Smithsonian Channel - Perfect Storms (2014) Part 5 Gods Wrath Lisbon

Perfect Storms

On rare occasions natural and human forces collide in a spectacular way to provoke disaster and change the world forever. These are history's Perfect Storms. In this series we travel the world to investigate the biggest and most consequential disasters of all time. These events are the black swans of history: extremely rare and massively impactful. To understand why they occurred and what it was like to experience them first hand, you have to pick them apart piece by piece. Today, cable news networks provide exhaustive 360-degree coverage of natural and human disasters. They utilize on-the-ground investigation and scientific analysis; present dramatic storytelling about survivors and victims, heroes and villains; and employ powerful tools like 3D animation, field-testing, and satellite imagery. Perfect Storms will use these same high tech tools, dramatic storytelling and investigative techniques to explore the biggest disasters of the past, some of which have not been covered on television before. We'll also meet the people who were there, using archives and first hand testimony when possible, and visual effects and dramatic reconstruction to bring to life characters from further back in history. The goal: a new approach and new stories in the ever-popular historic disaster and extreme weather genre.

Part 5: Gods Wrath: Lisbon

1755. A powerful earthquake shakes the city of Lisbon for an astonishing 5-6 minutes. Survivors climb out of the rubble and flee to the riverbank only to be engulfed by a massive tsunami. Then the fires start. The city burns for eight days. Tens of thousands die and Portugal is crippled as an imperial power; but out of the rubble new ideas and scientific study take route. Helping to usher in a new age, The Enlightenment.

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