Covid19 virus pandemic 2019- | |
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| Total costs | N/A |
| Deaths | 20000000 |
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019; a lockdown in Wuhan and other cities in surrounding Hubei failed to contain the outbreak, and it quickly spread to other parts of mainland China and around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020, and a pandemic on 11 March 2020. Multiple variants of the virus have emerged and become dominant in many countries since 2021, with the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron variants being the most virulent. As of 1 December 2021, more than 262 million cases and 5.21 million deaths have been confirmed, making the pandemic one of the deadliest in history. COVID-19 symptoms range from none to life-threatening. Severe illness is more likely in elderly patients and those with certain underlying medical conditions. Transmission of COVID-19 occurs when people breathe in air contaminated by droplets and small airborne particles. The risk of breathing these in is highest when people are in close proximity, but the virus can transmit over longer distances, particularly indoors and in poorly ventilated areas. Transmission can also occur, rarely, via contaminated surfaces or fluids. People remain contagious for up to 20 days, and can spread the virus even if they do not develop symptoms. Several vaccines have been approved and distributed in various countries, which have initiated mass vaccination campaigns since December 2020. Other recommended preventive measures include social distancing, wearing face masks in public, ventilation and air-filtering, covering one's mouth when sneezing or coughing, hand washing, disinfecting surfaces, and quarantining people who have been exposed or are symptomatic. Treatments focus on addressing symptoms, but work is underway to develop medications that inhibit the virus. Authorities worldwide have responded by implementing travel restrictions, lockdowns, business closures, workplace hazard controls, testing protocols, and systems for tracing contacts of the infected. The pandemic has resulted in severe social and economic disruption around the world, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s. It has led to widespread supply shortages exacerbated by panic buying, agricultural disruption, and food shortages. The resultant near-global sustained quarantine saw an unprecedented decrease in the emission of pollutants. Numerous educational institutions and public areas have been partially or fully closed, and many events have been cancelled or postponed. Misinformation has circulated through social media and mass media, and political tensions have been exacerbated. The pandemic has raised issues of racial and geographic discrimination, health equity, and the balance between public health imperatives and individual rights.
Source: Wikipedia 1997 Soufriere Hills | |
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| Total costs | N/A |
| Deaths | 19 |
The Soufrière Hills are an active, complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995 and has continued to erupt ever since. Its eruptions have rendered more than half of Montserrat uninhabitable, destroying the capital city, Plymouth, and causing widespread evacuations: about two-thirds of the population have left the island. Chances Peak in the Soufrière Hills was the highest summit on Montserrat until the mid-1990s, but it has since been eclipsed by various rising and falling volcanic domes during the recent volcanic activity.The volcano is andesitic in nature, and the current pattern of activity includes periods of lava dome growth, punctuated by brief episodes of dome collapse which result in pyroclastic flows, ash venting, and explosive eruption. The volcano is monitored by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. Volcanic gas emissions from this volcano are measured by a Multi-Component Gas Analyzer System, which detects pre-eruptive degassing of rising magmas, improving prediction of volcanic activity.The Centre Hills in the central part of the island and the Silver Hills in the north are older volcanic massifs related to the subduction zone. There are three main parts of the island: the central zone, subduction and exclusion.
Source: Wikipedia
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