Violent Earth With Liev Schreiber

[CM-BlueButterfly]

CNN Original Series Violent Earth with Liev Schreiber explores the unbelievable science behind epic natural events. Hosted by Schreiber, this five-part series premieres on Sunday, June 2 at 9pm ET/PT on CNN. The following episodes will regularly air on Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on CNN.

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Increasingly frequent and harrowing climate events including hurricanes, tornadoes, volcano eruptions, tsunamis and wildfires are examined in this jaw-dropping series. Featuring incredible footage of the most intense examples of these weather events and new interviews with the scientists, storm chasers, and survivors who lived through them, Violent Earth is an in-depth examination into our natural world and its changing climate.

Full press release https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2024/05/08/cnn-explores-violent-earth-in-original-series-premiering-sunday-june-2-at-9pm-et-pt/

[Annber03]

Just watched this - first episode was about tornadoes, and as someone who lives in Tornado Alley, naturally, that drew my attention (that and I'm just fascinated by weather phenomena in general). 

And what a group of tornadoes to talk about. The Joplin tornado is just absolutely terrifying to look at - I still can't get over how large that thing got. I saw a video once of the formation of the tornado, and it's crazy how quickly it blew up into the monster it became:

And the Mayfield tornado...like I said in another discussion elsewhere on here a while back, that storm just looked...evil. Tornadoes are terrifying enough in the daytime, I cannot imagine seeing something like that coming at you at night. 

Those survival stories were harrowing, too. The image of that truck in the Joplin tornado, the poor guy that everyone thought was dead waking up and screaming when a medical professional touched his arm...yeow. 

And then that candle factory. Good lord. 

I really appreciate how they went into and debunked a lot of the popular myths about tornadoes that have sprung up over the years. This episode is especially timely given how bad the last couple months or so have been for people in regards to all the tornado outbreaks that have happened and the destruction that so many places have experienced. 

And I like the point about how fear can actually have the opposite effect that it should in situations like this - yeah, evacuating when a hurricane's about to hit, that makes sense, as you have time to prepare. Evacuating during a tornado? Very risky. Best bet is to just find the nearest safe place in your area, or a safe spot in whatever building/home you are in, and stay put. Trying to outrun a tornado is a fool's errand. 

I was also interested in the story about the guy who's been chasing storms for 60 plus years. I like that they highlighted the issues that come with that, too, how everyone suddenly fancies themselves a storm chaser and tries to go see the tornado, which makes it harder for the actual professionals, as well as emergency vehicles, to get through. To say nothing of the danger inexperienced people put themselves in - the El Reno tornado klilled three professional storm chasers, who'd been doing this for years. So if it can happen to them, then inexperienced people are at just as much risk, if not more. I get finding these kinds of storms fascinating, but seriously, get the hell off the road, stop gawking, and go hide when these things are coming your way. 

Anywho, so yeah, this sounds like it'll be an interesting series. I like how it's helping to highlight all the issues that are coming with climate change, too, and showing how much more likely these kinds of events will be, and how damaging they will be to communities, as we continue to do nothing of significance to address this issue. The same month that Mayfield, Kentucky got hit by their tornado, my area of Iowa found itself under a tornado watch a week before Christmas. That is exceedingly uncommon for this area. But unfortunately, with climate change, situations like that could become more common over time, and I would really rather not have that be the case if we can help it. 

[DanaK]

Appreciate the review of the first episode. I was in upon announcement of the series 

[DanaK]

Remaining topics this season:

Ep 2: Wildfire

Ep 3: Tsunami

Ep 4: Volcano

Ep 5: Hurricane

[aghst]

Odd thing about this is that Liev had a couple of short segments on camera talking about some aspects of these violent tornadoes.

But I don't think he was doing too many or any of the narration and voiceovers for each segment.

Or at least I don't think so.  It sounded like someone else doing the narration.

I would have thought it would be a lot like Hard Knocks NFL shows where he's narrating all the time and never on camera, though I don't know if there's another narrator there too.

[DanaK]

Enjoyed the first episode especially the science stuff. Tornados are scary and I’ve been afraid of them ever since I watched Judy Garland’s version of “The Wizard of Oz” as a child, though I’ve never seen one myself in real life

[Annber03]

I've never seen a tornado up close, either, despite living in a state that's prone to getting them, and I'm not exactly eager to change that anytime soon. I find them absolutely fascinating to learn about and study and read up on, but yeah, video clips online or on TV are all the closer I actually want to get to one. Especially if they're monster tornadoes like the ones profiled in this episode. If I looked out my window and saw the tornado that hit Joplin coming at me, I'm pretty sure I'd have a heart attack. 

Regarding the science asepct, that reminds me that I saw a show on PBS once about Ted Fujita, who created the Fujita scale that measures the severity/destructiveness of tornadoes. It was really interesting and informative, and a neat opportunity to get to know more about Fujita himself. 

[DanaK]

11 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Regarding the science asepct, that reminds me that I saw a show on PBS once about Ted Fujita, who created the Fujita scale that measures the severity/destructiveness of tornadoes. It was really interesting and informative, and a neat opportunity to get to know more about Fujita himself. 

American Experience: Mr. Tornado by chance?

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, DanaK said:

American Experience: Mr. Tornado by chance?

Yes! That's the one :D! Thank you. 

[Annber03]

Tonight's episode, about wildfires - good lord, those images from Paradise. You can't see a damn thing, it's just..apocalyptic. And then the whole thing of how fires can create their own storms. The images of the lightning (which would only further fuel the fire, so it's like insult to injury), and then the fire tornadoes... Absolutely chilling. 

The story about those men who died in that canyon was utterly heartbreaking, too. 

I liked the backstory on the history of how we started trying to deal with wildfires in this country, and how actually letting some areas burn, and doing prescribed burns, can be more beneficial for the area, so as to avoid bigger wildfires later on. And of course, it's not surprising that human activity is the major cause of fires nowadays. Haven't there been a few that were started because of those gender reveal parties? One more reason to find those things obnoious. 

And yeah, the fact that you don't even have to live near where a wildfire is burning to be affected by it nowadays sucks, too. Here in Iowa we were dealing with a lot of hazy days last summer because of all the smoke fitering down from wildfires that were going in Canada. That's just crazy. 

I'm really liking this series thus far, it's fascinating and educational. 

[aghst]

Yeah interesting history.  Fire suppression was the policy for like 50-100 years apparently.  Those photos of forests in the 1930s vs. now are stark.

Certainly the lush, thick greenery looks more beautiful but that is all fuel for the inevitable conflagrations.

I remember the reporting on the Camp Fire.  There was a lot of talk about Paradise, a bit of victim blaming about why people chose to live so near the forest.

They said Paradise hadn't suffered a big fire in over 100 years before the Camp Fire.

I thought it was like a little village, maybe a couple of thousand population.  Well they had like about 26,000 residents before that fire and since the 2018 fire, the population has grown back to about 7-8k.

But the surprising statistic was that 18,000 buildings were destroyed and of those,  15,000 were homes.  That still means they had 3,000 bigger buildings, like offices, schools, apparently at least that one hospital.

So it was like a city, not reliant on people to say travel some distance to get to a hospital or some other services.  A small city but with a lot of its own infrastructure.

It wasn't like the residents just wanted to get away from other people so there were just cabins up there and they had to drive to some bigger cities for work or school or medical services or whatever.

Here in bigger metro areas, there are people on hillsides with beautiful views over the surrounding cities.  The people who live in those places have also been victimized by fires, such as the Oakland Hills where it's happened more than once.

So it's probably a greater risk to live among all the vegetation than a suburban subdivisions down in the flats.

The first half of the show they told a lot about that one woman and the nurse trying to escape.  They set it up to imply that they might have perished, just like the first episode about the tornado where the one woman did survive and they revealed she made it after a long set up.

OK, that's effective storytelling but a bit manipulative.  I wouldn't mind the manipulativeness if they did it just once or twice but hope it doesn't become the formula.

But it probably will be, because it keeps you watching to see if the person survived.

If you think about it though, if they have cell phone footage of the potential victim, he or she probably survived because if they didn't, the survivors of a victim would probably not be inclined to release the video.  Plus, the producers might be accused of exploiting personal tragedy to tell the fates of these individuals.

For the fire in AZ, obviously the guy who was dong all those talking heads survived but then they kind of sprung all those hot shot firefighters being taken by surprise.  They didn't show many of them beyond the ones doing the talking heads, until they revealed their fates and then went back and showed photos of the victims.

Technically though they didn't go too much into the backstories of the victims like they did with the people who survived.  It would be kind of dark if they got the viewer to really get to know the victims, especially use media with their likenesses and/or their voices and then revealed that these people didn't make it.

 

[Annber03]

Yeah, I noticed the way they keep trying to talk about these people as though they're in the past tense, too. 

6 hours ago, aghst said:

I remember the reporting on the Camp Fire.  There was a lot of talk about Paradise, a bit of victim blaming about why people chose to live so near the forest.

I don't get it when people do this every time there's a natural disaster somewhere. Like, people, I hate to break it to you, but no matter where you live, there's some sort of natural threat to your livelihood. That's like asking why do poeple live in hurricane-prone areas? Or places that get hit by tornadoes? Or near volcanoes? Or in earthquake-prone areas? People have to live somewhere, and unfortunately, natural disasters are the risk you take living in some of these areas. I don't get how blaming people for where they live helps anyone in a natural disaster. 

[Annber03]

Tonight's episode, about tsunamis, was especially interesting, given this is a particular natural disaster that, by virtue of living smack dab in the middle of the U.S., in a landlocked part of the country, is obviously not something I've got any sort of immediate familiarity with, outside of the stories I've seen on the news from areas that have experienced them. 

But if I ever were to travel to an area that does experience tsunamis, it is good to know some of the things to look out for and be aware of. The bit about counting to twenty to determine the severity of the earthquake and when to evacuate, is that's a good tip to keep in mind. As was the detail about how the second wave can be even worse than the first. Which makes sense, actually. 

But god, that footage. The images from the Japan tsunami are utterly horrifying. I remember seeing an episode of "Unsolved Mysteries" a couple years back focused around the tsunami (it dealt with people claiming to be haunted by ghosts of those who died in that tragedy), and they showed some of the footage there, too. The sirens wailing, the water just rushing, the high waves...absolutely nightmarish. 

The footage of the earthquake itself was equally as unnerving, seeing these tall buildings tentatively swaying and the ground basically bouncing up and down, I can't imagine being stuck on a subway during a 9.0 earthquake, either. Good lord. 

I did apprecaite hearing about all the planning and protection Japan had done to prepare for tsunamis, and how they make a point of ensuring the public is aware of every threat of that sort that comes their way. Even with all of that, this particular tsunami still seemed to take some people by surprise, given the sheer strength of the earthquake*, and the fact that the tsunami blew in within a mere 15 minutes. That's not a lot of time to evacuate. 

*This has me wondering how common 9.0 earthquakes are in Japan that their wall was only protected up to an 8.0 one. I know Japan gets some truly nasty and brutal earthquakes, so the idea that the walls weren't built for something stronger than an 8.0 earthquake is interesting. 

The tsunami that hit Thailand in 2004 was heartbreaking, too, though I was struck by the people just standing there watching the waves come in while all the locals were booking it away from the beach. If you're not used to experiencing a tsunami, I can see where you might not realize what's going on at first, and people always like to watch crazy weather unfold, even when they probably shouldn't (see the people who stand outside and watch tornadoes come through their area), but If the locals are getting the hell out of there, maybe you should, I dunno, follow their lead?

But wow, yeah, hard to believe it's been twenty years since that disaster happened. 

The story about the discovery of the tsunami that happened in 1700 was interesting, too, as were the details about how the west coast of the U.S. aren't as prepared for this kind of disaster as Japan and other countries in Asia are. I hope this episode does highlight the need for more preparation for those areas, 'cause yeah, I shudder to think of what could happen if a similar disaster hit that part of the U.S. 

[aghst]

Yeah a lot of those people interviewed kept filming and didn't realize until the water was almost on top of them what was going on.

As with other episodes, anyone on camera obviously didn't perish.  The yoga woman lost a friend though and that old couple, only the man made it apparently as he and his wife were swept away but only he was found.

I'm not even sure which buildings would be sturdy enough to withstand that water.  Even those that did, you wonder if it damaged the foundation, not to mention the contaminants and sludge that the basements and bottom floors must have filled up with.

That's what thing I didn't think about, the water is full of sediments so it's not just about dealing with the rushing water.  Then when it hits shore, it's causing and then carrying a lot of debris so you could be hit by the debris in the water.

230k casualties is horrific.  Now they have warning system but some of the coasts are low-lying areas and you may not be able to flee fast enough.

I recall that one of the things people talked about after that tsunami was that the coastal areas in this region are so shallow that they're going to be among the most susceptible places in the world to sea rise from climate change.

The Cascadia fault is scary.  It starts north of the Bay Area but if it causes such huge tsunamis, you would think the water displacement will reach down here too.

But the whole West Coast of both North and South America are prone to these big earthquake followed by tsunami events.

[DanaK]

Really good episode on Tsunamis. I remember the 2004 Asian Tsunami and felt bad for all those people. I couldn't believe an area so prone to earthquakes would be that lax about a Tsunami warning system, but at least there's something in place now. As others said, good info on what to look for and be on the alert for

I hope this series gets renewed as so far the episodes have been fascinating and informative

[DanaK]

Tonight’s episode on Volcanos was pretty chilling with the video of that volcano erupting and the mud flow was taking out everyone on the road who couldn’t outrun it

[Annber03]

The footage and photos from the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 were horrifying. That image of the violent landslide and the ash just suddenly spewing everywhere, and the sky just turning black with ash...good lord.

And the story about poor Reid Blackburn. His car covered in ash, and the details of his death. What a ghastly way to go. Ye gods. 

I liked learning more about the signs that a volcano is about to erupt, and the various things that can happen when they do erupt. The bit about the lava bombs...yikes. And Daryl, getting hit by one. It was interesting to hear his story about his experience with that. 

The story about the plane that got caught in an ash cloud was scary, too. I didn't reaiize ash could shut down jet engines like that, but it seems obvious now they say it. 

Again another weather phenomenon I will not have firsthand experience with, so it made learning about it all the more interesting to me. The most that I could probablly experience form a volcano is if the ash spreads throughout the sky across states, the way wildfire smoke does. 

I liked the guy being like, "Volcanoes don't work on a schedule." But yeah, the fact we do have Rainer and Yellowstone and the like just...biding their time, sitting there, near populated areas, is...unnerving to think about. Maybe as time goes on, though, we'll deveop better warning systems to alert people ahead of time before a volcano erupts on that kind of significant level. 

[DanaK]

5 hours ago, Annber03 said:

The footage and photos from the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 were horrifying. That image of the violent landslide and the ash just suddenly spewing everywhere, and the sky just turning black with ash...good lord.

And the story about poor Reid Blackburn. His car covered in ash, and the details of his death. What a ghastly way to go. Ye gods. 

I liked learning more about the signs that a volcano is about to erupt, and the various things that can happen when they do erupt. The bit about the lava bombs...yikes. And Daryl, getting hit by one. It was interesting to hear his story about his experience with that. 

The story about the plane that got caught in an ash cloud was scary, too. I didn't reaiize ash could shut down jet engines like that, but it seems obvious now they say it. 

Again another weather phenomenon I will not have firsthand experience with, so it made learning about it all the more interesting to me. The most that I could probablly experience form a volcano is if the ash spreads throughout the sky across states, the way wildfire smoke does. 

I liked the guy being like, "Volcanoes don't work on a schedule." But yeah, the fact we do have Rainer and Yellowstone and the like just...biding their time, sitting there, near populated areas, is...unnerving to think about. Maybe as time goes on, though, we'll deveop better warning systems to alert people ahead of time before a volcano erupts on that kind of significant level. 

I only have second or third hand experience with Mount St. Helens after it blew in 1980. I lived in Montana at the time and we got some of the dust though not nearly as bad as closer states like Washington State. My family cabin that was up in the mountains got more dust than we got at home. It was certainly an interesting and kind of scary time

[aghst]

That guy who hung around his home and then got hit by a lava bomb, I knew he wasn't going to be dead since they featured him on video a lot.

But he had life-changing injuries.

He was going to spray down the lava which got near his property?

Most of us can visit volcanoes but would think twice about living within the footprint of one.

Of course there are times when volcanoes have global impact, like big eruptions which have disrupted air travel or weather patterns because so much material was spewed into the atmosphere by an eruption.

I recall when Mount St. Helens erupted, they compared it to several times the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  No radiation but the force was felt widely and there was one picture of what was once a forest but all that remained were like tooth picks laid sideways.

[DanaK]

This will start streaming on Max on July 30

[DanaK]

Season finale tonight, this one on hurricanes

[Annber03]

Good episode to end this season. Again, another natural phenomenon I have no firsthand experience with - the joys of being in a landlocked region - but one which I'm still very much aware of from knowing people who've experienced hurricanes and watching the Weather Channel and reading up on hurricanes and whatnot. I like how they made a point to highlight where the real dangers come with a hurricane, in things like the storm surge. And I liked that they explained why some names get retired, too - I remember reading a book about hurricanes once when I was a kid, and they added male names to the list because women took offense to their names being used for a natural disaster like that, so they figured if there was a balance of both male and female names, that would work better. 

It still blows my mind that Katrina was not a Category 5 hurricane when it hit the Gulf Coast. If that's what Category 3 damage could do, I shudder to think of what would've happened if it had been a Category 5 at the time of landfall. I remember watching the coverage of that hurricane on the Weather Channel at the time, though, and seeing it all unfold in real time was just devastating. That whole season was a wild one, that was the one where there were so many storms they had to go into the Greek alphabet. 

And I like that they made note of the cone of uncertainty, too, that that can be a good guess as to the direction a hurricane will go, but it's also subject to shift and change at any time. 

The one upside is that unlike all the other natural disasters profiled in this series, hurricanes have a little more lead warning time, at least a couple days for people to try and prepare and evacuate. Tornadoes, wildfires, tsunamis, and volcanoes, on the other hand? Kind of at the mercy of the storm, basically. 

That poor couple they mentioned at the end. So sad :(. 

Good series, this, as a weather geek I really appreciated it, and I learned a few things along the way. 

[DanaK]

Another good episode on yet another scary weather event. I like most people thought for a long time that the biggest danger with a hurricane was the wind, but it’s become more clear in the last decade or so that the biggest danger is storm surge and boy does that cause a lot of damage. But as said, the weird thing about hurricanes, at least modern ones, compared to things like tornados and earthquakes, is that you have several days to prepare and evacuate, though too many don’t. 

I live in Central Maryland, so we generally don’t get direct hits from hurricanes, but we do get the remnants of them, usually a lot of rain. My parents lived in Florida outside of Summer at the time I believe it was Ivan that hit Florida and their roof got damaged and the house and contents suffered water damage. They were able to repair and replace things but I remember they went through a lot of stress dealing with the experience.

I would be happy if this was renewed, but I’m not sure what subsequent seasons would cover as they covered the major stuff this season