Destruction Decoded

When water unleashes its rage upon the planet, it becomes the ultimate bringer of death; whether it's from rain washing over the ground, rivers bursting their banks, or failed efforts to stem the flow, flooding is as inevitable as it is unstoppable.

Dams control water supply and generate power, but cities can be submerged in minutes if something goes wrong; bridges and tunnels make hard-to-reach places easily accessible, but when they unexpectedly fail, the results can be disastrous.

Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are all the same thing with different names, but what they also have in common is their destructive power.

Earthquakes occur when tectonic plates suddenly shift and shock waves shake the Earth's surface; they occur along fault lines -- the most active being the Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean and the San Andreas Fault on the American West Coast.

Volcanoes are Earth's geologic architects. Their explosive force has crafted mountains and created most of the Earth's surface. A look at what makes these sleeping beasts so deadly.

Tornadoes demolish houses, flip cars, cross rivers, dig trenches, and lift objects into the air. This lethal combination of wind and power will destroy everything in its path - and cannot be stopped.

Planes and trains have made the world smaller, but when things go wrong, hundreds of lives can be lost in an instant.

When it comes to disasters, mother nature has mankind beat, but oil spills, building collapses, and nuclear accidents are becoming increasingly devastating. How does this impact the planet's vitality?