SuperVolcano

Supervolcano is a BBC production which screened on ABC television here in Australia during April 2005. While not specifically stating the year, it is supposed to be set sometime around 2020 when the world faces the ultimate threat, not from terrorists or a nuclear blast, but an eruption of a gigantic supervolcano simmering beneath Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Apparently vulcanologists have known for many years that Yellowstone is the possible site for a massive cataclysmic eruption thousands of times larger than Mt St Helens or even Krakatoa, which obliterated an Indonesian island in the 19th century. With fresh seismic activity occurring on a more regular basis in the park, things are looking desperate. The film is obviously a work of fiction, but has documentary elements, such as interviews with actors, that lend a real sense of credibility and immediacy.

    As the story starts to unfold we are introduced to the team whose responsibility it is to monitor the gurgling magma below the park. At the vanguard of the work on Yellowstone's seismic activity is a scientific team, led by Professor Rick Lieberman (Michael Riley). The team monitors the volcano from various points around the park and is intimate with its every move. They provide the necessary warnings to government and media, without trying to raise a general panic. When a massive earthquake shakes the park, the media announce to an unsuspecting world that an eruption is imminent, even though the scientific team denies it is about to erupt.

    Lieberman and his team are forced to go on the offensive, adamant that no eruption is likely any time soon. Unfortunately, they are wrong, and as more alarming seismic activity occurs in the park, culminating with the drying up of the famous Old Faithful geyser, pressure builds on Lieberman's team to explain what is going on. No one wants to make the call that would cause widespread panic and mass evacuations, but there are signs that nobody can ignore and soon the country is gripped with panic.

    Lieberman is ordered by the Department of Homeland Security to appear on national television and downplay the threat in an effort to stymie the chaos, but it is too late as the mass eruption begins and no one has any idea how long it will last. Over the next week the story follows the disaster and the challenge faced by the entire continental United States in the aftermath of an eruption and ash cloud that covers more than 80 per cent of the country.

HARGA 50.000

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