Episode 1
Japan's Nuclear Nightmare
45m6.7 / 10
On 11 March 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami off Japan’s coast caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
Episode credits
Directed by Steve Webb
TV series
Seconds from Disaster
20057 seasons7.2 / 10
Seconds from Disaster is a US/UK-produced documentary television programme that investigates historically relevant man-made and natural disasters of the 20th century. Each episode aims to explain a single incidental by analyzing the causes and circumstances that ultimately effected the disaster. The program uses re-enactments, interviews, testimonies, and CGI to analyze the sequence of events second-by-second for the audience. Narrators for the show are Ashton Smith, Richard Vaughan and Peter Guinness.
Availability
Not streaming in United States
Checked Sep 2, 2026
Seconds from Disaster premiered September 19, 2005. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.
Synopsis
Seconds from Disaster is a US/UK-produced documentary television programme that investigates historically relevant man-made and natural disasters of the 20th century. Each episode aims to explain a single incidental by analyzing the causes and circumstances that ultimately effected the disaster. The program uses re-enactments, interviews, testimonies, and CGI to analyze the sequence of events second-by-second for the audience. Narrators for the show are Ashton Smith, Richard Vaughan and Peter Guinness.
Season 5 episodes
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Where to watch Seconds from Disaster
Episode 2
Bismarck
45m8.2 / 10
Maritime Historian Andrew Lambert looks at the Royal Navy's battle with the German battleship Bismarck.
Where to watch Seconds from DisasterEpisode 3
Mountain Tsunami
45m7.8 / 10
In 1963 a landslide from Monte Toc into the reservoir of the Europe's highest dam caused a giant flood wave that destroyed the village of Longarone and other villages, claiming over 2,000 lives.
Where to watch Seconds from DisasterEpisode 4
Waco Cult
45m5.5 / 10
After a 51-day siege at the ranch of an armed religious cult, the FBI tries to force people out with tear gas, but a fire breaks out and almost 80 people die.
Where to watch Seconds from DisasterEpisode 5
Deepwater Horizon
45m6.8 / 10
A look at the series of decisions and mistakes that led to the world's largest oil spill disaster, and that 11 workers on the rig died.
Where to watch Seconds from DisasterEpisode 6
Massacre in Mumbai
45m7.5 / 10finale
On 26 November 2008, terrorists attacked two luxury hotels (one of them the famous Taj Mahal Hotel), a Jewish educational center, a café and a train station in Mumbai, killing 166 people.
Where to watch Seconds from DisasterEpisode information updated Sep 17, 2026
Available now in United States
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More about Seconds from Disaster
Cast
Richard VaughnNarrator
Ashton SmithNarrator (US)
Peter GuinnessNarrator (voice)
Ryo TakagiSelfAndrew SullivanSelf
Timothy McVeighSelf (archival footage)Boris StolyarchukSelf
Bill ClintonSelf (archival footage)Production details
- Status
- Ended
- Series type
- Documentary
- Episodes
- 75
- Original language
- English
Networks & production
National GeographicUnited States
DSPUnited Kingdom
Themes
chernobyl, ukrainedisasterexplosion