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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