Yesterday investigates disasters at changed history forever

Perfect Storms: Disasters that Changed the World, new & exclusive to Yesterday, Fridays at 9pm from 19th April

A natural disaster is vigorous, dramatic, and tragic; but they also have the power to transform history and alter humanity for thousands of years.

Perfect Storms: Disasters that Changed the World cross the globe to investigate the biggest and most significant disasters of all time, and those that have shaped the course of history. The series uses cutting-edge animation, field-testing and dramatic storytelling to recreate the events of the past.

The combination of powerful stories and epic imagery gives a glimpse into the incredibly rare and compounding disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and firestorms, which have changed history forever.

If the Nazi army hadn't frozen to death in Russia in 1941, perhaps Hitler's men would have been powerful enough to defeat England, maybe meaning our main language would now be German?

If there wasn't a massive earthquake in Japan in 1923, the military probably wouldn't have gained control and the country may never have joined the Second World War. Would this mean the atomic bomb wasn't invented and dropped on Hiroshima?

The Episodes

God's Wrath Friday 19th April

1755. A powerful earthquake shakes the city of Lisbon for several astonishing minutes. Survivors climb out of the rubble and flee to the riverbank only to be engulfed by a massive tsunami. Then the fires start and the city burns for eight days. Tens of thousands die and Portugal is crippled as an imperial power; but out of the rubble new ideas and scientific study begin.

Lost Legions Friday 26th April

9 A.D. Three Roman Legions are ambushed and wiped out in a remote German forest during a massive thunderstorm. The severed head of Roman General Varus is sent back to Rome in a box and the Empire never advances into Germania again. The battle helps create the boundary between Latin and Germanic cultures which exists to this day.

America's Deadliest Disaster Friday 3rd May

1900. The island city of Galveston, Texas was nicknamed the New York of the South and boasted the second most millionaires per capita in the nation. Then everything changes. Warnings about approaching category 4 hurricane storms are ignored. The next morning, 10,000 of the 37,000 city's inhabitants are dead. It still remains the deadliest natural disaster to ever strike the United States.

Volcano Apocalypse Friday 10th May

536 A.D. Somewhere a volcano exploded sending millions of tonnes of ash into the upper atmosphere. Within months, the world is plunged into a mini-ice age; crops fail, famine sets in and disease spreads. This catastrophe marked the end of the great civilizations of the Ancient World and the start of the hardship and suffering of the Dark Ages.

Tokyo Dragon Twister Friday 17th May

September 1, 1923. The Great Kanto Earthquake is an 8.2 magnitude earthquake, which struck off the coast of Japan, devastating Tokyo and its surrounding areas. In the rubble, thousands of fires break out and are quickly whipped into a firestorm, aided by the strong winds of a typhoon lurking offshore. It remains the deadliest natural disaster in Japanese history, killing between 140,000 and 160,000 people, and triggered the start of military control in Japan.

Hitler's Frozen Army Friday 24th May

1941. The immense Nazi and Soviet armies collide on the battlefields west of Moscow. Both Hitler and Stalin insist on victory, even at the cost of seven million soldiers' lives. It is the largest battle in human history and by mid-October the Soviets are on the verge of collapse. However when the bitterest and coldest winter on record hits, Hitler's men freeze to death and diesel fuel freezes in tanks. The Nazi advance is stopped dead in its tracks and they never make it to Moscow.

Disasters and storms can completely change our world and those that already have are investigated in Perfect Storms: Disasters that changed the World, only on Yesterday from 19th April.

For more information or expert interview opportunities, please contact:

Emily Jones

Publicist, Factual

020 7299 6284

Emily.Jones1@uktv.co.uk

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

About Yesterday

www.visityesterday.co.uk / Twitter: @visityesterday / facebook.com/yesterdaytvchannel

Yesterday provides entertainment inspired by history.

Showcasing new series such as Raiders of the Lost Past, Mafia's Greatest Hits, Medieval Dead and British Gangsters: Faces of the Underworld a programme which delves into the history of Britain's organised crime Yesterday seeks to redefine what history is.

In 2012, Yesterday also sees the return of three popular series: Find My Past, Great British Ghosts and Museum Secrets.

Where to find Yesterday: Freeview channel 19, Sky channel 537, and Virgin Media channel 203.

b>About UKTV (www.uktv.co.uk)

UKTV is a major industry player and one of the most important and successful multichannel providers in the UK. Formed in 1997, it is an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, and Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. (NYSE: SNI) .

Attracting over 41 million viewers each month, the network consists of 10 distinctive channel brands Watch, Gold, Dave, alibi, Yesterday, Blighty, Eden, Home, Really and Good Food offering a broad range of quality programming across entertainment, lifestyle and factual. UKTV currently operates 25 broadcast streams when its eight multiplexes and five HD channels are taken into account, and 11 highly successful websites. The network also runs video on demand (VOD) services on Sky and BT Vision and is part of TalkTalk on YouView. In addition, UKTV recently launched its own On Demand' services with Dave On Demand and Yesterday On Demand.

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