Hurricane (2015) - full transcript

Long ago, Hurakán was a terrible God.

But as ages passed, the deities of Nature

were no longer revered as they used to be.

Yet their manifestations remain

just as powerful today.

And so we give them names.

This is Lucy's story.

I could be the smallest of clouds,

or the lightest breeze.

Like those born over the plains

of Africa, each day.

But one such day in August...

Station. Houston

Mission Control. How do you copy?

I copy good, Houston.

We're crossing Africa just now.

It's a beautiful morning!

Night time here.

Can you confirm

the precipitation test program is good to go?

Negative.

We're still making the final calibrations

to focus transmission for orbit altitude.

SAINT-LOUIS WEATHER STATION

Senegal, West Africa

Science examines the weather...

Trying to predict its moods.

I am tracked, gauged, modelled,

but where will I go?

Who will I meet?

What will I become?

Ten months with no rain

and the waiting is unbearable.

Temperatures will be

uncommonly high today...

Waiting for the monsoon

is hard for everyone.

People are tense,

their hearts and minds have dried up.

We've spent ten months

under a blazing sun waiting for rain.

With my awakening,

anything becomes possible.

I will define the fate

of those I chance to meet.

...weather alert for the entire community,

especially fishermen.

Serious squalls are expected

between Saint-Louis and Dakar.

Seafaring activities should be curtailed.

My first steps bring

the stirring of my dominion of fear.

Saint-Louis residents have been surprised

by a sandstorm that has engulfed

the northern region of the country.

Many people were frightened

by this rare event.

My breath revives life

in a ritual cycle that's as old as Africa.

Station? Houston.

Are you recording that weather disturbance

forming over Senegal?

Houston, we're sampling data as of now

and picking up significant precipitation.

The National Hurricane Center

asks that you keep an eye

on that system over the Atlantic

the next couple of weeks.

Conditions look favorable for a development.

The monsoon wind we've been waiting for

brings us rain.

Then it blows out over the ocean,

whipping up waves,

which grow until they're huge.

When this wind meets land,

it causes terrible damage.

What is beneficial here

can be damaging elsewhere.

We are saddened by the losses

the wind causes

in the Caribbean and the Americas,

because that wind originates here.

ATLANTIC OCEAN

I am a tyrant but I heed to universal laws.

The first, to transform a drop of ocean

into a drop of rain.

I'm a distillery of the skies.

Each time you see a cloud,

you see the chemistry of my being.

I carry vapor from the ocean

towards the heavens...

So high, the rotating Earth empowers me.

As the pressure falls,

my transformation is launched.

Ascending, I spiral towards space,

dragging battalion clouds in my wake.

1500 MILES FROM THE WEATHER SYSTEM

Florida, USA

Tower, our flight plan

has approximate duration 10 hours.

Expected return 0900 UTC tomorrow.

NOAA 101, understood.

Taxi for take-off on runway one.

Tower, Wilco.

Houston.

That weather system over the Atlantic

is giving us a lot of data.

Figures. The Hurricane Center

advises it's already a tropical depression,

with signs of circulation.

There's more than 80% chance of it

becoming a storm in the next 24 hours.

500 MILES EAST OF PUERTO RICO

Atlantic Ocean

Notos, this is Humacao Port Control.

Please advise conditions for enter.

Notos, the port is

status Yankee and closed for entry

until after the tropical storm.

Puerto Rico Coast Guard advise

entry shipping to reroute south

to Curacao until port cleared reopen.

Port Control.

Notos changing course 165 degrees true.

Okay, we're 30 minutes

into the 12,000-foot pattern.

How many sondes have you dropped?

Well, we've got number 114

going out right now.

Radar shows we're pretty much

mid system so this drop pattern

should locate the center.

We just got the information

from the drop sonde we launched

in the center of the storm.

And the splash pressure

was niner-niner-zero millibars

and the max flight level that would

come in was 43 miles/hour, so...

As soon as they get this information

to the folks of the

National Hurricane Center,

they probably gonna make

this tropical storm.

I copy. Tropical Storm Lucy.

WEATHER CENTRE San Juan, Puerto Rico

More of the convection is...

Right now, it's outside of our...

Our area right now, see?

But that thing with the wind change

could turn around

north of the convection,

you've got a ship there, reporting

50 knots of wind only, so...

So this is not going to be a wind...

Right, it should be a rain... Rain type.

BEFORE THE STORM El Yunque, Puerto Rico

You see the ocean's tides,

but the air's flow is invisible.

It brings me my founding rains.

And in my command, they quench the Earth.

All of nature is a balance.

An ancient flux to which I add my weight.

The sun's heat is captured

by the sea, I reclaim it.

As do the thunderstorms that form and fade

in the daily rhythm of the tropics.

But sometimes the forces

of the distillery are overwhelming.

I will be no ordinary storm.

Only a limited amount of light

gets into the forest

and all the trees and plants growing here

want their share.

So the fight for this light is fierce.

Many young plants in the El Yunque forest

spend decades at ground level

before they can start to grow.

...but organizers have

canceled tonight's show

because of the approaching tropical storm.

There's already a warning of heavy rain

with flash floods likely in mountain areas.

Anyone out enjoying the sun

should be thinking safety first.

And now here's Gerry...

Beyond sight,

beyond measure,

the cogs of the atmosphere turn

such that the infinite encounters are minute.

Faced with me, man himself,

for all his cleverness and will,

is but microscopic.

Pedrito, we have to go now.

Francesca!

Boy, look at that,

Puerto Rico's right in Lucy's sights!

Be great to see a visual.

Getting one. Ah!

No, we're already orbiting past her.

I should get a better shot on the next pass.

Look forward

to seeing that in 90 minutes, then.

A machine of nature,

a steam engine conveying rain

from the heavens to the distant ground.

I feed on the heat of the ocean,

absorbing the very sea

into my carousel of clouds.

Spitting.

Recycling.

Intensifying.

250 MILES OFFSHORE PUERTO RICO

At 10.38 a.m., the meteorological service

detected severe storms

moving towards Ceiba, Fajardo and Luquillo.

This area will also be affected by lightning.

Where shall I put it?

In the living room, please.

Why are we putting things away?

Because a storm is on its way.

Amanda, put that in the living room.

When I was younger,

I was a homeless person.

I slept under the stars and

had a bit of cardboard as cover,

I listened to the river as it flowed past.

But a hurricane came,

and things became very difficult.

The rain was torrential

and the river began to rise.

In a fraction of a second

many things passed before my eyes.

I remembered so much about my family.

How good it was to be at home,

to be part of society.

And a voice inside me said

"I don't want to die here."

The living cower as the air pressure falls

the first sign of my approach.

The system looks better organized.

I would not be surprised

if the National Hurricane Center call it

a hurricane Category 1

before the next 12 to 24 hours.

I'm not worried about the winds

at this moment

because people are expecting

a strong tropical storm.

What I'm worried about is the amount

of rain this system could bring.

This is not going to be only the...

We cannot only concentrate

on the center of the system.

The system could be generating showers

for the next 24 to 48 hours.

Once these guys start talking

to the media what type of rainfall amounts...

You know how I feel about going with those

- double digit amounts initially.

- Yeah.

We're going to be very conservative

at the beginning.

We're going to go four to six inches

and mention to the media

that we could have isolated

higher amounts, maybe double digits.

In my procession, I bring rain,

thunder, lightning.

They speak for me.

Heralds of my message

that overwhelm the air.

INSTITUTE OF METEOROLOGY Havana, Cuba

Could it affect Cuba?

It might, it's the tropical storm

we've been tracking from Africa.

Tropical storm Lucy,

but it's grown into a Category 1 hurricane,

to the south, very close to Puerto Rico.

Go ahead, Houston.

Are you over Lucy yet?

Looking back at Lucy now.

Clearing Puerto Rico

and heading towards Cuba below us.

Wouldn't like being there.

It's predicted to intensify

over extreme warm sea temperatures

into a Cat 3, or worse.

COASTAL REEFS, SOUTHEAST CUBA

With seas calm beyond tranquility,

my arrival scarcely seems feasible.

But I venture where I please.

My presence is felt from beyond the horizon.

Those that sense me escape.

But you, you measure me.

I confound your certainties.

I've just had a call from the Civil Defence

and they're very worried

about the situation.

Let's have a look at what we've got

so we can decide what to tell them.

Is this the latest data?

Yes.

That's its track.

It's below the Dominican Republic.

According to some models it will head north,

others show it heading south,

and passing very close to Granma,

a few models give it

passing south of Jamaica.

But it all depends

on that area of high pressure.

If it stays as strong as it is now,

it will force Lucy further south

and she won't affect Eastern Cuba directly.

SANTA CRUZ HARBOR, SOUTH CUBA

Pull.

Wait a minute.

Hurry up a bit.

Make sure it's secure.

Norca,

look at this picture of the little one

when he was three.

I hope it won't get wet.

And his sister, she's so sweet.

- Which one?

- Josana.

Up a bit higher.

We need to hurry a little.

Yes.

The bus is waiting for us.

Shut the door well.

10 HOURS AFTER LUCY Puerto Rico

The El Yunque forest

has taken the brunt of the storm

with several landslides observed

and many trees down.

In other news, the fishing festival...

For us, the forest was eternal.

No one could ever have imagined

that a storm could have

such a great impact on it.

The Forestry Department employees

were very upset.

They thought El Yunque had been destroyed.

Now Hurricane,

I shuffle the cards and deal anew.

I shake up hierarchies

turning everything upside down.

I control the destiny

of all whose path I cross.

Within this savage turmoil,

winds furl towards my thrashing core,

my central eye ever more apparent.

Reinforcing.

Ravaging.

I am the Cyclops.

17 HOURS BEFORE LANDFALL Santa Cruz, Cuba

We ask everyone to remain calm.

There is room on the bus for everyone.

Wow!

Lucy has grown massive since yesterday.

On infrared images

it's nearly 800 miles across.

Okay, Control,

we're way down south just now.

Even looking back from here. Awesome sight.

SOUTH COAST OF CUBA

The first surging waves

announce my arrival to all I threaten.

But they do not reveal my true powers.

I am just toying.

You don't know me until you meet my heart.

PINAR DEL RIO, WESTERN CUBA

Information from the Meteorological

Office and the Civil Defence

reports that Hurricane Lucy

poses a real threat

for the west and centre of the country...

More turbulence than the last two flights.

Storm's intensifying.

- Flight director flight?

- Bet.

We just punched through the eye wall,

we are here in the eye.

It's nice and smooth.

It's a well-defined eye.

What kind of pressure

and wind speeds are you seeing?

It was niner-four-zero millibars.

The drop we made in the eye wall.

The winds and splash

were 125 miles an hour so the...

Lucy is approaching Category 4 strength.

Wow, okay, I understand.

Lucy is approaching Category 4 hurricane.

Real nice eye.

You see the whole...

- This is unreal.

- Great storm.

Beautiful.

5 HOURS BEFORE LANDFALL Havana, Cuba

We've got some urgent

last minute information.

A reconnaissance plane has detected

that Hurricane Lucy's

pressure has lowered and

is decreasing further as she advances,

which means she's intensifying.

She's almost a Category 4 hurricane,

with sustained winds of 205 kph.

...its arrival over warm water

in the next couple of hours

could increase its intensity

and with its track confirmed,

we encourage all citizens

in the western regions

to remain informed and aware

of Hurricane Lucy's progression.

Maximum sustained winds are now 240 kph

with gusts of more than 270 kph.

So a very dangerous hurricane.

And I would like you to take a look

at the predicted tracks.

They're all heading towards Pinar del Rio.

Strong winds and very heavy rain

could cause severe local conditions.

I consume everything in my path.

A harvester.

Reaping.

...with a storm surge of 5 metres...

Listen, listen!

...the coast has been evacuated...

...staying in that area is very dangerous.

Yeah, beautiful.

Just can't imagine the winds creating that.

Last recorded eye pressure, 892 millibars.

Sustained wind speed, 122 miles per hour.

The roof is going to fly off.

Do you hear that?

Where are the lamps?

Calm down, calm down.

She's still intensifying...

...we're waiting for

the latest satellite data.

Following the devastating passage

of Hurricane Lucy

across our Island,

I'm here with our correspondent

Rolando Canauras Sanchez

who will bring us up to date

with the latest information.

Only a few hours

after Hurricane Lucy hit the coast...

Station,

you still getting that precipitation data?

Roger that.

The contents really crashed over Cuba.

Lucy definitely weakened a lot over land.

I guess. But forecasts say

she could re-intensify

over the Gulf Loop current.

WEATHER FORECAST CENTER California, USA

I'm sure that's gonna be

a top five most destructive

hurricane in their history.

I mean, Category 4 coming in like that.

It must have had a 20-foot storm surge,

I would guess.

Cuba's always ready for these things.

Yeah, I think their loss

of life's going to be low. Okay.

Yeah. Their evacuations were huge,

hundreds of thousands, so...

You look at that storm, Cat 2 now,

but it could be

Cat 3 or 4 at landfall, right?

Some of our intensity models.

- Well, it's possible, yeah.

- Yeah, let's talk about that.

- Right. Right.

- How about the track? First of all the track.

- Track, yeah.

- How certain are we of the track?

- They're all in agreement.

- The track's heading towards Louisiana.

Yeah, they were all split

for a while, but now they're

in pretty good agreement.

It doesn't mean it's the right track

but, you know,

we pretty much think, New Orleans.

Everything outside

of the Federal Level system

will have to be a mandatory evacuation.

We don't have a lot of time.

We have to open up the auditorium.

Okay, so we're going to activate

the CT&E program.

The crew's already pre-mobilized

and set up the shelter.

It'll take us about four or six hours

to set up the shelter and be ready

to receive people.

Mandatory.

There is an evacuation of this community.

Here is the last,

last warning for the community.

Mrs. Doris!

- What?

- It's time to go.

- No.

- Yes, we have to go.

- Where?

- We have to take you to the shelter.

No. I'll stay here. This is my house.

There's a flash flood warning for this area,

and this is a dangerous place for you.

No. No. I'll stay here. This is my house.

I know this is your house,

but we have to go.

We have to take you to a safe place.

- No, I'm not going, I'm not.

- Why?

Give me a good reason why you don't go.

- My cat. My cat's my baby.

- Your cat?

You can take your cat with you.

Yes, you can take your cat

but we have to go.

No!

Yes, this is a dangerous place

for you right now.

...as Hurricane Lucy

advances slowly across the Gulf.

Right now, they're saying

tidal storm surges could be anything

from five feet up to 10 feet in some cases.

Extreme conditions could start Monday,

peak Tuesday,

and could last for days.

In fact, the real problem...

Station. How's Jim?

Sleeping.

Look, tell him they're still

expecting big storm surges in Louisiana,

so we've evacuated his family.

He'll appreciate that. I'll let him know.

So I know as far as the storm surge,

predictions have gone up.

There's gates we're gonna

have to wind up closin'.

The gate of access to the canal.

The sector gates at the railroad crossing.

THE AFTERMATH Southern Cuba

Around 5 a.m. I still had the TV on,

they said the storm was going to weaken.

But after that, the power went down

and we had no more news.

I was terrified.

And then it started...

In an instant, it blew the wall away.

I couldn't see anything anymore.

And then, it tore the roof off.

I had nothing left, I was totally exposed.

All sorts of things started flying,

the bed sheets...

Everything. Everything flew into the air.

The wind took everything from me.

We heard the sound of rocks being

thrown against the houses by the sea.

We heard them because rocks

were hitting the walls and doors

of all the houses, a terrible noise...

that was what we heard the most.

We lost the roof.

We didn't talk much.

We just said a few words

to try and keep our spirits up...

I thought I was going to faint.

I was scared, I'd never seen

anything like that before.

Even though I just turned 80.

I was so frightened, I was thinking

"My God, if the water keeps coming up

how will I get my sister out?"

Because she can't swim and neither can I.

I told her that if I was going to drown,

it was best if it happens while

I was asleep so I wouldn't feel anything.

There was a moment

when I couldn't take it anymore

and I just sat down on a stone and cried.

It's going to be ok, don't worry.

Dry your eyes.

I went with my sister

to see how our house was...

and it was...

Seeing the place you

were born in that way...

I don't know...

It really upset me to see

our house like that.

I was in a state of shock.

I thought I was going to go mad.

It was her room, she had her furniture,

her memories, my uncle's photo.

It was a room she loved.

She would sit there

in her rocking chair, watching TV.

It was where she would clean rice,

with light streaming in from the street

through the open door.

Now the only room she has is her bedroom.

As each day goes by,

she gets more despondent.

As each day goes by, she's sadder.

As each day goes by,

she loses the will to carry on living.

Look at that.

It's all ruined.

Don't worry, we'll replant.

You can't imagine me,

or what I am capable of.

I wreathe through a realm of possibility

far beyond yours.

I destroy without sentiment.

I would be a monster

if it wasn't for the miracle

of my greater purpose.

For me, the sea is terrifying.

I watched it take so many sturdy homes.

It's a monster

and it scares me.

I don't want to swim at the beach any more.

COASTAL LOUISIANA United States of America

It looks like we have 200,

about 200 people that did not evacuate.

We have 200 people we have

to get out of here, immediately.

It's coming up fast and hard.

I'm now hearing it's, um... It's...

It's about five feet,

just north of Whiteditch.

That's fast, guys.

That's just a few minutes.

Although Lucy is smaller

than major storms like Katrina or Sandy,

some forecasters warn

there could be storm surges

as far inland as Baton Rouge

with severe rain flooding possible

in Alexandria.

But the levees have battened the hatch.

With the storm moving so slowly,

there's another concern.

Repeat tides and heavy rain

could make for a more extreme surge

than first expected.

Watch, watch. Watch carefully.

One, two...

Ah!

12 HOURS LATER

I reset the clock.

When my engine finally stills,

your assessment begins.

What is left of you and yours?

Come on. Come on. Go, go, go.

Go, go, go. Come on, go, go, go.

Go, go, go.

By the trees.

...much higher than expected.

Lucy is officially dead.

Now a post-tropical depression,

heading north but still with heavy rain

and flooding expected

across Midwest states.

All in all,

Lucy has been the most destructive storm

of the year so far,

leaving chaos across the Caribbean

and losses likely in billions.

10 DAYS AFTER LUCY

Although I was born by chance,

my end is certain.

Deprived of water, I must die.

Mine has been a mad dash

towards an earthly grave.

Was it also a final act of malice?

Good and bad come from the same source.

It is the duality of things.

I can be both curse and blessing.

I may have been a tyrant,

but I served to restore balance.

What most people don't think about

a lot of the time when

they're living their normal lives is

how quickly all of that can go away

just with a natural disaster.

But because I have lived through that,

I have this awareness

of how special it is to have nice things,

to have a comfortable house,

and to feel safe in your neighborhoods.

I think it's a good experience to have had.

I wouldn't wish it on anyone,

and I'm not sure I'm glad

that it happened to me,

and I'm not glad that it happened to my city,

but, um, I'm sort of glad that I know

that I've lived through something terrible

and that I know that I could live

through it again.

So even though that's a loss

of innocence in one sense,

it's a gaining of strength at the same time.

The most fabulous thing about this hurricane

is that my plant friends

who were stuck at ground level

began to grow after it had passed through.

Some of them had been waiting for 40 years.

How old is El Yunque?

30 million years old.

How many hurricanes have hit it? Ah.

We've counted around 15,000.

The hurricane is as important to the forest

as light and water.

I realise that the hardship caused

by a weather disturbance like a hurricane

can bring fear to people's minds.

But when a hurricane comes,

it puts things back in place.

It doesn't have to be a curse,

a hurricane can also be

a blessing in your life.

Because I have seen the desire

for things to be different,

for tomorrow to be a better day.

Without me, the Earth would have no rivers,

no forests,

no prairies,

no fruits,

no flowers.

I make the air breathable.

I make the Earth inhabitable.

I make man possible.

My kind have walked this Earth

from an age beyond your comprehension.

My kind will walk this Earth until its end.