10 Best Disaster Movies Streaming On Netflix Right Now

Hollywood screenwriters love to conjure up the worst-case scenario for every situation. What if you met the love of your life, but they died a slow, painful death? What if an evil megalomaniac wanted to kill half of the world's population? What if sharks start falling out of the sky? Moviegoers always show up when disaster strikes.

One needn't look to the world of fantasy or science fiction to find a story with real stakes. Mother Nature gives us plenty of tales of destruction all on her own. Indeed, some of the most compelling films examine humankind's often futile struggle to overpower — or simply survive — the awe-inspiring forces of nature. From true stories of survival against all odds to fictional calamities that stretch the limits of believability, we're drawn toward catastrophe.

To be sure, disaster films serve several distinct purposes for audiences. Some are pure blockbuster fare, pushing the worst possible scenario conceit as far as it can go. Others tell true stories of heroism and grit, highlighting the strength of the human spirit. Certain films serve as cautionary tales, reminding us what can happen when we're not prepared for the worst. In any case, it's hard to tear your eyeballs away from the screen when these kinds of films show up. If you're in the mood to watch a movie depicting a life-threatening situation, and you have a Netflix subscription, here are the best disaster movies worth streaming right now.

You can probably guess what kind of movie "San Andreas" is just from the poster, but for posterity's sake, we'll give you a bit more information. Wrestler-turned actor Dwayne Johnson plays Ray, a rescue helicopter pilot going through a divorce. Disaster strikes (literally) when the shifting San Andreas Fault triggers the most devastating earthquake in history, destroying California. Ray, the macho hero of the film, must do what macho heroes do: reunite with his estranged family members in the middle of a cataclysmic event.

Meanwhile, Paul Giamatti plays Lawrence, a seismologist who's just discovered a means of predicting earthquakes before they happen. Unfortunately, his scientific discovery comes a little late in the game, especially considering the unprecedented magnitude of this quake. Still, he and a reporter (Archie Panjabi) spend their portion of the film valiantly trying to warn Californians about the impending — or currently happening — disaster.

If you're looking for compelling writing or nuanced story arcs, "San Andreas" is not for you. To give you an example of how the characters talk, during a scene where Ray rescues his wife (Carla Gugino) in his helicopter, they land in the middle of a baseball field, and he quips, "It's been a while since we've been to second base." Still, the film's impressive special effects and the charisma of its estranged spouses make "San Andreas" a fun ride. It's a classic blockbuster disaster movie, for better and for worse.

Hitting two birds with one stone, the Korean film "Pandora" depicts the double-whammy of an earthquake and a nuclear meltdown. Actually, make that three birds — there's a government conspiracy storyline thrown in there as well. (The real-life analogs to these concurrent disasters are easy to spot: the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake, the Fukushima disaster, and the impeachment of Korean President Park Geun-hye.)

This issue-heavy film follows Jae-hyuk (Kim Nam-gil), a mechanic at the Hanbyul nuclear plant. Jae-hyuk's brother and father both died while working at the plant, but he feels compelled to stay near his remaining family. Meanwhile, in Seoul, a slimy Prime Minister hides details about Hanbyul's safety concerns from the president.

It doesn't take long for the disaster to start. First, the earthquake hits, which triggers the nuclear meltdown, the blame for which lies at the feet of corrupt politicians. The rest of the film follows the characters we've been introduced to as they attempt to survive the disaster, and in some cases, try to prevent it from getting worse. Along with gripping action sequences and some impressive special effects, "Pandora" hits us hard with the pathos. Will the politicians in Seoul do the right thing to save the people? Who will sacrifice themselves to stop the meltdown? Led by a powerful performance from Kim, the film delivers a solid take on the disaster film.

The 1972 film "The Poseidon Adventure" is a classic adventure film starring a whopping five Oscar winners, including Gene Hackman and Shelly Winters. But we're not talking about that film today. Instead, we're here to discuss the 2006 film "Poseidon," based on the same novel as the 1972 film. Released during an especially goofy era for blockbusters, "Poseidon" is better than you might expect, even without Gene Hackman at the helm.

Of course, part of its success stems from the presence of the great Kurt Russell, who acts as the film's rugged hero. Russell plays Robert Ramsey, a former firefighter and mayor of New York City. Robert, along with his daughter (Emmy Rossum) and her boyfriend (Mike Vogel), are traveling on the Poseidon, a luxury cruise ship. When an enormous wave capsizes the ship, most of the passengers are killed. Robert and his daughter are among the survivors, who now must fight for their lives as the ship continues to sink.

"Poseidon" makes no claims to realism, but its full-throttle silliness and great cast make it a highly entertaining disaster flick. It comes as no surprise that Russell knocks it out of the park as our almost unbelievably talented protagonist, holding his breath for minutes at a time and putting all his firefighter skills to good use. The rest of the cast includes Richard Dreyfuss as an architect, Andre Braugher as the captain, and, get this, Fergie as a cruise ship singer. Against all odds, it rocks.

Movies like the 1990s hit "Twister" and its creatively named sequel, "Twisters," leave viewers in shock, awe, and sometimes laughter about the power of nature while telling a heartening story of camaraderie and love. Real-life twisters don't offer the same neatly-tied happy endings. In the documentary "The Twister: Caught in the Storm," the filmmakers turn their focus to the victims of a devastating hurricane with very real stakes.

In May 2011, the town of Joplin, Missouri, was struck by a powerful EF5 tornado, the highest intensity on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Alexandra Lacey's documentary about the tornado looks back on that day through the eyes of the survivors – specifically, the teenagers who graduated the same day the twister touched down. Using archival footage of the storm and interviews with this uniquely affected group, the film tells a harrowing story of the end times.

In a darkly ironic twist of fate, a popular televangelist proclaimed that the Rapture was to occur the day before the tornado, and the belief that 2012 would bring the apocalypse thanks to the ending of the Mayan calendar animated many pieces of pop culture, including Roland Emmerich's disaster epic "2012." That year's graduating class was already referring to themselves as "class of the apocalypse" before the twister arrived. Alongside a powerful archive of footage and moving interviews, these rich narrative layers elevate "The Twister: Caught in the Storm" above its disaster documentary contemporaries.

Documentaries in the era of smartphones offer a previously unprecedented look at major disasters as they happened in real time. In "The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari," this modern-day technology, along with the heart-wrenching event itself, accounts for much of the film's intrigue. In December 2019, a volcanic island in New Zealand erupted, killing nearly half of the 47 people on the island. The documentary tells the story of the eruption in great detail, using cell phone footage and interviews with survivors to paint an evocative picture of the lead-up, the moment of the explosion, and the immediate aftermath of the natural disaster.

The film limits its focus to the eruption itself, letting the survivors and their footage do the talking. Still, it brings up questions about the utility of the volcano warning system and the government's decision to mark the island as a no-fly zone. Like many other disaster films, "The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari" also serves as a reminder for us humans not to mess with Mother Nature, lest she lay her wrath upon us. At the same time, the documentary doesn't blame the victims, but rather questions why the volcano was a tourist destination at all. The recollections detailed by the survivors are horrifying and gruesome at times, so be prepared for an arresting experience if you choose to press play.

Wildfires aren't often the subject of disaster films (though Angeline Jolie starred as a fire jumper in the 2021 thriller "Those Who Wish Me Dead"), and the 2019 documentary "Fire in Paradise" reminds us why these natural disasters are some of the most destructive forces on earth. The film recounts the story of the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed 85 people and destroyed thousands of buildings and homes. It's a gut-wrenching watch.

Using first-person cell phone footage of the fire and interviews with survivors, the documentary provides a visceral account of the devastating disaster. Coming in at only 40 minutes, this short film is filled to the brim with action and pathos, giving the viewer little space to catch their breath. The stories told by survivors are heartbreaking. When a school bus full of children began heating up and filling with smoke, the bus driver ripped up a shirt to make face masks for the students. A man recalls finding the charred skeleton of his friend in a burnt-up car. A woman details how she spent hours lying on a piece of cement under a blanket with her son and their dog as the fire raged around them.

Indeed, the film doesn't pull any punches when it comes to zeroing in on the horrors of the fire, daring viewers not to look away. Sadly, "Fire in Paradise" has remained relevant in the years since its release as wildfires continue to burn across the West, giving climate change a terrifying, deadly face.

Liam Neeson's post "Taken" career has been a sight to behold. The 2008 thriller announced Neeson as an action hero, and that film spawned many B-movie imitations – including several Neeson starred in himself. "The Ice Road" doesn't have a ton in common with "Taken" apart from the fact that Neeson is once again tasked with saving lives, but the Netflix film fits squarely within his late-in-life action star persona.

One of three — or four, if you include the sequel — action movies in which Neeson traverses through a dangerous, snowy landscape, "The Ice Road" features the actor playing an ice road driver. (Not to be confused with "Cold Pursuit," in which Neeson plays a snowplow driver.) Mike McCann works as a big-rig truck driver in Canada, where he's employed alongside his brother, Gurty (Marcus Thomas). Mike and Gurty join a dangerous rescue mission after an explosion in a mine traps several dozen miners. A young indigenous woman, Tantoo ("Prey" star Amber Midthunder), rounds out the team.

We'll be honest and tell you that "The Ice Road" isn't one of Neeson's best. But his worst is still mighty entertaining, and watching the veteran actor (he was 69 when the film came out) occasionally kick ass while grievously performing flat dialogue in a frigid environment is charming enough. Indeed, the fact that Neeson fully commits to the film, which mostly sees him sitting still in a big truck while driving over potentially precarious terrain, is part of the fun. "The Ice Road" isn't nearly as suspenseful as it could be, but a few twists and turns and several moments of real peril made this flick a hit for Netflix.

The 2023 Taiwanese film "Eye of the Storm" is not about COVID-19. Instead, the film follows Taiwan's 2003 SARS outbreak, during which the Taiwanese government locked down Heping Hospital for two weeks. Almost 1,000 patients and hospital staff were locked in the hospital during the period, which resulted in 31 deaths, including one suicide.

In "Eye of the Storm," we follow several characters trapped during the lockdown, including a doctor, a nurse, and unlucky patients in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, Dr. Zheng Xia (Edison Wang) finds himself trapped in the hospital on his daughter's fifth birthday. Dr. Xia collaborates with Jin Youzhong (Simon Hsueh), a journalist investigating the source of the outbreak. The film aims to tell the story of this lockdown without too many frills or much subtlety, and this strategy results in an affecting picture.

Though it depicts a viral outbreak twenty years prior, "Eye of the Storm" can't help but comment on COVID. The trauma of the 2003 lockdown no doubt influenced Taiwan's response to COVID, and the film reminds us that the first pandemic of the 21st century took place far earlier than 2019. Ultimately, the film suggests that empathy is the best strategy when faced with disaster, a message that never gets old.

There are many ways to depict the story of a plane crash that resulted in cannibalism. The hit series "Yellowjackets" concocts a fantastical version of that story using another group of teammates. The 1993 film "Alive" translates a Spanish-language story into English, with a young Ethan Hawke as its star. But it's "Society of Snow," the 2023 film directed by J. A. Bayona, that emerges as the definitive retelling of the 1972 plane crash in which a team of Uruguayan rugby players crashed into the Andes.

In his review of "Alive," Roger Ebert wrote, "There are some stories you simply can't tell," suggesting that this plane crash was one of them. Bayona proves him wrong. The film's cast, comprised of fresh-faced Uruguayan and Argentine actors, embodies the youthful energy and camaraderie of the team with ease. The film was shot on location in the snowy mountains, including at the actual site of the crash. The spectacular cinematography captures the vast expanse of the landscape, and the plane crash sequences are visceral and shocking without feeling over-dramatized.

While the event itself has become a mythic tale, Bayona manages to ground this larger-than-life story in the lives of the characters rather than the spectacle, though the visuals are a feast for the eyes. While "Society of Snow" doesn't shy away from the gore and horror, the characters' emotional journeys carry the film through to its conclusion. Their gruesome means of survival isn't played for shock value, but rather honors these men, both dead and alive. That audiences already know how this story ends doesn't matter – Bayona takes us on an expedition that gets at the heart of our shared humanity.

With its hilariously straightforward title, the 2023 movie "Plane" doesn't pretend to be something it's not. Gerard Butler plays Brodie Torrance, a Royal Air Force veteran and the manly captain of this titular aircraft. When lightning strikes his plane, frying the electronics system, Brodie crash-lands on a remote island in the Philippines. With that crisis averted, Brodie is faced with another: a group of rebels in the midst of a war who take the passengers hostage.

Though he's tough and handsome, as action heroes are wont to be, Brodie's rugged good looks and sick combat skills aren't enough to save the day. He's forced to team up with Louis Gaspare, a French soldier accused of murder. As equally tough and handsome as his captain, Louis proves himself to be a worthy ally in the fight.

Butler is more than capable of carrying this largely derivative script, which nonetheless delivers a satisfying throwback to the bombastic action movies of the 1980s and 1990s. Marvel fans know Colter as an unwitting superhero in "Luke Cage," and he doesn't disappoint as this misunderstood muscleman either. Though it's not surprising, Butler's most underrated action movie is never boring. It recycles all the old action tropes and paints them with a pleasantly modern sheen. Not a disaster film meant to inspire deep thoughts about your own mortality, "Plane" is better-suited to punctuate a long week with a relaxing movie night on the couch.