Deadly Disasters

With flames roaring to heights of 50 meters or more and temperatures exceeding 1,200 degrees C, the wildfire is one of Mother Nature's most horrific killers.

Most parts of the world are liable to the horrors brought by lack of water. In the United States only hurricanes bring about more economic hardships.

In 2014, Microsoft Founder Bill Gates described the mosquito as the "deadliest animal in the world." It is estimated by the World Health Organisation that they kill roughly 750,000 people per year.

Deadly, highly destructive and impossible to predict the Earthquake is perhaps one of Mother Nature's most terrifying forces.

Even when below your knees, you can still be swept off your feet by the torrent of water. And the danger doesn't stop there: electric shocks, contaminated water and washed away vehicles are perilous. Killing more people, a year than hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning, floods are one of the most feared disasters with the most traumatic effects.

Human history is littered with the stories of gigantic volcanic eruptions and the tragic fates of those who could not outrun the burning lava and poisonous gases. In our own times, volcanoes continue to cause large-scale destruction.

We tend to think of disasters as inevitable - but often Mother Nature gives us vital clues which we foolishly ignore or overlook. This episode will take a close look at avalanches and what we can learn about how, where, and why they strike.

It is estimated that between 1997 and 1998, "El Niño" took the lives of 24,000 people and created a startling $34 billion (US) in economic damages worldwide. In this episode we explain what "El Niño" is and investigate why and how the weather pattern has caused some of the deadliest disasters of our times.

An intense area of low pressure that forms over warm tropical waters, tropical cyclones are responsible for some of the most catastrophic extreme weather events.

Every continent on Earth has experienced this terrifying phenomenon at some point in its history. It's ravaged the world for centuries, as crop infestation, drought, flooding and disease have killed thousands. We will take a look at some of the most horrendous of the 20th century: the Soviet Union, China and India.