Access to this video is a benefit for members through PBS Passport.
Up Next
Back to Show
Watch Preview
NOVA
Killer Hurricanes
Season 44
Episode 17
Devastating hurricanes struck the U.S. mainland and Caribbean islands in 2017. But they weren’t the first. The Great Hurricane of 1780 took nine days to blast its way across the Caribbean, killing at least 20,000—the highest known death toll of any single weather event in history. What made this superstorm so deadly?
Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Support Provided By
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:05
Big quakes are inevitable, but can we prevent their devastation?
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:52
Can markets be rational when humans aren't?
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:42:48
Seven doctors, 21 years... Saving lives is only part of the story.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:12
The "Car Talk" guys look for a new breed of clean, fuel-efficient vehicles.
1:52:42
The story of how African-American Percy Julian defied the odds to become a famous chemist.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:31
What led to the devastating floods that Hurricane Katrina unleashed on New Orleans?
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:49:01
The story behind the world's most famous equation, e=mc2
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:31
Learn about the elements and their roles in the universe.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:31
Journey back to the beginning of everything: the universe, Earth, and life itself.
Unlock with PBS Passport
50:52
Journey back to the beginning of everything: the universe, Earth, and life itself.
Unlock with PBS Passport
51:52
Journey back to the beginning of everything: the universe, Earth, and life itself.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:50
An American combat hospital mobilized in Iraq faces a daily drama of wartime treatment.