Nova: Season 38, Episode 16

38 - 16: Japan's Killer Quake

The March 11 earthquake, the worst to ever strike Japan, spawned a tsunami with 30-foot-high waves that destroyed entire towns in minutes. In its worst crisis since World War II, Japan faces disaster on an epic scale: a death toll likely in the tens of thousands, massive destruction of homes and businesses, shortages of water and power, and the specter of a nuclear meltdown. With exclusive footage, NOVA captures the unfolding human drama and offers a clear-headed investigation of what triggered the earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear crisis. Can science and technology ever prevent devastation in the face of overwhelmingly powerful forces of nature?