Tales of Disasters - Five Very Important Stories

You can watch the Tales of Disaters films here, or glance through the short  synoses below.   

TSUNAMI

When an earthquake strikes, the Little Girl knows exactly how to react. She moves away from the hut, crouches down and covers her head with the first hard object to hand - her bucket - until it’s over. Worse follows – the tide is going out far further than normal. Fish flap on the sand where the sea has retreated, and an ignorant Badu eagerly fills his bucket. Easy pickings! Meanwhile, the other villagers flee to high ground - tsunamis come fast. Badu sees the terrifying wave too late, but luckily, the Squirrel grabs him and clings to a tree as the wave crashes against them. On the hillside, the villagers want to return to their homes, but the Little Girl stops them - a tsunami is more than one wave.

EARTHQUAKE

The Little Girl is shopping for equipment for her emergency bag. “We don’t have emergencies here,” says Badu. “This is a quiet village.” Right on cue, the room starts shaking. The Little Girl quickly hides under the table, hangs on to its legs and covers her head. Badu is whacked on the head by a box he put up earlier. Then an entire shelf. Outside, the villagers are running out of their houses and gathering in the street. They warn each other to keep well clear of buildings and electricity wires. As the shaking stops, everyone is told to stay out in the open – only Badu doesn’t listen. Predictably, there is an aftershock. Everybody ducks and covers, but Badu’s shop collapses into rubble.

VOLCANO

There is smoke coming from the volcano’s summit and a rumbling noise is getting louder, but Badu has heard it all before. When the Little Girl approaches with her emergency backpack, he tells her the volcano hasn’t erupted in centuries. “It’s perfectly safe.” The rumbling gets louder, and the Little Girl produces a map of the village and surrounding area, with a safe place – up-wind of the volcano – carefully marked. Ash starts to fall and everyone covers their mouths and noses, and follows the Little Girl to safety. Badu is asleep. Fortunately, he survives, although he has inhaled a lot of ash. The village is in ruins. Perhaps it would be wise to rebuild elsewhere.

FLOOD  / LANDSLIDE

Badu has just sold his hillside of ‘worthless’ trees to an illegal logging company. It’s raining. After four full days and nights of downpour, Badu is still enjoying his new riches and throws away his rubbish carelessly, where it’s swept off towards an already blocked drain. The water level is rising fast. Badu’s house is on a now-bare hillside, which is looking very unstable. The villagers climb to high ground. Badu’s new belongings are washed away, and there’s more bad news to come – outside, the hill above his house has collapsed, taking his house with it! As the waters subside, the Little Girl encourages everyone to replant the hillside and clear the drains of rubbish.

TYPHOON / CYCLONE

It’s cyclone season. People study evacuation routes and designated shelter areas, and prepare emergency supplies. Ha! Why make this fuss when nothing’s even happened yet, mocks Badu. Clouds are gathering, and the Little Girl’s wind-up radio warns of a cyclone heading straight towards the village. Stay tuned for updates, it says. She boards up her windows and puts everything away. Meanwhile, the radio tells everyone to evacuate, and the storm hits hard. People are told not to leave the shelter when a short calm passes over. This is the eye – the storm will quickly flare up again. Worried, the Squirrel has stayed with Badu. They are eventually rescued and told they’re lucky to be alive.