Extreme Disaster

Normalcy is a fragile thing. For the people in these twenty real-life accounts, it shattered in an instant. What happens when the ground opens up, the sky falls, or a wall of fire consumes everything in its path? When the mundane world of deadlines and daily routines is replaced by a desperate fight for the next breath? SURVIVING - Disasters places you directly into the heart of catastrophe. Journey alongside ordinary people—parents, teachers, and commuters—thrown into the most extreme situations imaginable. From catastrophic tsunamis and terrifying wildfires to sudden building ...

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were...

Dr. Kira Venn warned them. She mapped the fracture line, modeled the failure, and wrote the report that predicted exactly how the seafloor off Cape Mercy, Oregon would collapse. The corporation that owned the drilling lease buried her findings. Her own husband helped seal them. Now someone has turned her worst-case scenario into a weapon. When a tsunami strikes Cape Mercy with the warning sirens remotely locked and the buoy network feeding false data, Kira is trapped on an aquarium roof with her estranged sixteen-year-old daughter, her ex-husband who quietly consulted for the corporation ...

An Instant New York Times Bestseller! New York Times best-selling journalist Jeff Goodell presents an important examination of the impact that temperature rise will have on our lives and on our planet, offering a vital new perspective on where we are headed, how we can prepare, and what is at...

A stunning account of a colossal wildfire and a panoramic exploration of the rapidly changing relationship between fire and humankind from the award-winning, best-selling author of The Tiger and The Golden Spruce “Riveting, spellbinding, astounding on every page…Captures the majesty and...

The storm isn’t the only thing that kills. When a supercell touches down across the American Midwest, seasoned storm chasers race to capture its fury. But as the skies darken and the winds rise, a violent gang of looters follows the destruction—robbing, hunting, and silencing anyone in their way. Caught between the storm and the savages, a scattered group of chasers must survive tornadoes, betrayal, and chaos on the open road. As towns are shredded and secrets exposed, only one thing is certain: not everyone will make it out alive. Perfect for fans of Twister, Into the Storm, and ...

The Palms at Breakwater Key was built to be a paradise. It was designed to make guests forget they are standing on a fragile barrier island. But the ocean has no memory and no mercy. When a massive storm shifts course and slams into the coast, the luxury tower becomes a deadly trap. The windows breach. The lower floors flood. The power grid fails. Ben Mercer knows the structure better than anyone. As the water rises and the structural integrity begins to fail, he must lead a terrified group of guests to safety. Cut off from the mainland and running out of time, they face a desperate fight ...

Unlock the secrets of survival with this riveting expedition into the science of disaster—now revised and updated to address the pandemic, the role of social media in disaster response, and more—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Smartest Kids in the World Disaster can come in...

The water is rising. The doors are locked. When Category 4 Hurricane Iris slams into the Louisiana coast, Port Mercy High School becomes the final refuge for 160 stranded residents. Disgraced disaster manager Grant Mercer knows the aging concrete building is their only defense against the catastrophic surge. But the refuge is a trap. The emergency supplies have been systematically stripped. The radios are dead. And as the muddy floodwaters breach the first floor, Grant makes a horrifying discovery: the exit doors have been chained and padlocked from the outside. Corrupt officials have sold ...

Forty thousand people traveled to the Thunder Mesa valley for the ultimate desert experience. They expected three days of massive crowds, pulsating energy, and incredible memories. They did not expect the sky to tear open. When an unprecedented weather system breaches the canyon walls, the isolated paradise instantly becomes a claustrophobic death trap. The main stage collapses under tearing winds. The few access roads completely choke with panicked crowds. There is no shelter and nowhere to run. Ray Calder thought he was just working security for another chaotic weekend. Now he is leading ...

Lake George was supposed to be a summer paradise. On the crowded afternoon of July third, the blue skies turn a bruised, chemical green. A sudden, violent waterspout touches down in the southern basin, tearing through the marina and ripping two teenage parasailers from the sky. Veteran marine patrol officer Ray Mercer has never seen destruction on this scale. On the shattered shoreline, off duty ER nurse Lena Hart must fight to keep her family and strangers alive using nothing but scavenged debris and sheer willpower. Then the sirens sound again. The first storm was just a warning. The next...

From national bestselling author and retired Navy SEAL Clint Emerson comes the essential guide for surviving today’s emergencies—from navigating in the wild to staying alive in any disaster. These 100 skills, adapted for civilians from actual field experiences of special forces operations...

This program includes excerpts read by the author. One of Atlas & Boots' Top 10 Adventure Travel Books of 2021 A dramatic account of the deadly earthquake on Everest—and a return to reach the summit. On April 25, 2015, Jim Davidson was climbing Mount Everest when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake...

When the sky turns dark and the winds pick up, it can be hard to know what to do to stay safe during a tornado. "Storm Watch: A Guide to Recognizing and Surviving Tornado Weather" is the essential guide to help you prepare for, recognize, and survive tornadoes. In this comprehensive guide, you'll learn how to recognize the signs of tornado weather, including changes in the sky, wind, temperature, and humidity. You'll also discover how to use weather forecasts, radar, and other tools to predict and track tornadoes, so you can be prepared before they strike. But recognizing tornado weather is...

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were...

Narrated by the author: Experience the Southern California wildfires through Jacob Soboroff’s eyes—and voice. New York Times Bestseller and #1 Los Angeles Times Bestseller A "gripping, unshakeable firsthand account" (San Francisco Chronicle) of the firestorm that consumed Los Angeles, from...

The ice held a secret for ten thousand years. Now, it’s awake. When a high-altitude corporate retreat at an isolated Rocky Mountain lodge is severed from the outside world by a catastrophic whiteout storm, the survivors think their biggest threat is the plummeting temperature. They are wrong. Deep in the abandoned underground research tunnels beneath the ski station, something ancient and hungry has been thawed from the permafrost. It is not a myth. It is Arctodus simus—the giant short-faced bear, an apex predator standing twelve feet tall and built for relentless slaughter. As the ...

Forty thousand tourists. One road out. Zero warning. Labor Day weekend is supposed to be the financial crescendo for the barrier island town of Harbor Point, New Jersey. The beaches are packed, the boardwalk is humming, and the local politicians are determined to keep the tourist cash flowing. But out over the anomalously warm Atlantic waters, nature is composing a catastrophe. When a massive, cycling supercell begins spinning off a linear wall of violent waterspouts, head lifeguard Ryan Keller recognizes the immediate, lethal threat to the oblivious crowds. With the town's outdated warning...

The rain never stops. The world is drowning. Survival is everything. When the Rain Came is the first YA book in an all-new, action-packed dystopian adventure series by New York Times bestselling author Matt Eicheldinger. A #8 Publishers Weekly Bestseller! “If we stay here, if we keep wandering...

The saga of the greatest tornado chaser who ever lived: a tale of obsession and daring and an extraordinary account of humanity’s high-stakes race to understand nature’s fiercest phenomenon from Brantley Hargrove, “one of today’s great science writers” (The Washington Post). At the...