Natural Disasters

VHS cover

*Natural Disasters* is the thirteenth and final episode of the third season of *Eyewitness*, and the final episode of the whole series. The topic of the episode is about various destructive natural forces and what causes them to occur. The episode first aired on 8th December 1997.

Natural Disasters is original, although a book title was published in 2006, subsequent to the episode airing.

## Episode

### Introductory sequence

The clip starts by showing a tranquil farmland scene. Suddenly the sky begins to darken and lightning begins to strike; the camera pans back to show a window – there is a crash and the glass bursts in, with the screen fading to white.

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Natural Disasters.

Mother Nature can be a shocking exhibitionist. Sometimes, a natural event can be devastating enough to qualify as a natural disaster – a suddenly catastrophe that deals large-scale loss of life. In the last century, the death toll from natural disasters has reached 10 million people. Internal forces cause volcanoes and earthquakes while shifting external forces cause hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and blizzards.

The possibility of predicting where and when disaster will strike is considered next. A series of events in 1982 suggest that natural disasters may cause others in turn.

These disasters may seem random, but they are simply natural processes pushed to the limit. Animals can alert people when earthquakes are on the way. When people respond to warning signs, an earthquake may not cause large numbers of fatalities. If signs are ignored or missed, the death toll can be catastrophic. A 1755 case of the Spanish Inquisition killing the survivors of an earthquake in Portugal is also discussed.

The movements of tectonic plates in the Earth’s crust also cause volcanoes. Some of the most powerful volcanic disasters are examined in detail here, including the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo and the 1815 eruption of Tambora. Sometimes, volcanic eruptions can also trigger other disasters such as landslides. But volcanoes do have an advantage in that they bring up mineral-rich soil from below ground.

Coastlines can be visited by the disasters known as tsunamis. They are sometimes known as tidal waves, possibly because they come in succession like the tides. When tsunamis reach land they can kill thousands of people, and may have even been responsible for the destruction of the Minoan civilisation.

More people die in floods than in any other natural disaster. Over half of the world’s population live near to a river or sea coast. In one flood on China’s Yellow River, over a million people were killed. Rain also causes landslides. Floods do bring benefits, as they enrich and replenish the floodplain soils.

Flooding can be caused by tropical storms that go by different names – in the Indian Ocean it is a cyclone, in the Atlantic a hurricane and in the Pacific a typhoon. These disasters are caused by energy reaching Earth from the sun and influencing the weather over the sea. When one of these storms hit land, they drop the water they are carrying and this storm surge causes 90 percent of the deaths in a hurricane. All hurricanes are now given names. Attempts to stop these storms have been abandoned, and only better forecasting can reduce the loss of life.

Another deadly storm is the tornado, one of the most frightening sights in nature. Tornadoes can display real delicacy with the items they suck up or, like the 1925 tristate tornado, can kill hundreds of people in just a few hours. The wind effects that cause tornadoes are outlined. Preventing tornadoes is impossible and the only tornado-proof houses would be underground.

Blizzards can seem fairly benign, until the lightning starts. Lightning is associated with many different natural disasters. Blizzards are caused by the meeting of weather fronts. While nowhere near as dangerous as they once were, blizzards can still be a danger to both human and animal life. The snowfall does provide water when the spring comes.

Avalanches are another snow-based disaster. As snow falls down a mountain, it can collect even more snow into a huge wall of white. Avalanches kill relatively few people compared to other natural disasters. Dogs are the best way of rescuing people after an avalanche.

For all the problems caused by precipitation, too little can be equally disastrous. Droughts can be prolonged, and kill animals in the thousand. For people, the main threat is not the drought itself, but the ensuing famine. There seem to be no clear patterns in when droughts happen. Many cultures have devised ways to beseech their gods for rain.

Arid regions are at their most vulnerable to fire. Large areas go up in smoke every year with little consequence to human life but fire may devour dwellings and lives. Life has evolved to survive the presence of fire, including some plants that can only germinate after a scorching.

The greatest disaster of all would be difficult to escape – a meteorite strike from outer space. Even this would be a natural disaster. When Earth rumbles and roars it can seem a cruel home indeed but among all the planets it’s the only home to life.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Brown rat, *Rattus norvegicus*
* European rabbit, *Oryctolagus cuniculus*
* Milk snake, *Lampropeltis triangulum*
* Common goldfish, *Carassius auratus*
* Domestic dog, *Canis familiaris*

### Stock footage

* Domestic water buffalo, *Bubalus bubalis*
* European rabbit, *Oryctolagus cuniculus*
* Domestic cattle, *Bos taurus*
* American bison, *Bison bison*
* White-tailed deer, *Odocoileus virginianus*
* Coyote, *Canis latrans*
* Snowshoe hare, *Lepus americanus*
* African bush elephant, *Loxodonta africana*
* Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, *Crotalus adamanteus*
* Gopher tortoise, *Gopherus polyphemus*

## Stock footage sources

Land of the Eagle: Across the Sea of Grass (1990) - Bison in snow, coyotes

## Credits

* Director - Caius Julyan
* Writer - Anne MacLeod
* Music - Guy Dagul
* Graphics Director - Morgan Almeida
* Graphic Design - Piers Helm
* Camera - Nick Squires and Martin Bobbin
* Set Design and Visual Effects - Chris Reynolds and Colin Tilley
* Research - Fred Casella and Lynn Barry
* Production Co-ordinator - Maryrose Upjohn
* Production Team - Louisa Bowman, Philip Whelman and Jackie Byrne
* Unit Manager - Jackie Williamson
* 3-D Animation - Ian Simpson
* Off-line Editor - Helen Walker
* Online Editor - Andy Quested
* Dubbing Mixer - Craig Irving and Kian Wong
* With thanks to:
	+ Sumio Matsuura
	+ Geofilms

## Making this programme

To recreate a lava flow, the best substitute was wallpaper paste. Buckets of orange-tinted paste were placed into a specially made model with a translucent underside through which bright lights could be shone to generate the luminescence. A few lumps of dry ice completed the effect. The making of the snow effects is then shown. Some dramatic shots pass in a fleeting moment, but may take days or even weeks to plan and create. The Greek temple took over a week to construct but was on screen for only a few seconds before it was destroyed. The art of a model maker is knowing how far to go to achieve an effect. To simulate the ocean floor, a tank of water is placed in front of the camera to give the view an eerie seabed feel. For the opening shot, an exploding picture was potentially the most dangerous shot. A pane of glass was attached to a frame and burst with compressed air. In the editing process, this shot is combined with another to produce the final shattering effect.

## Home media releases

As well as being released on VHS, Natural Disasters was also released as an interactive DVD, as part of the DVD release in America and as one of the free DVDs released with the Daily Mirror newspaper (here titled as Natural Disaster).

The programme on the interactive DVD release included nineteen hotspots (represented by a burst of fire)

1. Krafla volcanic eruption (from Volcano) – Linked to death toll from natural disasters
2. Why volcanoes erupt where they do (from Volcano) – Linked to internal forces of the Earth
3. Animals predicting earthquakes (from Volcano) – Linked to Portuguese earthquake
4. Tectonic plates causing earthquakes and volcanoes (from Volcano) – Linked to tectonic plates
5. Mount Fuji and the sun god (from Volcano) – Linked to Māori volcano god
6. Underwater volcanoes and black smokers (from Volcano) – Linked to numbers of people living near active volcanoes
7. Volcanologists (from Volcano) – Linked to positive effects of volcanoes
8. Spirit Lake wave and tsunamis (from Volcano) – Linked to tsunami in Indonesia
9. Bangladesh floods (from Weather) – Linked to danger of floods
10. Mount Saint Helens eruption and landslides (from Volcano) – Linked to landslides
11. Hurricane formation (from Weather) – Linked to formation of tropical storms
12. Formation of tornadoes (from Weather) – Linked to tornadoes
13. Formation and power of lightning (from Weather) – Linked to thunderstorms
14. Husky and polar bear adaptations (from Arctic and Antarctic and Mammal) – Linked to blizzards
15. Blizzards and Saint Bernard dogs (from Weather) – Linked to avalanche rescue
16. Drought in Sicily (from Weather) – Linked to droughts
17. Benefits of volcanic ash (from Volcano) – Linked to plants surviving fire
18. Survival of life on Mount Saint Helens and volcano rabbit (from Volcano) – Linked to animals surviving fire
19. Monitoring of volcanoes and Olympus Mons (from Volcano) – Linked to Earth as a home for life

The interactive DVD also includes a ten-question quiz:

1. Which disaster is called tsunami? Correct answer: Tidal wave
2. Which natural disaster kills more people than any other? Correct answer: Flood
3. What is known as China’s Sorrow? Correct answer: The Huang He or Yellow River
4. Which natural disaster is the result of colliding fronts? Correct answer: A blizzard
5. What animal is named after monks? Correct answer: Saint Bernard dog
6. What do you think would be the greatest natural disaster? Correct answer: A meteorite strike
7. Which island lies at the centre of the Ring of Fire? Correct answer: Hawaii
8. Which planet causes hurricanes? Correct answer: The Sun
9. Where is Mount Pinatubo? Correct answer: The Philippines
10. Which natural disaster cost the USA thirty billion dollars? Correct answer: A hurricane

Natural Disasters America-release DVD coverNatural Disasters America-release DVD alternative coverEyewitness Natural Disasters interactive DVD coverEyewitness Natural Disasters interactive DVD alternative coverEyewitness Natural Disasters Daily Mirror DVD cover

**Writing staff**: Anne MacLeod • Ben Southwell • Ben Steiner • Brian Meehl • David Hanson • David Stafford • David Helton • George Bloom • Lynette Singer • Mike Tomlinson • Paul Thomas • Stan Cullimore
**Directors**: Gavin Maxwell • Justine Kershaw • David Hutt • Andrew Jackson • Justin Hardy • Ludo Graham • Jerry Foulkes • Derek Hall • Sanjida O'Connell • Caius Julyan • Bonni Cohen • Leanne Pooley • Edwina Vardey • Alexandra Beazley • Sam Hodgkin • Karen Walsh • Jack Weber • Richard Simkin • Alex Hearle • Brian Cummins • Ben Southwell
**Composers**: Guy Michelmore (season one) • Guy Dagul (seasons two and three)

**Season One**: Cat • Fish • Horse • Dog • Jungle • Bird • Amphibian • Insect • Shark • Elephant • Reptile • Dinosaur • Skeleton
**Season Two**: Desert • Tree • Ape • Mammal • Butterfly and Moth • Volcano • Rock and Mineral • Seashore • Pond and River • Weather • Arctic and Antarctic • Prehistoric Life • Shell
**Season Three**: Flight • Bear • Sight • Island • Survival • Mountain • Monster • Human Machine - Plant • Ocean • Planets • Life • **Natural Disasters**