In September of 1938, a great storm rose up on the coast of West Africa and began making its way across the Atlantic Ocean. The National Weather Bureau learned about it from merchant ships at sea and predicted it would blow itself out at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, as such storms usually did. Within 24 hours, the storm ripped into the New England shore with enough fury to set off seismographs in Sitka, Alaska. Traveling at a shocking 60 miles per hour -- three times faster than most tropical storms -- it was astonishingly swift and powerful, with peak wind gusts up to 186 mph. Over 600 people were killed, most by drowning. Another hundred were never found. Property damage was estimated at $400 million -- over 8,000 homes were destroyed, 6,000 boats wrecked or damaged.
The river Yamuna, known to the locals as 'Jamna', the lifeline of Delhi, is going through a major crisis due to pollution, mismanagement and sheer ignorance. A documentary crew tries to make sense of the situation by talking to different stakeholders and Shyam - a boatman who relies on the river for his livelihood.
Global warming in context. What the climate of the past tells us about the climate of the future.
Jim Geiger, a retired forest ranger and amateur mountaineer, attempts to become the oldest American and first great grandfather to summit Mt. Everest, aged 68. His transformation from a weekend hiker to attempting one of the most extreme and physically demanding feats known to man is driven by a desire to prove that age is just a number. What ensued, however, forever changed Jim's life.
Filmmaker Judith Helfand's searing investigation into the politics of “disaster” – by way of the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave, in which 739 residents perished (mostly Black and living in the city’s poorest neighborhoods).
This one-hour documentary film tells the story of "Storm of the Century: The Blizzard of '49" - the worst series of storms in Wyoming's history. But for all the tragedy and loss, suffering and death, there was also hope and heroism, unselfish sacrifice and generosity. The blizzard brought out the best in people. Wyoming citizens from all walks of life cooperated together and demonstrated exceptional ingenuity in the face of dire circumstances. There were extraordinary acts of kindness, with people generously giving their time and resources. The public worked together to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and ultimately won in the end.
This video presents a look at the forces of nature in their most devastating mode: lightning storms, tornadoes, flash floods, tidal waves, and hurricanes. The film, made for The Discovery Channel, accompanies professional storm chasers as they ride into the eye of a category five hurricane to gather data and get a close-up view. There is footage of a tornado with 300-mile-per-hour winds, as well as 100-foot tidal waves hurtling towards shore at 500 miles per hour. The viewer witnesses a flash flood and hears an interview with a lightning strike survivor.
The last representatives of Mixteco culture inhabit a village in the Sierra Madre. Deprived of their identity by modern civilization, they are facing an even bigger threat: a landslide that may destroy the village during the next torrential rains. The mayor tries to prevent the disaster. He wants to invite a geologist, so that the approaching danger can be officially confirmed. But no help is coming and the inhabitants must simply wait for the disaster.
"Trouble the Water" takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. The film opens the day before the storm makes landfall--just blocks away from the French Quarter but far from the New Orleans that most tourists knew. Kimberly Rivers Roberts, an aspiring rap artist, is turning her new video camera on herself and her Ninth Ward neighbors trapped in the city. Weaving an insider's view of Katrina with a mix of verité and in-your-face filmmaking, it is a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes--two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.
A contemplation of art and adventure in the southern wilds of New Zealand by both a landscape photographer and an adventure filmmaker. This film is the unexpected result of their two unique perspectives.
A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse
As co-created by environmentalists Stephan Poulle and Nicolas Koutsikas, the documentary Gulf Stream and the Next Ice Age argues and provides evidence for the idea that mankind is wreaking permanent and potentially irreversible damage on the ecosystem by interfering with the natural course of the Gulf Stream. Koutsikas and Poulle suggest that this interference, in turn, will prompt a new Ice Age that virtually destroys the modern world.
Sipping Jetstreams Media presents This Time Tomorrow, a film by Taylor Steele, documenting an epic Pacific swell chase over 8 days and 18,000 miles traveled. Two surfers, Dave Rastovich and Craig Anderson, tracked waves generated from this single storm in an exhausting attempt to surf the same wave twice as they pulsed eastward through the Pacific. As these waves thundered across the legendary reef of Teahupo’o, reeled down the endless point breaks of Mexico and onwards towards a frosty Arctic conclusion the pair gathered friends Kelly Slater, Chris Del Moro, Alex Gray, and Dan Malloy for this cinematic and cosmic experience of a lifetime.
For over a century, tens of millions of visitors have marveled at the natural beauty of Yellowstone National Park. But, beneath all this beauty lurks a beast. Yellowstone sits directly above one of the largest volcanic systems on Earth. For the past two million years, this supervolcano has erupted roughly every 600,000 years. The last major eruption occurred 640,000 years ago. So, is it overdue for another eruption? There have been disturbing signals... Supervolcano: Yellowstone's Fury examines the cataclysmic effect an eruption would have on the world. It would be the largest natural disaster in recorded history. NYU Earth Scientist Michael Rampino warns, "An eruption like Yellowstone could trigger the end of civilization as we know it." For experts, the question is not if there will be another eruption, but when. University of Toronto geologist John Westgate agrees: "There will be a very large-scale supervolcanic eruption from Yellowstone. That's a fact."
Six fearless surfers travel to the north coast of Iceland to ride waves unlike anything they've ever experienced, captured with high-tech cameras.
A close examination of the Whakaari / White Island volcanic eruption of 2019 in which 22 lives were lost, the film viscerally recounts a day when ordinary people were called upon to do extraordinary things, placing this tragic event within the larger context of nature, resilience, and the power of our shared humanity.
Depicts assorted natural and human disasters, including the crash of the Hindenburg (1937), earthquakes in Alaska (1964) and Long Beach (1933), the LeMans auto racing crash at which 82 people were killed (1955), Hurrican Camille (1964), the eruption of the Mt. Etna volcano (1971), a tornado (1974), the collapse of Idaho's Teton Dam (1976), the sinking of the Andrea Doria (1956) and the Texas City explosion which devastated Galveston (1947).
The Philippines is visited by an average of 20~28 strong typhoons and storms every year. It is the most storm-battered country in the world. Last year, Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), considered the strongest storm in history, struck the Philipines, leaving in its path apocalyptic devastation.
Starting off a kilometre high, travelling at the speed of a jet aircraft, and heading for us. It doesn't make for a good outcome. Hollywood-style graphics and real-life archive bring home an imagined near-future scenario, all based on cutting-edge science. —Trevor