Briefly discusses the origin, uses, starting, and hazards of fire; some famous blazes; and protection from fire, including the use of home fire drills and smoke detectors.

Discusses the conditions that cause hurricanes to form and the precautions that should be taken against them. Also decribes some famous hurricane disasters, including Camille, which hit the Gulf States in August, 1969.

Discusses causes and effects of winter weather, which is often characterized by severe cold, snow, sleet, ice, and avalanches, and describes some famous winter disasters from history.

Describes the destruction of Pompeii by the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79 and what its rediscovery and excavation has revealed about daily life in the Roman Empire.

A ship officer's account of the Titanic's last hours.

Describes the Armenian earthquake of 1988 and its historical, political, and cultural aspects.

Describes the social and economic conditions in medieval Europe at the outbreak of the Black Death and the causes and effects of the epidemic.

An account of the fire that raged for twenty-four hours over much of Chicago in October 1871, destroying property and homes and killing at least 300 people.

Discusses the disastrous drought in the United States during the 1930s which made a "dust bowl" out of a part of the Great Plains, causing great hardship to farmers.

Presents a historical, partly fictional, account of the Great Fire of London in 1666, describing the origins, fire fighting methods, effects on people, and rebuilding efforts. Contrasts London then and the city now in the areas of population, housing and world trade.