Destruction Decoded

Water covers twothirds of the earths surface and we are utterly dependent on it but when this vital ingredient of life unleashes its fury on the planet it becomes the ultimate bringer of death Floods are by far the most common natural disaster and thanks to climate change theyre only becoming more frequent

Bridges and tunnels have transformed the way we live but when things go wrong they can go very wrong indeed Bridge collapses can send commuters crashing hundreds of feet to the ground or the waters below as thousands of tons of steel and concrete rains down around them So why do these tragedies occur and is it possible for engineers to prevent them

Hurricanes typhoons and cyclones are all the same thing with different names What they have in common is their destructive power Hurricanes are large swirling storms Winds can damage buildings or trees Measuring up to 2000 km 1250 mi across they can be one of the most aweinspiring and fearsome things in nature But how do hurricanes form and how can we protect ourselves

Earthquakes happen when tectonic plates suddenly slip causing shock waves to shake the surface of the Earth In this episode we use cuttingedge CGI to go inside an earthquake to see how their power is released and explore the devastation their vibrations can cause making them the most destructive of all natural disasters

Volcanoes are Earths geologic architects Theyve created more than 80 percent of our planets surface and their explosive force has crafted both mountains and craters This episode will take us into the crater and under the Earth to work out just what makes these sleeping beasts so deadly

Tornadoes are capable of completely destroying wellmade structures uprooting trees and hurling objects through the air like deadly missiles We will look at how tornadoes form why they are so unpredictable and what scientists are doing to try to minimize their damage because they can never be stopped

Planes trains and ships our mass transit systems have had a profound effect on humankind making the world smaller and more connected Every year billions of journeys are undertaken without a hitch But when accidents do happen they shatter lives These are the stories of tragedy and survival against the odds because modern technology and human resilience make a strong team

When it comes to disasters mother nature has mankind beat However as humankind expands and technology advances it comes with dangerous challenges In this episode we take a forensic look at each disaster to see what went wrong to what was the total cost to human lives to the planets viability and to those responsible