Nature's Fury

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The savage fury of nature is vividly profiled in this video from National Geographic. Focusing on earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods--including the San Francisco quakes of 1906 and 1989 and Hurricane Andrew, which ravaged southern Florida in 1992--the production features terrifying footage shot during natural disasters as well as interviews filmed with survivors. Film shot from helicopters provides startling looks at the scale of devastation resulting from these disasters, but this documentary goes beyond looking at just the immediate effects of catastrophes. Personal stories of preparation, survival, and cleanup put a human face on nature's wrath. Solid scientific information is provided throughout, with computer graphics, for instance, demonstrating how the Mississippi floods formed in 1993. An explanation of Doppler radar and a visit with researchers who are attempting to predict earthquakes provide insight into the cutting edge of science. But it's the raw human drama in the video that steals the show. A climactic scene of a heavy-equipment operator risking his life while driving his bucket loader out onto a Mississippi River levee in a futile effort to stop the river from breaking through is more exciting than anything Hollywood could devise. --Robert J. McNamara

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