Experts reconstruct the Great Hurricane of 1780 to help predict the risk of future storms.

Killer Hurricanes NOVA

Premiered October 11, 2017
Killer Hurricanes

Devastating hurricanes struck the U.S. mainland and Caribbean islands in 2017. But they weren’t the first. The Great Hurricane of 1780 took nine days to blast its way across the Caribbean, killing at least 20,000—the highest known death toll of any single weather event in history. What made this superstorm so deadly?

About the Program

NOVA

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