Revisit some of the most harrowing calamities of the last 75 years, from the Oklahoma tornado of 1999 to the Mount St. Helens eruption and the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and follow the stories of those who fought to survive them.
EPISODE 1
Mount St Helens
On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted with a force equivalent to 1,500 Hiroshima atom bombs, shooting gas and ash 15 miles high and obliterating virtually everything within an eight-mile radius. Trapped in the disaster were six people.
EPISODE 2
San Francisco Quake
For years, experts warned that the Bay Area was due for a major earthquake, but no one knew exactly when or where it would strike. On October 17, 1989, the answer came with a fury that left San Francisco in ruins and hundreds of residents trapped.
EPISODE 3
Oklahoma Tornado
Relive the most violent twister ever recorded, through the eyes of those who were there, including a young mother and child trapped in their mobile home and a family taking shelter in their bathroom while their house was ripped apart.
EPISODE 4
Oil Rig Explosion
Witness the tales of the 226 men caught in the 1988 explosion at Piper Alpha, including a new engineer who found a path to safety on the burning oil rig, and a dive supervisor who shielded 11 men from deadly fumes and flames.
EPISODE 5
USS Indianapolis
The 1945 attack on the USS Indianapolis by a Japanese sub was so sudden and violent that it sank the warship before there was time to launch lifeboats. Tragically, the rescue wait for those who survived took far longer.
EPISODE 6
Dam Disaster
In five terrifying minutes, over 1,500 people were killed and a town was reduced to mud and rubble when a massive landslide slammed into a dam reservoir in Longarone, Italy, unleashing a six-billion-gallon wall of water.
David Royle
John Cavanagh
