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Welcome
to the online home of George Kourounis. I'm a storm chaser and
adventurer based in Toronto, Canada. Here you will find many
unique images of my storm chasing adventures from all over the
world.
I've spent years photographing some
of Mother Nature's most elusive and dangerous phenomena. I've
chased tornadoes, giant hail, dust storms, hurricanes, avalanches,
volcanoes and lightning among other things. This site contains
a variety of photographs and video images of these encounters
with wild weather and other forces of nature. I hope you enjoy
viewing these images as much as I enjoyed taking them.
View All The Photo Galleries Here
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Where
in the world am I? -.... |
On expedition in Antarctica |
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ANGRY PLANET IS NOW AIRING ON OLN IN CANADA, THE
WEATHER CHANNEL IN AUSTRALIA AND THE TRAVEL CHANNEL IN EUROPE.
Get all the latest up to date
news on the Blog Page
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"Angry Planet" chronicles my travels as I circle
the globe, getting up close with the most violent and spectacular
forces on Earth from tornadoes to hurricanes to volcanoes and
more... |
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Check back often for the latest expedition updates... |
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NEW - "Snowmageddon"
Dec. 19,
2008
Heavy blowing
snow, thunder & lightning and extreme wind chills cause Environment
Canada to issue a stern statement to the public.
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NEW - Costa Rica Adventure
Nov. 29
- Dec 10, 2008
Up into the restricted
zone of Arenal volcano and hands on with a deadly Fer de Lance
viper.
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NEW - Monster Snow Squalls
Arkona,
Ontario - Nov. 21, 2008
Total chaos as
76cm of lake effect snow falls in 24 hours, closing roads and
stranding motorists.
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Into The
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
Ukraine
- Nov. 02-04, 2008
A trip into the
radioactive zone surrounding the 1986 nuclear power plant disaster.
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Aral Sea
Ecological Catastrophe
Uzbekistan
- Oct. 25-31 2008
Exploring the
sea that has shrunk to only a fraction of its former size due
to mismanagement.
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Kitum Cave
Mount Elgon,
Kenya - Oct. 19-21 2008
Underground elephants
scrape the cave walls here but it's the deadly Marburg virus that
I had to worry about after being bitten by a bat.
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The Great
Wildebeest Migration
Masai Mara,
Kenya - Oct. 14-18 2008
On safari to see
the wildlife of Africa, including one of the most spectacular
migrations in the world.
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The Hurricanes of 2008
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A three week marathon
of hurricane chasing that took me from Canada, to the Gulf Coast
of Louisiana, over to the Carolinas, up in a plane over Cuba,
and then back to the Gulf in Texas. |
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Gustav - Houma, Louisiana |
Hanna - Myrtle Beach, S. Carolina |
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Ike - Flying INTO The Eye Of The Storm
With The Hurricane Hunters |
Ike - Final, Devastating Landfall In
Galveston, Texas |
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Kawah Ijen
Volcano & Acid Lake
Indonesia-
July 14-15, 2008
While exploring
the sulfur mine there, I took a boat out onto the lake of sulfuric
acid.
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Anak Krakatau
Volcano
Indonesia-
July 14-15, 2008
Big eruptions
(some containing lightning) at one of the world's most notorious
volcanoes
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Komodo
Dragons
Rinca Island,
Indonesia- July 31, 2008
Getting up close
(too close) to the largest lizards on Earth.
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Semeru
Volcano
Indonesia-
July 23, 2008
Summit climb to
the highest peak on Java which is also a very active volcano.
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Sidoarjo
Mudflow Disaster
East Java
- July 2008
A drilling operation
gone wrong creates a mud volcano that destroys everything in its
path.
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India Monsoon
June/July
2008
Heavy rains and
flooding all across India, including some of the rainiest places
on Earth.
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Tornado
Chase 2008 - U.S. Great Plains
May 2008
Chasing tornadoes
and severe storms in Tornado Alley. The images below link to the
daily blog reports from the chase.
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Mali Expedition
- Sand Storms & an Overland Journey to Timbuktu in the Sahara
Desert
April 13-28
2008
A journey through
West Africa to the legendary city of Timbuktu.
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Iceland
Expedition
March 2008
Geysers, glaciers,
ice climbing on an iceberg and a meeting with the president himself.
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Pacific
Storm Watching
Tofino,
B.C. - Feb. 22-23, 2008
Big waves &
beautiful scenery along the west coast of Vancouver Island.
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Northern
Lights
Dawson
City, Yukon - Feb. 15, 2008
An amazing show
of the aurora borealis in the northern sky above the Yukon.
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Extreme
Cold
Yukon -
Feb. 2008
Documenting one
of the coldest places in North America, and how people handle
it.
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Flood Control
Project
Venice,
Italy - Jan. 24, 2008
Visiting the MOSE
construction project, which is designed to eliminate flooding
in a city famous for its high water.
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Stromboli
Volcano
Italy -
Jan. 15, 2008
Jets of hot lava
and billowing ash clouds as seen from the summit of one of the
world's most active volcanoes.
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Mount Vesuvius
& Pompeii
Italy -
Jan. 13, 2008
Visiting the ancient
ruins of the Roman city destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 79
A.D.
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Kilauea
Volcano New Activity Viewed by Helicopter
Hawaii
- Dec. 2007
Surveying the
recent changes in volcanic activity including new flows and lava
ponds.
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Mauna Kea
Big Island,
Hawaii - Dec. 2007
Snow in Hawaii
after blizzard conditions blanket the summit at 13,796 Feet
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Uluru (Ayers
Rock)
Central
Australian Outback - Dec. 07, 2007
The iconic symbol
of Australia.
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Spectacular
Lightning
Northern
Territory, Australian Outback - Dec. 07, 2007
Intense cloud
to ground lightning bolts near the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
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Thunder
Down Under
Storm Chasing
In Australia - Dec. 2007
Chasing Southern
Hemisphere thunderstorms in New South Wales.
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Extreme
Drought - Australia - Dec. 02 2007
Years of drought
have taken their toll on the Australian countryside.
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Shark Feeding
Frenzy - Oahu, Hawaii - Nov. 28, 2007
Dozens of very
excited sharks, all interested in one thing...
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Post-Tropical
Hurricane Noel - Nova Scotia - Nov. 4, 2007
The remnants of
hurricane Noel pound the Nova Scotia coastline with enormous waves.
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Caving
Expedition - Vancouver Island - Sept./Oct., 2007
Following subterranean
waterways into deep cave systems...with a few hiccups along the
way.
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Hurricane
Dean - Jamaica - Aug. 19, 2007
Category 4 hurricane
Dean scrapes the Jamaica coastline.
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Florida
Wild Water Adventure - Aug. 2007
Waterspouts in
the Keys and Alligators in the Everglades.
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Death Valley,
California - 49 Degrees Celsius - July 20-27, 2007
One of the hottest,
driest and lowest points on Earth.
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World's
First Traverse of the Boiling Lake
- Dominica,
West Indies - July 6, 2007
Suspended by rope
over the violently boiling sulfurous lake.
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Swimming
with Whale Sharks - Isla Holbox, Mexico - July 12-15, 2007
In the water and
up close with the largest fish in the world.
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Tornado
- Near Hill City, Kansas - May 22, 2007
A gorgeous supercell
storm and tornado - On my birthday nonetheless !!
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Read
The 2007 Tornado Chase Daily Blog Entries
Brilliant
Lightning - Big Springs, Texas - May 7, 2007
Incredible cloud
to ground lightning lighting up the night sky.
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Bioluminescent
Bay - Vieques Island, Puerto Rico - April 2007
Swimming in water
containing billions of bioluminescent plankton that emit light
when touched.
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Patagonia
Expedition & Sailing Around Cape Horn - Argentina & Chile
- March 19 - April 4 2007
Climbing on the
fascinating blue Holanda glacier & sailing the Southern Ocean
around Cape Horn - Many more updates to come when I have the time.
Patagonia is such an amazing place.
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Avalanche
Control Along The Trans-Canada Hwy, B.C. - Feb 20, 2007
Firing artillery
into the mountains and dropping explosives from a helicopter.
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Winter
Ascent of Mount Washington - NH - Jan 22-24, 2007
Known as the place
with the "Worst weather in the world" I figured I should
climb it...In the middle of winter of course.
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Extreme
Ice Experiment - Ottawa, ON - Jan 26, 2007
Frozen Solid:
Inside a wind tunnel with -18 temperatures, water spray and hurricane
force winds. Yes that's me underneath all that ice.
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Yasur Volcano
- Tanna Island, Vanuatu - Dec 2006
Explosively active
with huge lava bombs and clouds of ash... And I got married there
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Angry
Planet Video Clip - Into the Volcano!
Watch
as I descend into an exploding volcano in Vanuatu to gather glowing
hot lava bombs that are being hurled hundreds of meters through
the air.
This
is the same volcano that I got married on two days later. The
wedding was featured on an episode of Angry Planet. |
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Kilauea
Volcano Lava Flows - Big Island, Hawaii - Dec 2006
Lava pours into
the Pacific from a new lava flow
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Blue Cave
- Tanna Island, Vanuatu - Dec. 2006
The well hidden
Blue Cave is one of the most spectacular places on Earth.
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Great White
Shark Diving - Isla de Guadalupe, Mexico - Oct. 31-Nov. 4, 2006
In the water with
the most feared creatures in the sea. Cage diving with numerous
sharks in the area, some up to 16 feet long.
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Incredible
Firestorm !! - Thunder Bay Sept. 13-17
Spectacular air
to air photos of an ignition helicopter using a drip torch to
start a prescribed burn 150 km north of Thunder Bay. This has
been the busiest September for forest fires in over 20 years in
the region. Click below for more pictures.
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Antelope Canyon
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Carved by thousands of years
of floodwater and sand, the Antelope slot canyon in Arizona is
a hidden beauty. When the light is just right, rays of sunlight
peek in through the narrow gaps at the top. |
Nyiragongo
Volcano
D.R. Congo
(Zaire) - Africa - July 17th - July 30th 2006
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Watch A Video Clip Of The Lava Lake HERE.
Walking
With Rare Mountain Gorillas
Parc De
Les Volcans, Rwanda - Africa
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Forest
Fires
Yukon/Alaska/Northern
B.C. - June 26th - July 10th 2006
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The Hurricanes of 2005
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Dennis - Pensacola, Florida |
Katrina - Gulfport, Mississippi |
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Rita - Port Arthur, Texas |
Wilma - Marco Island, Florida |
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I was in position
to film all of the land falling U.S. hurricanes during this historical,
record breaking storm season. Each section has pictures and video
clips of the storms. |
Tornado Chase: May/June 2005
Erta Ale Volcano, Ethiopia - Jan 2005
The Ethiopian volcano trip
was a success. I was able to descend into the active pit crater
and shoot video from the inside. Many difficulties were overcome
in the process of getting to the volcano including mechanical
failures, scorching heat, illness of some of the team members
and the first rains in 2 years to hit the area. Stories
and pictures now online here.
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This
now makes me the first person to have ever filmed from INSIDE
a tornado, a hurricane and an active volcano !! |
Kansas Tornado Outbreak!! - May
29, 2004
10 Tornadoes
Touch Down in 3 Hours!!
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