Mega Disasters

Mega Disasters is an American documentary television series that originally aired from May 23, 2006 to July 2008 on The History Channel. Produced by Creative Differences, the program explores potential catastrophic threats to individual cities, countries, and the entire globe. The two "mega-disasters" of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 inspired the series and provided a reference point for many of the episodes. Excepting only two shows devoted to man-made disasters, the threats explored can be divided into three general categories: meteorological, geological, and cosmic hazards.

10. Super Swarms

The locust is one of the most destructive and dreaded life forms on Earth. American pioneers faced the largest swarm of locusts ever recorded. The 1,800 mile long and 110-mile-wide cloud of insects ate their way through the heartland and blocked the sun for five days. Famine ensued, and thousands faced starvation. According to recent studies, the possibility of such a swarm returning to the United States is very likely. The destruction would be unimaginable. This scenario is now generally believed by entomologists to be impossible. The Rocky Mountain locust, the insect responsible for the aforementioned swarm, has not been sighted since 1902. Efforts to breed modern North American grasshoppers to recreate the locust have all failed, and recent mitochondrial DNA analysis has strongly suggested that the Rocky Mountain locust was a distinct species.