Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Nat'l Geographic Vid
• VHS Release Date: August 5, 1997
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304525729
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #301,643 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Imagine a 60-foot wall of water seemingly coming out of nowhere and destroying your home, killing friends and family members, and destroying your city. This is what happens when a tsunami slams the coast. Killer Wave: Power of the Tsunami from National Geographic explains what causes these giant waves, documents the damage done by past tsunamis, and demonstrates how coastal towns can best prepare themselves for future tsunamis.

There is not much footage of actual tsunamis, aside from some impressive, though grainy, black-and-white film shot in Hawaii in the late 1940s. However, the video still manages to be an interesting and educational look at one of nature's lesser known but most deadly freak occurrences. Pull up a beach chair and get ready to watch as the ocean takes over the land. --Michelle Riggen

Product Description

Dare to confront one of the sea's most deadly monsters - the tsunami. Its freak waves can race undetected across an ocean at 600 miles per hour, crashing ashore like a bomb...and pushing massive walls of water that swallow cities whole. In the past century, tsunamis (literally "harbor waves") have taken the lives of 50,000 people - with almost no warning. And scientists tell us that another destructive tsunami - perhaps Pacific-wide - could strike at any time. Now, National Geographic Video lets you encounter these killers up close through heart-stopping footage and survivors' stories. You'll witness unimaginable devastation in Hawaii, California, and Japan...travel the Pacific Rim to track the underwater earthquakes that spawn tsunamis...and watch as residents of this seismically volatile region brace for the next KILLER WAVE.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars National Geographic Video Lacking in Compelling Footage, July 2, 1999

By 

Douglas E.Bramley ([e-mail]) (Rumson, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Geographic's Killer Wave: Power of the Tsunami [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I was once again disappointed with a tsunami documentary which lacked much actual film footage. Instead, the program is padded with close-ups of ordinary beach waves, better suited for a surfing documentary. This is not only disappointing, but scientifically inaccurate, since tsunami rarely appear as conventional waves, but usually as tumultuous floods or walls of water. I continue to be puzzled at the seeming dearth of video documentation of this fascinating natural phenomena. After all, National Geographic sends intrepid photgraphers to the rims of volcanoes, chasing tornadoes, and flying into hurricanes. There are warning systems that can predict potential landfall for tsunami, so why don't scientists wait for them in helicopters with video cameras? But for an organization like National Geographic to depict tsunami as large surfing waves is surprising and misinforming.

4 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Killer Wave "TSUNAMI", January 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: National Geographic's Killer Wave: Power of the Tsunami [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film of the Killer Wave should be viewed by many people to understand the powers that are shared by the Tsunami before one day it's to late and you become a victim of Mother Natures worst and most fatal disaster.Hearing about it's power,speed,and distruction means nothing.You have to See it to Believe it.