeing locals were caught in the inferno. 205 were injured, 66 were killed. Through forensic analysis, we reveal how this event unfolded and how split-second decisions made the difference between life and death.
Nepal is hit by a 6.7 mega earthquake which kills thousands. Across the country survivors are hit by terrifying avalanches that destroy everything in their path. We reveal remarkable stories of survival, from the Kathmandu Valley to Mount Everest. We detail the split-second decisions that resulted in life or death, from those who were there and through footage recorded during the tragedy.
On October 1st, 2015 the cargo ship El Faro was on her regular run from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico when she disappeared in Category 4 storm called Hurricane Joaquin. A subsequent investigation determined the El Faro had sank off the coast of the Bahamas and all thirty-three of El Faro's crew had been lost. The sinking was the greatest seagoing US merchant marine shipping disaster since World War Two.
A mine collapses in Chile trapping 33 miners almost half a mile underground. Their rescue becomes a desperate race against the clock.
The tornado super outbreak in April 2011 is unprecedented; over just 4 days, 360 tornadoes leave a trail of devastation as deadly weather systems build along the southern states of the USA. One of the deadliest tornadoes touches down in Alabama, and destroys two towns in 15 minutes. By 28th April, 348 people have been killed, thousands are homeless and the overall damage is in excess of 12 billion dollars.