Seconds from Disaster

Seconds from Disaster
Title card used between 2011 and 2018
GenreDocumentary
Based onHistorically relevant man-made and natural disasters from the 20th century
Narrated byAshton Smith (US)
Richard Vaughan (UK)
Peter Guinness (UK season 3)
ComposerGraham Reilly
Country of originUnited States / United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes69 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time25/45–50 minutes
Production companiesNational Geographic Society
Darlow Smithson Productions
Original release
NetworkNational Geographic
ReleaseJuly 6, 2004 (2004-07-06) – February 22, 2018 (2018-02-22)
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Seconds from Disaster is an American/British-produced documentary television programme that investigates historically relevant man-made and natural disasters from the 20th and early 21st centuries. Each episode aims to explain a single incident by analyzing the causes and circumstances that ultimately affected the disaster. The program uses re-enactments, interviews, testimonies, and CGI to analyze the sequence of events second-by-second for the audience.

Seconds from Disaster was first broadcast on the National Geographic channel in 2004 and originally consisted of 45 episodes over three seasons. Following its original conclusion in 2007, the show was put on a four-year hiatus and later replaced with Critical Situation. In 2011, National Geographic revived the show and aired another 22 episodes over three seasons until the following year. In 2018, the show revived again and aired two episodes featuring compilations about helicopter and airliner crashes. Narrators of the show are Ashton Smith, Richard Vaughan, and Peter Guinness.