These disasters produced incredible destruction and some truly insane footage. For this list, we’ll be looking at 10 of the most shocking videos from the most destructive natural disasters that affected the 50 United States in recent memory.
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00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the 10 most dramatic footage
00:07 of American natural disasters caught on camera.
00:14 For this list, we'll be looking at 10 of the most shocking videos from the most destructive
00:18 natural disasters that affected the 50 United States in recent history.
00:22 Which piece of footage shocked you the most?
00:24 Let us know below.
00:26 Louisiana Sinkhole
00:27 In 2012, an underground salt dome in the Bayou Corn Community in Assumption Parish, Louisiana
00:32 collapsed, creating a sinkhole that required the area to be evacuated.
00:36 Originally, the hole was one acre in size.
00:38 By 2018, it was 34.
00:40 In 2013, John Boudreaux was at a lake and recorded a disturbing incident.
00:44 A bunch of trees positioned in the water began to move forward and lower.
00:48 Even the current gets more aggressive as the trees are sucked under the surface.
01:02 Within moments, the water relaxes and becomes calm, showing no evidence of the destructive
01:06 power it had just demonstrated.
01:08 Moore Tornado
01:09 In May 2013, a powerful tornado tore through the city of Moore, Oklahoma.
01:14 Causing under 40 minutes, 24 lives were lost and 212 other people were injured.
01:19 In the aftermath, CBS News interviewed Barbara Garcia at the wreckage of the house she had
01:23 lived in for 45 years.
01:25 She spoke about her terrifying experience and mentioned her dog, Bowser, being somewhere
01:29 in the debris, likely having perished.
01:39 But amazingly, the crew spotted her trapped dog.
01:51 Straight away, an emotional Garcia with the help of the reporters rescued her scared pup.
01:55 In a follow-up interview a month later, Garcia stated that she would take having Bowser in
01:59 her life rather than her house every time.
02:07 Ridgecrest Earthquakes
02:09 In 2019, a series of earthquakes around Ridgecrest, California were being felt across the state.
02:14 As KCAL 9 news anchors Juan Fernandez and Sarah Donchie presented their show, a massive
02:19 7.1 magnitude earthquake took place live on air.
02:25 The fear in their eyes is heartbreaking as they constantly check that nothing in the
02:28 studio falls on them.
02:30 Donchie even grabbed Fernandez's arm in panic as the shaking continued.
02:37 They soon cut to a break before going under the desk to protect themselves.
02:41 Campfire
02:42 Every year, the California wildfires are seemingly getting worse, and in November 2018, one singular
02:47 blaze known as Campfire was notably destructive.
02:50 Starting at Camp Creek Road, it destroyed over 18,000 buildings and took the lives of
02:54 85 people.
02:56 One particularly intense piece of footage was taken by Bryn Parrott Chatfield as she
03:00 and her family drove through Paradise, California.
03:03 Flames rage on both sides of the road and heavy smoke mists the area while Chatfield
03:08 prays for her family's safety.
03:16 They eventually reach the end of the destruction.
03:19 Hurricane Maria
03:24 In September 2017, Puerto Rico, alongside other Caribbean islands, was ransacked by
03:29 Hurricane Maria.
03:30 The Category 5 hurricane took the lives of 3,058 people, including an estimated 2,975
03:38 from Puerto Rico.
03:39 It also resulted in around $91.61 billion in damage during its warpath.
03:44 Mike Face, known for recording extreme weather with National Geographic and Ultimate Chase,
03:49 was at the El Conquistador Hotel in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
03:52 Starting off calm, the scenery soon becomes cloudy, foreshadowing the terror to come.
04:00 Face shows hotel staff at work ensuring the building is secure and as well as the destruction
04:07 taking place outside.
04:09 And trees are seen violently shaking and debris flying away.
04:22 Afterward he recorded the waterlogged roads and the damage in Maria's wake.
04:27 Oklahoma Hail
04:28 In the span of a week in May 2010, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and nearby areas in the state
04:33 were battered by not one but two big hail storms that caused massive property damage
04:37 estimated to be upwards of $2 billion.
04:43 One viral video at the time from YouTuber Beatles fan XXL showed the storm's power
04:48 as ice thundered into their swimming pool and strong winds gushed around.
04:58 The power and size of the hail made the water look like mist at its strongest.
05:02 Another user, StuartMill1123, also showed the massive ice balls firing into their pool.
05:11 Tenant Fire Tornado
05:12 In 2021, Rachel Smith, a supervisor for the U.S. Forest Service at Klamath National Forest,
05:19 recorded an event that made a standard fire and tornado more terrifying when the two combined
05:23 into one.
05:24 Although rare, the extreme drought in the area caused a fire tornado, also known as
05:28 a fire whirl, to form around construction and rescue equipment.
05:31 The spinning mass of flames, dust, and smoke is a jaw-dropping sight to behold.
05:35 Smith's radar recorded around 30 minutes of rotation before it stopped.
05:39 Great Flood of 1993
05:40 In 1993, an unprecedented amount of rainfall from storms ended up causing one of the biggest
05:48 flooding events in U.S. history.
05:49 In April of that year, several bodies of water, including the Mississippi River, were flooded,
05:54 with havoc wreaking across the Midwest.
05:56 Around 50 people lost their lives, and the rampaging water caused $15 billion worth of
06:01 damage, which is around $31.57 billion today.
06:05 You could just tell that as the water rushed faster and harder that that place was going.
06:13 You just kept thinking, "Oh my God, I hope they weren't in there."
06:16 A particularly disastrous moment of the disaster involved the Gummersheimer Farm, which had
06:20 been in the family for 100 years.
06:23 Captured live during a news report, the strong currents had surrounded the farmhouse on the
06:26 property and then moved it further down off its foundations.
06:29 Eventually, the whole building crumbled into the brown water.
06:33 Eruption of Mount St. Helens
06:34 In 1980, small earthquakes around Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, proved
06:39 the inevitable was about to happen - a volcanic eruption.
06:43 Several meteorologists, reporters, and photographers arrived to record the event.
06:46 "I just jumped out of my car, grabbed my film camera, and I went right up there on
06:51 that ridge where I had a view just over the trees of the mountain, and I could see what
06:56 was happening."
06:57 One person who was there to witness the event was Como News employee Dave Crockett.
07:01 Once the eruption began, Crockett drove off when the debris and ash were getting closer.
07:05 "Dear God, whoever finds this, I don't know.
07:12 You can't see this, I'm sure.
07:17 It's too dark.
07:18 I've left the car behind."
07:20 However, the road was blocked by flowing mud and water, so he started walking and kept
07:25 recording the eruption as he struggled to breathe.
07:27 Thankfully, he was later saved.
07:28 "The breeze started blowing the ash out, and all of a sudden I realized I could breathe
07:32 a little better, and I could see a little bit of greenness.
07:35 It wasn't pitch black.
07:36 I could see maybe a couple feet."
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07:54 Hurricane Katrina
08:05 Back in 2005, Mike Tice was present in Gulfport, Mississippi, to record the destruction being
08:10 caused by Hurricane Katrina.
08:12 His time-stamped video showed how much damage the storm surge caused in a relatively short
08:16 time.
08:17 Waves of water battered a Holiday Inn and several trees hung onto the ground for dear
08:22 life.
08:28 Eventually the hotel gets flooded, giving a terrifyingly claustrophobic feel to the
08:32 footage as items float around and cameras are swallowed by the water.
08:36 "Doors are breaking."
08:37 "We got bigger waves coming in."
08:38 "Yeah, get ready guys.
08:39 Get ready guys.
08:40 Get ready."
08:41 "Get ready."
08:42 "Get ready."
08:43 Tice's stunning footage even earned him an Emmy nomination.
08:46 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:47 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:48 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:49 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:49 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:50 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:50 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:51 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:51 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:52 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:52 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:53 "I'm gonna get a drink of water."
08:53 [Music]
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