The World's Worst Disasters

Discover how volcanoes form and explore history's most devastating eruptions, including those at Indonesia's Krakatoa and the Caribbean's Mount Pelée.

Study the mighty tectonic forces behind some of the world's worst earthquakes, including one that all but razed San Francisco in 1906

This episode probes the power of floods -- Earth's deadliest form of natural disaster -- and reveals why certain regions are particularly at risk.

Deadly avalanches strike without warning in mountains across the globe, with slides in the Alps alone claiming scores of victims every year.

This episode explores the most catastrophic earthquakes the world has seen in centuries, including temblors in China, India and South America.

Delve deeper into the powerful subterranean forces that cause earthquakes and survey some of the worst quakes to ever hit Japan, Turkey and China.

Learn how colossal tsunami waves form and sweep devastation in from the sea, and how authorities work to develop advanced warning systems.

Discover how monster cyclones form in the world's tropical seas and why Bangladesh remains especially vulnerable to these ferocious storms.

This episode probes the savage nature of hurricanes and the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Katrina, which engulfed New Orleans in 2005.

To protect the public, scientists and storm spotters study the fury of tornadoes as they roar across the landscape, leaving destruction in their wake.

Across the globe, oppressive heat waves, prolonged droughts, bitter blizzards and other extreme weather conditions can decimate entire regions.

Although part of nature's cycle, forest fires can rage out of control, as with an inferno that consumed swaths of Indonesia in the 1990s.

Discover some of the most devastating landslides in recorded history, including those in South America that have killed tens of thousands of people.