DISASTER EPIDEMIC IN 2020

The year 2020 has only just begun, and the world has already suffered many natural disasters, tragedies, deaths,

regional conflicts and a new virus outbreak. With 11 months to go, what the year 2020 may bring seems daunting

to predict in the face of the tsunami of bad news and conflicts

The word disaster is thrown around a lot, but what are the kinds of disasters that can rock the planet.

As it turns out, disasters can be broken down into these convenient categories

Geophysical Earthquakes, Landslides, Tsunamis, and Volcanic Activity

Hydrological Avalanches and Floods

ClimatologicalExtreme Temperatures,

Drought and WildfiresMeteorological

Cyclones and Storms

Wave Surges

BiologicalDisease Epidemics and

Insect/Animal Plagues

Geopolitical

and

economical

stock market crashes,

wars

History is

littered with

catastrophic disasters.

But to determine the

"worst" you really need to

define by what metrics you

use to compare events

Bhola cyclone – 1970Bangladesh

275,000-500,000 deaths

Shaanxi Earthquake – 1556

Shaanxi, China

830,000 deaths

365 Crete Tsunami – 365Crete, Europe

300,000-500,000 deaths

The Yellow River floods – 1931

China

4,000,000 deaths

According to sites like protectyourhome.com,

here are some basic steps you can take to

prevent further injury or loss of life in the

event of a disaster

Stay informed

Have a plan for evacuation

Keep emergency kits (and supplies) on hand

Avoid unnecessary risks

Go to the safest area in your home

PANDEMIC

3D medical animation coronavirus structure vie

NATURAL DISASTERS STRIKE DURING A PANDEMIC

EARTHQUAKE IN ZAGREB, CROATIA

At 6.24am local time on SundayThe epicentre seven kilometres north of Zagreb Another strong earthquake shook Zagreb at 7amBoth tremors causing widespread damage and panic amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis

Dozens were injured and that

a 15-year-old suffered life-

threatening injuries

The EMSC said the earthquake’s

magnitude was 5.3 on the Richter

scale, but Croatian Prime Minister

said it was 5.5 An Associated Press report said many buildings in Zagreb suffered cracking, and walls and rooftops were damaged. Downtown streets were littered with debris, while concrete slabs fell on cars and chimneys toppled

The top of Zagreb’s cathedral was damaged, and there were electricity and water cuts in some residential areas in the centrePrime Minister Plenkovic told a

press conference said that it was

the strongest earthquake to hit

Zagreb since 1880

A FORECAST OF DISASTER

A recent NOAA forecast warns that 1.2 million people throughout

the Midwest face risks of major flooding this spring

An early analysis from Colorado

State University also suggests

that Atlantic hurricanes, which

generally form between June 1

and November 30, are more

likely than average to make

landfall this year

Devastation from extreme weather events has spiked sharply in recent years as climate change drives growth in the intensity and

frequency of storms. Greenhouse gas emissions also contribute to extended droughts and more frequent and erratic wildfires along

much of the U.S. West Coast

“We've had basically no snowpack down in the low country here in our area, so we know we're going to have a bad fire season,” says

Carlene Anders, mayor of Pateros, Washington, and executive director of the Disaster Leadership Team.

In the United States, the response to disasters is a local endeavor at its core. Volunteers, first responders, and small nonprofits form

the vanguard in any calamity. Next are regional and state response teams. The federal government only steps in if the catastrophe

crosses borders or overloads local capacity to respond. But people at every level of the response system are facing fallout from

the pandemic

“There's really nothing about how we respond to a disaster that is not in some way impacted by COVID-19,” says Samantha Montano,

an assistant professor in the University of Nebraska Omaha's emergency management and disaster science program

Rescuers searched through shattered Tennessee neighborhoods for

bodies Tuesday, less than a day after tornadoes ripped across Nashville

and other parts of the state as families slept. At least 25 people were

killed, some in their beds

The twisters that struck in the hours after midnight shredded more than

140 buildings and buried people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements.

The storms moved so quickly that many people in their path could not flee

Early findings by National Weather Service survey teams indicated that the damage in Nashville and Wilson County to the east was inflicted by a tornado of at least EF-3 intensity, the agency said.

TORNADOES IN TENNESSEE

Disasters That Might Threaten the World in 2020

Economic crash in 2020?

Stock market and global economic crashes are predicted all

the time. But there is some good evidence that another big

correction is going to be on the books very soon

But it should be kept in mind that market corrections are part and parcel of its nature. Despite the fact that this panic among investors can lead to massive market crashes, like in 2008. These kinds of events tend to occur roughly every 10 years or so. Could we see one in 2020?

Yellowstone Park is due to erupt anytime nowYellowstone National Park is a beautiful and idyllic place.

But this hides a literal ticking bomb under its surface

The last eruption was 630,000 years ago. That sounds like a long time ago, but volcanologists have discovered that this volcano tends to erupt every 600 - 700 thousand years

The park actually sits on top of enormous supervolcano tens of kilometers in diameter. The volcano is still active and is due to erupt anytime now

Lake Toba supervolcano is also a sleeping giant

If this erupts in 2020, it could potentially be a human civilization-ending event

Yellowstone is not the only sleeping giant volcano on the planet.

Lake Toba in Indonesia also sits on top of an enormous supervolcano

It last erupted about 74-75 thousand years ago and was so devastating

that it is believed to have almost made humans extinct. While geologists

believe Lake Toba is unlikely to blow in 2020, its magma chamber is far

from dormant

The "Big One" is well overdue in California, Oregon, and Washington

The San Andreas Fault is another potential disaster that could occur in 2020. According to the USGS, the probability of a devastating magnitude 8.0 or a larger earthquake hitting California within the next few decades is pretty high

California's high population density and propensity to live in high-rise

buildings could mean that when the "Big One" comes, it will be horrendous

The US-China trade war could turn very sour

The recent decoupling of the United States and China is already disrupting tech-flow, talent, and investment between the two superpowers. Not only does this affect trade directly between the two nations, but it could contaminate the global tech sector market

If a deal is not reached, this could deepen geopolitical and economic tensions around the world

Some have even predicted it could spark actual conflict

Protests spread across the United States

The United States is waking up to a situation that was nearly unthinkable just a week ago. The pain and social isolation brought about by the U.S. coronavirus epidemic has now taken a back seat to mass demonstrations that have paralyzed the country— including one outside the White House on Sunday night that reportedly sent President Donald Trump fleeing to an underground bunker. Protests that originated in Minneapolis after a white police officer killed George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, quickly spread around the country to at least 140 cities. Much has been made of the damage to property, both in Minneapolis—where a police station was set on fire—and elsewhere, but what stands out about these protests is the level of violence exhibited by police in attempting to subdue the protesters