Tsunami Fierce Earth

'Coming up on Fierce Earth...

'The biggest wave on the planet - the tsunami.

'Terrifying power...'

I feel like I am in a big washing machine.

'..catastrophic devastation...'

These houses are all demolished.

'..incredible escapes.'

One of these things could save your life.

'The tsunami is the wave of nightmares.'

What happens when the ground shakes, the seas rise up

and the air tears itself apart?

The Fierce Earth team move in,

taking on the most powerful forces on the planet.

Get ready for Fierce Earth -

the earth and how to survive it.

Tsunamis are one of the most destructive forces on the planet.

These giant waves have been around

as long as humans have,

but it's only recently that their impact has been recorded on camera

with such terrifying intensity.

Normal waves are small and caused by the wind and the tides.

Landslides or earthquakes can cause tsunamis by

suddenly displacing a large amount of water.

This creates a wave that starts small and can travel across

the ocean at over 500 miles per hour -

as fast as a jet plane.

When the wave hits the shallower water of the coast,

it slows down, but squeezes up, getting higher and higher.

It's now a tsunami.

The giant wave pulls back the water in front of it as it builds.

From the beach, this looks like the tide suddenly going out -

this is called drawback, one of the early warning signs

that a tsunami is on its way.

So how can water be so destructive?

It's essential for life.

We drink it every day, it falls on us as rain and it flows

over us in the shower.

It seems like it should weigh nothing at all.

So where does a giant wave of water get its power?

Clare is in Lancashire to find out.

If you've ever picked up a big bucket of water,

you'll know how heavy it can be.

Just imagine a huge bucket and how much that would weigh.

Well, imagine no more.

To witness the power of water,

simply take one shed,

one digger,

one very big bag of water

and mix them all together.

All right, Paddy, take it away.

The shed doesn't stand a chance.

This big bag holds three quarters of a ton of water. In free fall,

it accelerates to over 30 kph within a second of being dropped.

It's like being hit by a small car travelling at that speed.

A tsunami is like thousands of cars racing into the shore.

The Pacific Ocean is surrounded by volcanoes and earthquake zones -

this is known as the Ring of Fire.

The earthquakes cause tsunamis, so 80% of all giant waves occur around

the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

In recent history, the top three most devastating tsunamis

on the Pacific Rim are:

In 3rd place, the Japanese tsunami of 2011.

Nearly 20,000 people lost their lives and the cost was estimated to

equal 200 billion pounds.

In 1883, the volcanic island of Krakatoa in Indonesia exploded

and displaced a huge amount of water.

The resulting tsunami was 40m high

and nearly 40,000 people perished.

But the most devastating tsunami in history was

the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

It was generated by an undersea earthquake off the

coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean.

The quake sent tsunami waves out in all directions.

14 countries on the edge the Indian Ocean were

hit, including Thailand, India and Sri Lanka.

Around 250,000 people died.

But even in an event as catastrophic as the Boxing Day

tsunami, there are stories of survival.

In Surrey, I meet a girl who became a tsunami hero that day.

Back in 2004, ten-year-old Tilly Smith was looking forward to her

Christmas holiday in Thailand.

In one of the last Geography lessons of the year, the teacher had played a

video about tsunamis. That lesson would save her life

and those of many others.

Her story starts off like any other holiday.

Can you take me back to that day on Boxing Day, 2004?

We woke up around eight o'clock, so a normal sort of early morning.

We'd just had Christmas...

and my mum and dad said, "Let's go for walk on the beach."

We had a massive stretch of beach along by our hotel.

The tide was really far in

and I remember thinking that was really strange.

Did you think at that point something was up?

Yeah, I kept seeing froth and the tide kept coming in and it wasn't

going back out, just coming in and in

and further up this steep sand bank.

And then I remembered, because I watched a video a few weeks before

on a tsunami that my teacher had shown me in my Geography lesson,

and I could just tell the same signs

were happening there as to what I was seeing.

I remember screaming at my mum, saying, "We've got to go,

"there is going to be a tsunami."

She wouldn't listen to me and I was crying, screaming at her, saying,

"I know there's going be a tsunami, let's go."

Really scared that she wasn't going to listen and carry on

walking, she was determined to keep walking.

Tilly finally got her mum back to the hotel and told her dad that

a tsunami was on the way. He told a security guard, who raised the alarm.

In some places around the Indian Ocean,

the tsunami had already hit.

Devastating waves up to 20 metres high,

reaching three kilometres inland.

Tilly's resort in Thailand was next.

I just remember then just turning around and seeing this massive wall

of water just reaching out of the sea.

But thanks to Tilly's quick thinking, many people were able to get off

the beach before the tsunami wave arrived.

Thank goodness I watched that video, because otherwise I wouldn't have

had a clue what was going on and

wouldn't have been able to tell the security guard and everyone else.

Tilly was hailed as a hero, even meeting Bill Clinton,

the ex-president of the USA.

She returned to Thailand on the first anniversary of the tsunami

to speak at the memorial ceremony.

"It was not tragedy, nor despair that prevailed,

"but the human courage that shone more golden than the golden sun

"and the human heart, far deeper than all the waters of the world."

Tilly Smith survived because she had learned the early warning signs

and stayed alert.

In some countries, giant waves are such a huge threat that

tsunami survival lessons are part of everyday school life.

Zoe is in Japan to find out more.

I've come to Kamaishi, home to 40,000 people.

Many of the families now live in temporary homes.

That's because it's one of the port towns that bore the full force

of the one of the biggest tsunamis in history.

On the 11th March 2011, a violent earthquake off the coast of Japan

lifted a huge area of the sea floor,

dislodging an enormous body of water.

It created the wave that became a tsunami.

It was up to 40m high, and in places it travelled

six miles inland, destroying everything in its path.

The devastation here in Kamaishi was massive.

Two years ago, I would have been surrounded by shops and houses.

Now, nothing. In fact, the vegetation is taking over.

It's like many towns that were hit by the tsunami,

but Kamaishi has a special story to tell.

This building was left standing.

Scoured by the wave that covered the first two floors,

it takes a moment to realise it was once a nursery school.

Up and down the coast, just a few miles from here,

thousands of children died.

But in this town, over 99% of the children survived.

They call it the Miracle of Kamaishi.

So what happened? What made Kamaishi different?

Thanks to the miracle, there are children alive today who

can tell us. They go to this temporary school.

The old building was destroyed by the tsunami they escaped.

Ten-year-olds, Mao and Mana, were finishing school on 11th March 2011

when, at a quarter to three, a huge earthquake shook the school -

the warning sign that a tsunami could be on the way.

So, girls, your school was over there,

there is literally nothing left now.

When the earthquake happened, that's where you were.

What had you been told to do?

-TRANSLATION:

-When the earthquake came, we got under the desks

as we'd been taught.

-TRANSLATION:

-Then we tried to walk to the third floor,

but another teacher told us the secondary school kids had

already run uphill, so we followed them.

So can you show me where you went?

The children knew from their training that the earthquake may

have triggered a tsunami.

They didn't know it yet, but they were right.

Out at sea, an enormous wall of water was racing towards them.

The class headed for an official tsunami assembly point.

These blue posts are all over the Kamaishi area

and high enough to be safe from a tsunami.

But the nearest post was a long way from the school.

The girls found children and teachers gathering at a building

that wasn't as far to walk to. Or as high.

By now it was gone three o'clock and the tsunami was just minutes away.

So this has stopped at 3:30,

which was exactly the time the tsunami came rushing through here,

these houses are all demolished.

And you must have just left, why did you keep on running?

-TRANSLATION:

-At first, we stopped here, then an old woman said,

"This cliff has collapsed because of the earthquake

"and a tsunami may come."

-TRANSLATION:

-So we listened to what the old woman said and decided to

climb higher up the hill.

There were, by now, over 500 children and teachers on the road.

In the confusion of the evacuation, the tsunami training had been in

danger of being forgotten.

The girls knew now that they had to reach the official tsunami post

up high to be sure of being safe.

And not a moment too soon.

Not long after everyone got there, the tsunami rolled in.

This is where you stopped and I can see down there,

where there used to be full of houses, but the tsunami

came rushing in.

-GIRL:

-I could see the wave.

It went "splash".

I can't imagine what it must have been like to watch my home town

being hit by a tsunami.

The Miracle of Kamaishi happened because children remembered what

they'd been taught to do in an emergency.

No-one knows when the next tsunami will rise up out of this sea.

But the children who were here on the 11th March 2011

will tell their children how they survived.

And they, in turn, will tell their children...

so the people of Kamaishi will be ready.

"Just run! Run uphill!"

"Don't worry about the others.

"Save yourself first.

"And tell the future generations that a tsunami once

"reached this point,

"and that those who survived were those who ran.

"Uphill. So run! Run uphill!"

The Japanese have lived with tsunamis for centuries

and are always looking at new ways to beat the tsunami threat.

Dougal is in Tokyo, the capital of Japan,

to test out the latest life-saving invention.

Japan is famous for its innovation.

Comics, fashion, video games and vending machines

that sell everything.

There's no idea the Japanese won't try to improve on.

So is it any wonder, that with a threat as huge as a tsunami,

the Japanese have come up with a solution that is eye-catching,

creative and utterly unique?

The brand-new Tsunami Escape Pod.

A super-tough, reinforced plastic sphere,

designed to ride out the most terrifying waves on the planet.

The ball-shape means debris slides off and it's able to withstand

12 tons of pressure, or three elephants standing on it.

It's the latest, greatest and certainly the most unusual tool

for tsunami survival.

Surely I can't be expected to test drive this?!

The idea behind the Noah Pod is, when you hear the tsunami warning,

you climb inside and ride out the wave in the super-strong ball.

It's a bit like the black-box recorder on an aircraft,

but one that you and your family can climb inside,

a little bit like this toy inside here.

It sounds like a tight squeeze.

And scary. But after the tsunami of 2011, some 700 families here on

the coast of Japan have paid the equivalent of £3,000 for one.

Mr and Mrs Kojima are proud owners of a shiny new tsunami pod.

As is traditional in Japanese homes,

I have to take my shoes off at the door.

The pods can seat up to four people.

The Kojimas really do plan to climb into this giant ball and, hopefully,

ride out any tsunami.

They've even got a survival bag packed that could keep them going

for several days, while they wait to be rescued.

Bags for the toilet.

SPEAKS JAPANESE

Pocket oxy... Oxygen. Wow!

Even oxygen in a can, should you be in the pod

for a bit longer than you need to.

Radio...radio that doesn't need batteries.

You have got yourself a little survival kit,

everything you'd need to keep you going until you get rescued.

Can I take a look inside?

Not much inside, and I really wonder what it would be like,

crashing around in a wave.

I guess there's only one way to find out, and that is for real.

I'm about to get a small taste of what it's like inside

the tsunami pod where it's supposed to be used - in water.

Surely this is something Leo should be doing?

The symbols on the side of the tsunami pod mean love, life,

power and soul. I'm going to need all four for this because I'm going

to be towed around the harbour behind a boat.

Let's hope the pod really is waterproof!

I couldn't imagine how this must feel if you had sat through

an earthquake and...

you have no idea just how long

it might be before a big wall of water hits you.

It is a bit of a squeeze.

You can imagine trying to do this in... Ooh!

..real conditions. Oh, wow!

It's a bit of a tight squeeze in here, it really is.

I have got a pole to hold onto.

Right, I'd better get locked up, see you guys on the other side.

MUFFLED SPEECH

I'm completely upside down here.

Oh! I'm floating.

I can just about see the harbour...moving around,

I can hear the waves now.

I feel a little bit like I'm in a big washing machine.

I'm having trouble with just me in the ball.

Imagine sharing it with family, friends, or even your pet dog.

BUMP

In a real tsunami, hardly being able to see out of my pod

would be terrifying.

BUMP

Whoa, here we go.

Terra firma.

'What would that bump be?

'Help arriving, or a car landing on top of me?'

So we're back on terra firma, the earth,

and I have to say, actually, that was quite a lot of fun.

But there is a reality behind this and that is survival.

Would this be the most comfortable place if a massive wave hit me now -

I don't think so.

But if a big earthquake has just hit and a massive tsunami's

on its way, this tiny, little plastic survival sphere

could really increase your chances.

I think I'd take those odds.

If you find yourself in the path of an incoming tsunami

and you don't have your very own tsunami escape pod, all is not lost.

In today's Fierce Earth challenge,

Leo travels to Florida to attempt a last ditch escape route.

I know all about life on the edge.

I've climbed to the top of the world's highest mountain...

frozen in the Antarctic...

and parachuted off the planet's biggest cliffs.

-But even

-I

-need a day off now and then.

Standing here on a perfect beach, it's easy to see why tsunamis

catch so many people by surprise, especially holidaymakers.

One minute you're enjoying an ice lolly,

the next minute you're fighting for your life.

Remember the two early warning signs that a tsunami might be on the way -

first, an earthquake that could be

setting the wave in motion out at sea.

Second, drawback.

When the water suddenly goes right out to sea,

leaving just a huge expanse of beach.

When the drawback occurs, and the shoreline recedes,

you could have just minutes to get out of the way.

If there's no hills and no buildings, then this may be your last resort.

Could a palm tree really save your life?

Palm trees are often the only thing left standing on beaches

that have been swept clean by tsunamis.

They're not the most solid of trees,

but that turns out to be their strength.

When that massive weight of rushing water hits a palm tree,

it bends and absorbs some of the energy,

unlike man-made things like lamp posts that are rigid and snap.

Round trunks and no branches mean even less surface area to resist

the water, so the tsunami flows around the palm tree.

When the wave hits, a palm tree could be your only chance to

get high and stay dry.

Monkeys can do it. So why not humans?

My six-metre palm tree is set up with full safety rigging.

-Trying this without professional help...

-Hi!

..could be as dangerous as facing a tsunami.

Do not try it yourself at home, or on holiday.

So this is my palm tree and this is how you climb it.

First of all, you have got to make sure you get all

the sand off your feet, it's really important when you climb anything.

Basically, this is called lay backing, you just push against the

tree with your feet, pull with your arms and walk up it like a monkey.

If you get tired, you can clamp your feet on it like that

and have a little rest.

And then when you're ready, push out again

and carry on walking up the tree.

So that's how you climb a palm tree on a nice sunny day.

But what if your life depends on it?

This time I'm going to try it against the clock.

Imagine the sea's just rushed out and there's a tsunami on the way.

Every second counts.

Ready? Three, two, one... Go!

Time!

6.9 seconds.

Getting down... It's just like a fireman's pole.

Your biggest worry coming down is splinters!

As I said, don't try this yourself - you really could get hurt.

Seven seconds, not bad.

So, yes, a palm tree could save your life.

Hopefully, the early warning systems would give you a chance

to get to higher ground, but if there is a tsunami on the horizon,

as a last resort, you can climb one of these things,

to try and get out of the way.

Six metres.

Six steps.

Seven seconds.

Beat that, monkey!

With every tsunami that strikes, we learn more about them

and how technology can help us survive.

Dougal visits an island in Italy, Stromboli, that's trying to stay

a step ahead of the tsunami threat.

30th of December 2002. A tsunami hit the island of Stromboli

and caught the inhabitants totally by surprise.

Even more so, because they lived on the very thing that caused the wave.

And that's because the island of Stromboli is a volcano!

Stromboli has been erupting almost continuously for 2,000 years.

The lava emissions aren't normally dangerous, and a few hundred people

call the island home.

The 2002 eruption and undersea quake caused a huge landslide that smashed

into the sea, displacing a massive body of water and causing a tsunami.

Dramatically, part of the volcano slipped off and crashed

into the sea, causing a tsunami.

That wave then went all the way round the island,

crashed along the coast here and hit these buildings as high

as we can see here, taking out the restaurants,

taking out anything in its wake.

Amazingly, nobody died, but three people were quite badly injured,

two of them from the panic that ensued when the tsunami hit.

Not only do they have to worry about live volcanoes here,

now they have to worry about tsunamis.

The damage from the tsunami was extensive and a wake-up call

for the islanders. An observatory was created to monitor the volcanic

activity. Special buoys were installed out at sea at the same

time, and are monitored from the observatory 24 hours a day.

All of these wiggles here is actually what is happening at sea

as we are speaking here now.

If the volcano here was to collapse into the water,

that would cause a huge wave.

The buoy would be moved dramatically,

that would send alarm signals to the base here,

and people could have vital seconds of warning before such a strike.

Thanks to the observatory, Stromboli now has an early warning system

which sounds the alarm sirens in a tsunami emergency,

and they also have an evacuation plan.

New signs like this tell us tsunami survival,

as well as volcano survival, is a part of life here on Stromboli.

"In case of earthquake, strong volcanic explosion,

"withdrawal of the sea from the coast, siren sounds..."

These could all be indicators that a tsunami is about the hit

and this is your escape route.

Up alleys like this to high ground to get away from the wave

coming from over here at the sea.

Now, the warning might only give you precious seconds,

but those precious seconds could mean

the difference between life and death.

If the worst does happen, there are ways to maximise your chances

of tsunami survival.

Here's our Fierce Earth guide.

Many areas now have early warning systems.

Look for signs telling you what to do.

Listen for emergency sirens and act on them.

Save yourself, not your possessions.

Even if there is no alarm system in place,

there are warning signs if you know what to look for.

Earth tremors.

The sea suddenly going out.

Water starting to froth and the tide coming in too far.

Remember, the next wave could be bigger!

If a tsunami is on its way, head for high ground and stay there.

This is how you maximise your chances of surviving

the Fierce Earth.

On the next episode...

Earthquakes!

'We train with an international rescue team...'

All right, here we go!

'..climb through the folds of the earth...'

That was the easy bit!

'..and find out how one city is preparing for the big one.'

It's an incredible force!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd