I am fascinated by the weather and particularly extreme weather. I have watched this series of four episodes from 2022 on Netflix and recommend it to others. Our climate is changing, no matter where we live. In most places, weather is becoming more extreme than it used to be. Those that get a lot of rain may be getting a lot more. Those in dry areas may be experiencing longer droughts. Everywhere the air is on average warmer and the oceans are becoming warmer as well. These changes affect plants, animals, humans and our daily weather.
We have to accept the weather we get and there is little we can do to change what we get on a day-to-day basis. However we have to build infrastructure and housing that can withstand more extreme weather happenings. In Norway, these extreme events bring floods, rock slides and avalanches. Some areas are also experiencing drought that is bad enough to affect crops. We can have bad storms that rip roofs off buildings and floods that damage housing areas. So these increases in extreme weather affect us here. Thankfully, our house sits on rock and so far as withstood the weather that has been thrown at it.
This documentary series is very obviously American, and focuses primarily on what happens in the United States of America. The one exception is the episode about volcanoes, as there have not been any recent volcanic eruptions in the USA. One thing I did like about the series was how they interviewed people who had experienced the bad events but had survived. I felt that one of the purposes of the series was to show how these events affect people and the extent of the damage that was done.
Episode 1 – Tornado
We follow storm chasers as they try to document various tornadoes. There is an explanation of how tornadoes are formed and where in the USA they are primarily found. There are hundreds of tornadoes during the tornado season, but very few last very long, or are very large. However we did see the damage with one very large tornado that destroyed a large area housing area.
Included in this episode is some advice for those who live in tornado areas. Usually there will come general warnings, but where a tornado will hit can be difficult to predict. The winds in a tornado are very strong and one needs to protect oneself from flying debris and being trapped in a collapsed building. Everyone needs a “safe zone” where they can seek refuge if a tornado is headed their way.
Episode 2 – Volcano
This episode visited four locations, none of which were in the USA. They explained the different levels of explosivity and we started with the lowest one and ended with the most explosive one. Locations include Iceland, the Canary Islands, Nicaragua and Guatemala. The volcano they looked at in Iceland was a tourist attraction and at the time of recording did not affect human habitations, however in January 2024 a new eruption in a nearby area affected the town of Grindvik and there was another eruption on the 16th of March.
The volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands destroyed a lot of housing, though I don’t think there was any life lost. Evacuation was successful, but many lost everything to the lava flows. I remember seeing pictures of this volcanic eruption at the time it happened and feeling very sorry for those affected.
The volcanoes in Nicaragua and Guatemala affected a lot of people. Volcanic soil is very good for agriculture and in many countries people live very close to the volcanoes. This is fine until the volcano erupts and ruins everything in the path of the lava flows. These volcanoes have the highest explosivity, which means that you cannot outrun the ash flows and they cause the most deaths.
Episode 3 – Earthquake
This episode was primarily about Los Angeles in California and various places in Japan. There are many other places in the world that experience earthquakes, often with very fatal consequences. Earthquakes are very difficult to predict. Though where they will occur is known, it is difficult to know when. The recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland have been preceded by small earthquakes, so the occurrence of earthquakes can help predict volcanic eruptions.
One consequence of earthquakes is the production of tsunamis, large waves that can travel long distances over the ocean. Often it is the tsunami which is the killer, rather than the earthquake itself. When one looks at the pictures of the tsunami waves, one sees the destructive power of water.
Japan has done a lot to improve building standards, so that buildings do not collapse during an earthquake. I grew up in an area that had earthquakes every now and then, though none that I experienced every did more than shake the building and I never experienced any damage.
Episode 4 – Hurricane
This episode was about Hurricane Ida in 2021 which created a lot of damage in Louisiana in the USA. The storm continued for several days as it headed north creating a trail of damage. We see two storm chasers and their experiences during the storm and their efforts to document what actually happens during a hurricane. We also saw a lot of the damage that was done during the storm.
Hurricanes are usually predicted up to several days in advance so that people can either evacuate or find safe places to sit out the storm. However the storms are getting stronger and more often. More places are being damaged and lives are often lost.
My conclusion
Watching documentaries like this make me think about the safety of where I live. In the past we have experienced hurricanes here and our house has survived without any major damage. We recently watched a film about the bad flooding in England in 1953 where most people did not realize that there was bad weather out in the North Sea. Thankfully, weather forecasting has improved a lot in the last decade, so that when a major storm is expected, one can at least be prepared for the storm. In the summer of 2023, “Hans” created a lot of damage in southern Norway, flooding areas that weren’t used to being flooded. In January 2024, a storm in our area took the roof off a building on a farm not that far from us.
It is important that people have housing that tolerates the new types of weather we are going to get. We have to be prepared to be without electricity for up to several days. We have to keep a supply of food in the house so that one doesn’t have to go to a food store every day.
We all have to be prepared for extreme weather events. Where we live will determine what type of extremes we will experience. It is important to know the dangers and how to protect oneself during these types of events.