Told in five sections: Historical Overview Fateful Choices Unintended Consequences Heroic Efforts Lessons Learned Stories: Eight disaster stories spanning the globe and listed in chronological order: 1865 - Mississippi steamboat Sultana explodes while escorting Union POWs back to the North after the war has ended 1879 - Scotland's Tay Railway Bridge collapses in a winter storm 1906 - Levees built on the Colorado River fail and flood the Imperial Valley of California 1928 - Muholland's St. Francis Dam in California collapses after a landslide breaches the poor construction 1935 - Florida East Coast Railway is destroyed in a hurricane 1939 - Luxury Streamliner train derails in Nevada due to sabotage 1940 - The Tacoma Narrows Bridge breaks apart in Washington due to faulty construction 1963 - Italy's Vajont Dam survives a landslide but the resulting wave kills thousands downstream Each disaster will highlight stories of bravery and heroism: Mississippi Steamboat Sultana Hosea C. Aldrich - a sergeant with the 18th Michigan Volunteer Infantry tells of his firsthand experience The captain of the Steamboat BOSTONA - first to arrive on the scene Scotland's Tay Railway Bridge William Walker - had the premonition to trade his shift Dozens of townspeople who risked their own lives to search for survivors during the storm Colorado Levees E. H. Harriman, railroad mogul and engineer, spends his own fortune to repair the damages St. Francis Dam Louise Gipe and the "Hello Girls" telephone operators who are in the path of the destruction stay on the phones warning others Office Thornton Edwards rides his motorcycle upstream into danger, warning people in the path of the water Florida East Coast Railway Ernest Hemingway survives the storm, then takes his own boat and begins assisting the survivors The City of San Francisco streamliner train Train Engineer Ed Hecox survives the crash then runs a mile plus for help Ernest Betts - A survivor with only the basic knowledge of First Aid, saves at least 30 fellow passengers The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Ruby Jacox and Arthur Hagen are trapped in the middle of the bridge as it begins to collapse. They are saved by two bridge workers who risk their own lives to venture out onto the bridge. Italy's Vajont Dam Micaela Colletti - the 12-year old is launched a thousand feet in the air by the wave, then buried in the mud.

She is rescued by the only surviving fireman.