title: You Are Not My Mother

text: The family report the disappearance to the police, but they are not able to offer much help. However Angela returns within a few days, strangely altered. Her depression is gone, and she is cheerful, dressing up and cooking dinner for the family. Rita seems suspicious of these changes in Angela and deliberately upsets the pan of soup that Angela had prepared, so the family are obliged to eat the chips that Aaron has brought over instead. But Angela appears to have little appetite and sits staring sullenly at her mother.


title: You Are Not My Mother

text: Char witnesses several instances of increasingly bizarre behaviour in the "new" Angela and becomes frightened. Her uncle Aaron is poisoned by Angela, which leads to him being hospitalised.


title: You Are Not My Mother

text: In the meantime Char is forging a friendship with one of her former bullies, Suzanne. Char confides in Suzanne about the changes in Angela; Suzanne in turn tells Char how her own mother died when she was very young.


title: You Are Not My Mother

text: One evening Rita tells Char the story of her past; when Char was a baby, Rita realised she had been swapped with a “changeling”. The only way to get the real Char back was to place her near fire, hence the fiery ring ritual in the woods. This worked, but Char sustained a small burn to her cheek. Her family told her the resultant scar was a birthmark.


title: You Are Not My Mother

text: Rita tells Char that the "new" Angela is also a changeling, and thus the fire ritual must be repeated to get the real Angela back. Although Char appears to agree, when she sees Angela bound and gagged and tied to a bed she is appalled. Despite her grandmother’s protests, Char frees Angela, only to realise too late that Rita spoke the truth, and that this is not the "real" Angela. The changeling kills Rita.


title: You Are Not My Mother

text: Char runs out of the house, but is waylaid by the school bullies, who force her inside an unlit Halloween bonfire. However the bullies are scared off by the approach of the changeling Angela. Angela pushes her way into the bonfire to get to Char, but Char sets the structure alight. Angela burns while Char is rescued from the flames by Suzanne.


title: You Are Not My Mother

text: In the final scene, Angela is restored to her true self, and Char makes her a lucky token from twigs "to keep her safe", as her grandmother had once made for her. Mother and daughter are happy to be together again, ready to move forward with their lives.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: Marshal of the Empire () was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was created by "Sénatus-consulte" on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. According to the "Sénatus-consulte", a Marshal was a grand officer of the Empire, entitled to a high-standing position at the Court and to the presidency of an electoral college.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: Although in theory reserved "to the most distinguished generals", in practice Emperor Napoleon I granted the title according to his own wishes and convictions and made at least a few controversial choices. Although not a military rank, a Marshal displayed four silver stars, while the top military rank, General of Division, displayed three stars. Furthermore, the Marshalate quickly became the prestigious sign of the supreme military attainment and it became customary that the most significant commands be given to a Marshal. Each Marshal held his own coat of arms, was entitled to special honours and several of them held top functions within the army. They wore distinctive uniforms and were entitled to carry a baton, which was a symbol of their authority.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: Throughout his reign from 1804 to 1815, Napoleon appointed a total of 26 Marshals, although their number never exceeded 20 at any one moment. The initial list of 1804 included 14 names of active generals and four names of retired generals, who were given the "honorary" title of Marshal. Six other promotions ensued, with eight other generals elevated to the Marshalate. The title often ensured a highly privileged social status – four Marshals were created Counts of the Empire and 17 received either the title of Duke or Prince. With two exceptions – Jean-Baptiste Bessières and Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier – the Marshals led a sumptuous lifestyle and left behind significant, at times immense, fortunes. Several of them received significant annuities; in addition, a few received financial endowments from the Emperor, with two of them – Louis-Alexandre Berthier and André Masséna – receiving more than one million Francs each. Two Marshals – Joachim Murat and Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte – went on to become Kings, with the latter being the direct ancestor of the current Swedish Royal Family.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: Most of the Marshals held significant commands during the Napoleonic Wars, winning some of the most brilliant victories of the entire Napoleonic Wars. Three of them – Jean Lannes, Louis-Nicolas Davout and Louis-Gabriel Suchet were virtually never defeated in pitched battle, despite fighting in dozens of engagements. While they were not normally expected to lead from the front, they often exposed themselves to great dangers on the battlefields of Europe; three Marshals – Jean Lannes, Jean-Baptiste Bessières and Józef Poniatowski – were killed in action or died as a result of battle wounds. During his five years as a Marshal of the Empire (1809–1814), Nicolas-Charles Oudinot received seven of a total of 34 battle wounds suffered throughout his career, but went on to live to the then venerable age of 81. Often formidable when serving under the direct command of Napoleon, the Marshals proved to be less effective when having to cooperate in the Emperor's absence. Some repeatedly acted in bad faith when placed under the command of another Marshal, with conflicts sometimes leading to fatal military consequences. After Napoleon's downfall, most of them swore allegiance to the Bourbon Restoration and several went on to hold significant commands and positions.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: The French word "Maréchal" traces its origins back to the Carolingians, from the Ancient German word "marascahl", a stable supervisor who took care of the king's horses. With the growing importance of the battle horse during the early Middle Age, the role came to acquire some prestige and began to be known as Marshal of France. Albéric Clément, who led King Philippe-Auguste's vanguard during the victory over the English at Bouvines in 1214, was the first recorded incumbent. At first, the role was granted to a single person, but three decades after Bouvines, Louis IX of France set sail for the 1248 Crusade with two Marshals. As early as the 15th century, the Marshals no longer cared for the King's horses and stables, and were simply military leaders, a role that they would retain through to modern times. Although the position remained highly prestigious, their number grew throughout the centuries, with Louis XIV naming as many as 51 Marshals during his 72-year reign. In the years leading to the French Revolution, there were constantly 15–16 Marshals, but a law of 4 March 1791 reduced their number to six and a decree of 21 February 1793 abolished the dignity altogether.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: Eleven years later, Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor of the French and wanted to institute a military elite for the new French Empire. Article 48 of Title of the 19 May 1804 sénatus-consulte set up the grand officers of the Empire, among which the highest-standing were the Marshals. In the Imperial Court hierarchy, they came in the fifth rank, behind the Emperor and Empress, the Imperial family, the great dignitaries and the ministers. They were entitled to a special etiquette: whenever the Emperor would write to them, he would call them "Mon Cousin" ("Cousin"), when a third party would write to them, they would be called "Monsieur le Maréchal"; and when spoken to, they would be called "Monseigneur" ("My Liege"). They were greeted with 13 cannon shots when at their headquarters and 11 when away. They were also entitled to their own personal coat of arms.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: Although a purely civil dignity reserved to distinguished generals and not a military rank, a Marshal displayed four stars, while the top military rank of the time, the General of Division displayed three. Contrary to a well-established idea and to the representation on most paintings of the time, the Marshal's four stars were silvered, not gilded. A Marshal was required to wear a standard uniform, which was established through decree on 18 July 1804 and designed by painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey and designer Charles Percier. Nevertheless, the Marshals often chose to wear either variants of the official uniform or costumes of totally different design. The ultimate distinctive sign of a Marshal was his baton. It was cylindrical, 50 centimetres long and 4 centimetres and a half in diameter, made of wood and covered in dark blue velvet, decorated with golden eagles or honey bees, both Imperial symbols.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: The creation of the new civil dignity allowed Napoleon to strengthen his newly created regime by rewarding the most valuable of the generals who had served under his command during his campaigns in Italy and Egypt or soldiers who had held significant commands during the French Revolutionary Wars. Subsequently, other senior generals were promoted on six occasions, mainly following major battlefield victories. With hindsight, Napoleon's choices for the Marshalate were not always well inspired.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: The first promotion created eighteen new Marshals of the Empire and coincided with the proclamation of the First French Empire and was used as an opportunity for the new Emperor to strengthen the new regime. The list included 14 names of generals who had served in the armies of the Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars: seven of them were generals who had served directly under Napoleon during his campaigns in Italy and Egypt. Moreover, he was also careful to reward several general officers who had acquired considerable fame and political influence while commanding the armies of the Republic, as well as several highly-promising generals who had held significant divisional commands in the Army of the Rhine. The latter were well known for their largely Republican sentiments and had never served under Napoleon's command. By rewarding them for their military accomplishments, Napoleon sought to gain their loyalty and make sure that they would be supporters, rather than opponents of the new Imperial regime.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: Overall, the first promotion included 14 names of generals. An initial list was drafted by State Secretary Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke and later altered by the Emperor. Napoleon added in his own handwriting Murat's name, which was conspicuously absent from Clarke's draft. This was possibly an omission, but there seems to be no evidence to that effect. The final list included the following names, in an order which to this day remains unclear:


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: Four additional names were mentioned on the list: these were former senior generals who had held commands of armies and had been elected senators of the Republic. Their status was honorary due to their age and they weren't set to be given field commands.


title: Marshal of the Empire

text: Among the men who were offered the Marshalate, there was a mix of famous generals, who had commanded the armies of the Republic (Brune, Jourdan, Kellermann, Lefebvre, Masséna, Moncey), as well as more junior generals, whose command never exceeded division-sized forces (Mortier, Ney, Soult). It even included relatively obscure generals from Napoleon's Italian or Egyptian expeditions, who had recently secured their promotion to the top military rank of General of Division, but had never held significant commands (Bessières, Davout, Lannes). Unsurprisingly, this created a certain degree of discontentment among the more senior commanders. André Masséna was noted for his sardonic remark, ""There's fourteen of us..."", which he muttered when his friends came to congratulate him for his nomination. Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, then a young general, possibly bitter that he had not been nominated also observed that: ""If Bessières is a Marshal, then anyone can be."" Ironically, Marmont himself was made a Marshal of the Empire in 1809, though it was said he was awarded the distinction for his close friendship with Napoleon as opposed to any great generalship.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: Blair Witch is a survival horror video game developed by Bloober Team based on the "Blair Witch" series of horror films. It was published by Lionsgate Games for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass on August 30, 2019. The game is set in 1996, two years after the events of "The Blair Witch Project". The game follows former police officer Ellis Lynch as he joins the search in Black Hills Forest for a missing boy. The game was later ported to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest & Quest 2 and Amazon Luna throughout 2019-21.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: The game focuses on survival horror mechanics and stealth and is played from a first person perspective, requiring the player to use items such as a camera, cellphone, flashlight or Ellis' dog, Bullet, to track and follow the trail of missing nine-year old Peter Shannon while fending off shadowy creatures. Along the way, players will find strange wooden dolls, photographs and cassette tapes and will also be tasked with solving puzzles. Like the film, it integrates the found-footage subgenre with the gameplay and story, often through the use of cassette tapes.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: "Blair Witch" received mixed reviews with critics praising its atmosphere, graphics, sound design and the use of a dog companion, but criticised its gameplay design and perceived difficulty.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: As with previous Bloober Team games, "Blair Witch" is a single player first-person survival horror game. The player controls former police officer and veteran Ellis Lynch who joins a search party for a missing boy in the Black Hills forest in Burkittsville, Maryland.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: The game plays out in a semi-open world, making players explore different parts of the areas which can sometimes lead to abandoned structures, campsites or little crevices that only Bullet can access. Along the way, they will find items such as wooden dolls, polaroids of missing people, dog tags and psychiatrist notes which are stored in the backpack. Also stored in the backpack are dog treats which can be fed to Bullet. Sometimes, areas can be blocked off by a log or a door and are only accessible by solving a puzzle or by collecting several items that opens or operates for example, a steam donkey. It may also require the player to find cassette tapes. There are two types; red and blue. The red tape allows players to manipulate and rewind time to move objects that have been locked or moved in place, while the blue tape tells more of the story. These tapes can be accessed via the camcorder.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: While in the forest, Ellis will reminisce about his past through the use of several devices; a cell phone and a walkie-talkie. Whenever a call is received, the player can choose to accept or reject. This decision chosen will directly affect the game's conclusion as well. Messages and voicemails will also pop up occasionally, players can access them in the menu. Also in the phone's menu are the popular 2D games Snake and Astro Blaster which can be played at any point of the playthrough.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: A major element of gameplay is Ellis' dog, Bullet. The player is able to interact with the dog through a command menu. There are five commands, "Stay", "Stay close", "Reprimand", "Pet" and "Seek". The latter serves as an integral part of gameplay, as items found throughout allow Bullet to track the scent of certain objects or the general direction of where to go. During combat, Bullet serves as an indicator when shadowy creatures attack the player and will bark when they are close by, the player can defend for themselves by shining their flashlight towards the creatures. Another feature with Bullet, is the psychological state of Ellis. It is crucial for the player to keep Bullet close to them at all times, as being separated from him for some time can affect the state of the character. The game's ending is dependent on the relationship between the player and the dog, accounting for the actions the player has done.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: The game roughly takes up to six hours to complete, with a possibility of four endings and an additional secret ending.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: In 1996, two years after the events of the first film, veteran and former police officer Ellis Lynch (voiced by Joseph May) alongside his police dog Bullet, travels to Black Hills Forest in Burkittsville, Maryland to join the search party for missing 9-year-old Peter Shannon. During his search, he regularly contacts search party leader and close friend Sheriff Emmet Lanning, who is concerned about Ellis' PTSD and mental health.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: Prior to the game's events, Ellis had a traumatic childhood riddled with psychological issues. After experiencing dissociative amnesia, he also forgets his childhood best friend who went missing in Black Hills Forest. As an adult, he was encouraged by his colonel father to enlist in the military, however the Gulf War worsened his mental state after witnessing his squad's death and accidentally killing an innocent woman. After his discharge, he marries a woman named Jess and becomes a police officer, but a PTSD episode causes him to accidentally kill a burglar, Peter's brother Adam. Jess separates from Ellis, and Lanning gifts him Bullet to help cope with his trauma. Upon hearing about Peter's disappearance, he joins the search party to relieve his guilt over killing Adam.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: After finding Peter's hat and following his scent, Ellis and Bullet reach a campsite, where Ellis finds a working camcorder before blacking out and waking up to night falling. Ellis realizes he could use the camera and recovered tapes to manipulate reality and time around him. Although he agrees with Lanning to rendezvous at the campsite, he decides to continue so Bullet would not lose Peter's scent. Ellis and Bullet eventually arrive at a crooked white tree with black vines, and they are attacked by several silhouetted creatures, with the option to scare them off with his flashlight. He discovers a tape that shows Peter's abduction by a mysterious figure. The two find a broken down truck that suddenly becomes Lanning's police vehicle. Inside, they see a police report of a missing lumberer named Todd Mackinnon, with the report showing that they have moved forward in time to the year 2000. A mysterious voice on the radio advises them to turn on the lights, which transports them to the next morning. They find Lanning dead, with another tape showing his murder by Peter's abductor.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: As they continue with their search, Ellis continues to black out and recover in the campsite, often experiencing erratic time jumps and nightmares reliving his traumatic past. He manages to find himself in a lumber mill, where he decides to call Jess one last time and declines Jess's suggestion to back out from the search. He discovers the corpse of Mackinnon, who had been murdered by Peter's kidnapper. He finally confronts the abductor, a disheveled man named Carver, who talks about a mysterious "her" and stresses that Peter must die because it's "her will", as he knocks out Ellis.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: Ellis awakens at the decaying campsite some time in the future, where Carver instructs Ellis to locate the white tree, make an effigy, and then kill Bullet. Ellis refuses to kill his dog; Bullet runs off and is found injured, but Ellis' attempts to rescue his dog is in vain as he passes out and wakes up with Bullet disappearing. After taunting him of Bullet's supposed death, Carver leaves a videotape that Ellis uses to transport to a decrepit house, where he is haunted by a woman's voice and sees visions where he could kill Lanning and Mackinnon. He manages to make his way to the basement, but does not find Peter. A trapdoor leads him to Carver, who reveals himself to be an alternate, older Ellis. After Ellis had separated from Jess, he traveled with Bullet to the forest to live in isolation, where he was driven insane by the Blair Witch and became subservient to her instructions to kill. With the forest transporting him to different time periods, he was responsible for abducting and killing his childhood friend, and later abducting Peter, which led the younger Ellis to the forest.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: Multiple endings and outcomes occur from Ellis' actions. If Bullet is treated well, he survives the events, but will die if he is mistreated. If he kills Carver, Lanning, or Mackinnon, he completes his transformation into Carver and Bullet leaves in fear, causing a time loop. If he lets Carver mortally wound him, Carver ceases to exist, finally breaking the cycle. He dies with Bullet either leaving him or staying with him at his last moments, with his body later found by Jess and the search party. Lanning and Mackinnon's bodies will either remain missing or be recovered, while Peter is either missing, found dead, or found alive and safely brought back to his family.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: "Blair Witch" was developed by Bloober Team who are known for their psychological horror video games, "Layers of Fear" and "Observer". The idea of developing the game was conceived by Lionsgate who had purchased the rights in 2003 from Artisan Entertainment and were interested in doing a "Blair Witch" game after liking the work that Bloober had done on "Layers of Fear". Building on the foundation of their previous titles, "Blair Witch" was idealised as a semi open-world game with vast improvements to allow players to explore and fully immerse themselves. According to writer Maciej Glomb, Lionsgate had given the team free range to work on an original story that was set in the same universe as the films with guidelines set by the studio. This allowed the team to work on character development and the story while also focusing on the psychological aspects of the game. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 4.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: The setting of the game was designed to follow the 1999 film, with the landscape of the Black Hills Forest. As writer Barbara Kciuk explains: "For us, open spaces are not only a challenge but also an opportunity...a forest setting gives you completely new tools to play with. Players can never be sure what lurks in the darkness". For inspiration, the team sought out video games such as "Firewatch", "Alan Wake" and "Outlast" and films that re-defined the found-footage genre which include "REC" and "Paranormal Activity".


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: "Blair Witch" was announced at E3 2019. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One on August 30, 2019. At Gamescom 2019, "Blair Witch" was added to Xbox Game Pass along with several other titles.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: "Blair Witch" received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Alex Spencer of PC Gamer called "Blair Witch" "an interesting horror game that never manages to escape the shadow of its ‘90s inspiration" but criticised it for not developing some of the mechanics further. Writing for GameSpot, Alessandro Barbosa praised the game's atmosphere and sound design but was critical saying that "Blair Witch" does not have a complex tale, in addition calling the story twists as predictable. Jeff Cork of Game Informer echoed similar pros, but criticised the enemy encounters and its inconsistency. Destructoid's Patrick Hancock commented that ""Blair Witch" sufficiently blends regular scares with psychological horror", but noted the abundant amount of jump scares that become annoying and noticeable.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: The game's atmosphere and sound design were highlighted positively with Polygon editor Cass Marshall calling the atmosphere of the forest "satisfying", and said that developer Bloober Team created an ominous, intimidating forest that looks haunted, but noted that occacionally can be frustrating when navigating and becoming lost in it. Eurogamer's Viki Blake highlighted the visuals and the masterful use of sound when creating the scares and the set-pieces as memorable.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: The characters received generally positive reviews. T.J. Hafer, writing for IGN, stated that the dog made the experience much more bearable and was useful for tracking down important items, but was critical of the dog's "flimsy" AI. Jason Faulkner of Game Revolution called Bullet's inclusion as "under-utilised", with his most significant usage being directing the player towards enemies during combat. Alyssa Mercante of GamesRadar+ pointed out the character of Ellis Lynch, commenting on the relationship between Ellis and Bullet and the clever use of mental problems, and called this narrative tool as excellent that keeps the game on the edge.


title: Blair Witch (video game)

text: Despite mixed reviews, the game was nominated for "Xbox Game of the Year" at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards, and for "Use of Sound, New IP" at the NAVGTR Awards.


title: 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

text: The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The opening match was played at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. The tournament was won by Brazil, who retained the trophy they won in 2005 by defeating the United States 3–2 in the final.


title: 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

text: The draw for the competition was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Each team was represented in the draw by its competitor in the Miss World 2008 competition, except for Iraq, which was represented by Miss World 2007, Zhang Zilin, from China. The teams were divided into two pots:


title: 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

text: Teams from the same confederation were not drawn into the same group, therefore Egypt was drawn into Group B. Also as result, Italy and Spain were drawn into different groups.


title: 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

text: The official match ball for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the Adidas "Kopanya". The name means "bring (or join) together" in Southern Sesotho, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa. The panel configuration of the ball is the same as that of the "Teamgeist" and "Europass" balls that came before it. The ball is white, accentuated with bold black lines and detailed with typical Ndebele designs in red, yellow, green and blue.


title: 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

text: Four cities served as the venues for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. All four venues were also used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


title: 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

text: Originally, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth was also chosen as a venue. On 8 July 2008, however, Port Elizabeth withdrew as a host city because its stadium was deemed unlikely to meet the 30 March 2009 deadline for completion. The Nelson Mandela Bay stadium was subsequently completed before the Confederations Cup and was opened on 7 June 2009. It acted as a venue for the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa on 16 June. All of these stadia hosted matches during the Lions tour, but a minimum of nine days was allowed for pitch recovery between a rugby match and a Confederations Cup match.


title: 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

text: The referees were announced on 5 May. Two referee teams (led by Carlos Batres and Carlos Amarilla respectively) withdrew due to injuries. Replacements from the same confederation, led by Benito Archundia and Pablo Pozo, were selected.


title: 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

text: Had two or more teams been equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings would have been determined as follows:


title: 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

text: Luís Fabiano received the Golden Shoe award for scoring five goals. In total, 44 goals were scored by 27 different players, with only one of them credited as own goal.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Amadeo Pietro Giannini (), also known as Amadeo Peter Giannini or A. P. Giannini (May 6, 1870 – June 3, 1949) was an American banker who founded the Bank of Italy, which became Bank of America. Giannini is credited as the inventor of many modern banking practices. Most notably, Giannini was one of the first bankers to offer banking services to middle-class Americans, rather than only the upper class. He also pioneered the holding company structure and established one of the first modern trans-national institutions.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Amadeo Pietro Giannini was born in San Jose, California, to Italian immigrant parents. He was the first son of Luigi Giannini (1840–1877) and Virginia (née Demartini) Giannini (1854–1920). Luigi Giannini immigrated to the United States from Favale di Malvaro near Genoa, Liguria in the Kingdom of Sardinia (later part of Italy) to prospect in response to the California Gold Rush of 1849. Luigi continued in gold during the 1860s and returned to Italy in 1869 to marry Virginia, bringing her to the US and settling in San Jose. Luigi Giannini purchased a farm at Alviso in 1872 and grew fruits and vegetables for sale. Four years later, Luigi Giannini was fatally shot by an employee over a pay dispute. His widow Virginia, with two children and pregnant with a third child, took over operation of the produce business. In 1880, Virginia married Lorenzo Scatena (1859–1930) who began L. Scatena & Co. (which A.P. Giannini would eventually take over). Giannini attended Heald College but realized he could do better in business than at school. In 1885, he dropped out and took a full-time position as a produce broker for L. Scatena & Co.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Giannini worked as a produce broker, commission merchant and produce dealer for farms in the Santa Clara Valley. He was successful in that business. He married Clorinda Cuneo (1866–1949), daughter of a North Beach, San Francisco real estate magnate, in 1892 and eventually sold his interest to his employees and retired at the age of 31 to administer his father-in-law's estate.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: He later became a director of the Columbus Savings & Loan, in which his father-in-law owned an interest. Giannini observed an opportunity to service the increasing immigrant population that were without a bank. At loggerheads with the other directors who did not share his sentiment, he quit the board in frustration and started his own bank.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in the Jackson Square neighborhood of San Francisco on October 17, 1904. The bank was based in a converted saloon as an institution for the "little fellow". It was a new bank for the hardworking immigrants other banks would not serve. Deposits on that first day totaled $8,780. Within a year, deposits soared above $700,000 ($20.4 million in 2020 dollars). The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires leveled much of the city. In the face of widespread devastation, Giannini set up a temporary bank, collecting deposits, making loans, and proclaiming that San Francisco would rise from the ashes.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Immediately after the earthquake, but before the approaching fire burned the city, he moved the vault's money to his home outside the fire zone in then-rural San Mateo, away. A garbage wagon was used to haul the money, hidden beneath garbage. The fires had heated the vaults of other big banks, so that the sudden temperature change from opening them risked destroying the contents; many vaults were kept closed for weeks. During this period Giannini was one of the few bankers who could satisfy withdrawal requests and provide loans, operating from a plank across two barrels in the street. Giannini made loans on a handshake to those interested in rebuilding. Years later, he would recount that every loan was repaid. As a reward to the garbage man whose wagon transported the bank's assets, Giannini gave the man's son his first job when he turned 14.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Branch banking was introduced by Giannini shortly after 1909 legislation that allowed branch banking in California. Its first branch outside San Francisco was established in 1909 in San Jose. By 1916, Giannini had expanded and opened several other branches. Giannini believed in branch banking as a way to stabilize banks during difficult times as well as expand the capital base. He bought banks throughout California and eventually Bank of Italy had hundreds of branches throughout the state.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Bank of America, Los Angeles had been established in 1923 by Orra E. Monnette. Giannini began investing in the Bank of America, Los Angeles because conservative business leaders in Los Angeles were less receptive to the Bank of Italy than San Franciscans had been. Bank of America, L.A. represented a growth path for Giannini, and Monnette, president and chairman of the board, was receptive to Giannini's investments. Upon finalizing the merger, Giannini and Monnette concurred that the Bank of America name idealized the broader mission of the new bank. By 1929, the bank had over 400 banking offices in California. The new institution continued under Giannini's chairmanship until his retirement in 1945; Monnette retained his board seat and officer's position. Furthermore, as a condition of the merger, Monnette was paid for handing Giannini the "Foundation Story" rights to the bank, a decision that Monnette later came to regret. Prior to Monnette's creation of the Bank of America Los Angeles network, most banks were limited to a single city or region. Monnette was the first to create a system of centralized processing, bookkeeping and cash delivery. By diversifying the scope of community that the Bank of America served following its merger, the institution was better prepared to ride out minor, local economic issues.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Giannini helped nurture the motion picture and wine industries in California. He loaned Walt Disney the funds to produce "Snow White", the first full-length, animated motion picture to be made in the US. During the Great Depression, he bought the bonds that financed the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. During World War II, he bankrolled industrialist Henry Kaiser and his enterprises supporting the war effort. After the war, he visited Italy and arranged for loans to help rebuild the war-torn Fiat factories. Giannini also provided capital to William Hewlett and David Packard to help form Hewlett-Packard.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Giannini founded another company, Transamerica Corporation, as a holding company for his various interests, including Occidental Life Insurance Company. At one time, Transamerica was the controlling shareholder in Bank of America. They were separated by legislation enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1956, with the passage of the Bank Holding Company Act, which prohibited bank holding companies' involvement in industrial activities.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Giannini had long been a Republican, but with the collapse of the Republican Party in the Great Depression, he concerned himself with Democratic state politics. In the 1934 California gubernatorial election Giannini worked hard to block left-wing novelist Upton Sinclair from winning the primary for the Democratic nomination. He failed, and with support from the White House, he endorsed and helped finance the Republican candidate, incumbent Frank Merriam, who did defeat Sinclair.


title: Amadeo Giannini

text: Upon Giannini's death in 1949, his son Mario Giannini (1894–1952) assumed leadership of the bank. Giannini's daughter, Claire Giannini Hoffman (1905–1997), took her father's seat on the bank's board of directors, where she remained until the 1980s. Giannini is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.


title: Flood control

text: Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water levels. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and runoff. Though building hard infrastructure to prevent flooding, such as flood walls, can be effective at managing flooding, increased best practice within landscape engineering is to rely more on soft infrastructure and natural systems, such as marshes and flood plains, for handling the increase in water. For flooding on coasts, coastal management practices have to not only handle changes water flow, but also natural processes like tides.


title: Flood control

text: Flood control and relief is a particularly important part of climate change adaptation and climate resilience, both sea level rise and changes in the weather (climate change causes more intense and quicker rainfall), means that flooding of human infrastructure is particularly important the world over.


title: Flood control

text: Floods are caused by many factors or a combination of any of these generally prolonged heavy rainfall (locally concentrated or throughout a catchment area), highly accelerated snowmelt, severe winds over water, unusual high tides, tsunamis, or failure of dams, levees, retention ponds, or other structures that retained the water. Flooding can be exacerbated by increased amounts of impervious surface or by other natural hazards such as wildfires, which reduce the supply of vegetation that can absorb rainfall.


title: Flood control

text: During times of rain, some of the water is retained in ponds or soil, some is absorbed by grass and vegetation, some evaporates, and the rest travels over the land as surface runoff. Floods occur when ponds, lakes, riverbeds, soil, and vegetation cannot absorb all the water. This has been exacerbated by human activities such as draining wetlands that naturally store large amounts of water and building paved surfaces that do not absorb any water. Water then runs off the land in quantities that cannot be carried within stream channels or retained in natural ponds, lakes, and man-made reservoirs. About 30 percent of all precipitation becomes runoff and that amount might be increased by water from melting snow. River flooding is often caused by heavy rain, sometimes increased by melting snow. A flood that rises rapidly, with little or no warning, is called a flash flood. Flash floods usually result from intense rainfall over a relatively small area, or if the area was already saturated from previous precipitation.


title: Flood control

text: Even when rainfall is relatively light, the shorelines of lakes and bays can be flooded by severe winds—such as during hurricanes—that blow water into the shore areas.


title: Flood control

text: Coastal areas are sometimes flooded by unusually high tides, such as spring tides, especially when compounded by high winds and storm surges. This was the cause of the North Sea flood of 1953 which flooded large swathes of the Netherlands and the East coast of England and which remains the greatest recorded natural disaster in England.


title: Flood control

text: Flooding has many impacts. It damages property and endangers the lives of humans and other species. Rapid water runoff causes soil erosion and concomitant sediment deposition elsewhere (such as further downstream or down a coast). The spawning grounds for fish and other wildlife habitats can become polluted or completely destroyed. Some prolonged high floods can delay traffic in areas which lack elevated roadways. Floods can interfere with drainage and economical use of lands, such as interfering with farming. Structural damage can occur in bridge abutments, bank lines, sewer lines, and other structures within floodways. Waterway navigation and hydroelectric power are often impaired. Financial losses due to floods are typically millions of dollars each year, with the worst floods in recent U.S. history having cost billions of dollars.


title: Flood control

text: There are many disruptive effects of flooding on human settlements and economic activities. However, flooding can bring benefits, such as making the soil more fertile and providing it with more nutrients. Periodic flooding was essential to the well-being of ancient communities along the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers, the Nile River, the Indus River, the Ganges and the Yellow River, among others. The viability for hydrologically based renewable sources of energy is higher in flood-prone regions.


title: Flood control

text: Some methods of flood control have been practiced since ancient times. These methods include planting vegetation to retain extra water, terracing hillsides to slow flow downhill, and the construction of floodways (man-made channels to divert floodwater). Other techniques include the construction of levees, lakes, dams, reservoirs, retention ponds to hold extra water during times of flooding.


title: Flood control

text: Many dams and their associated reservoirs are designed completely or partially to aid in flood protection and control. Many large dams have flood-control reservations in which the level of a reservoir must be kept below a certain elevation before the onset of the rainy/summer melt season to allow a certain amount of space in which floodwaters can fill. Other beneficial uses of dam created reservoirs include hydroelectric power generation, water conservation, and recreation. Reservoir and dam construction and design is based upon standards, typically set out by the government. In the United States, dam and reservoir design is regulated by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Design of a dam and reservoir follows guidelines set by the USACE and covers topics such as design flow rates in consideration to meteorological, topographic, streamflow, and soil data for the watershed above the structure.


title: Flood control

text: The term dry dam refers to a dam that serves purely for flood control without any conservation storage (e.g. Mount Morris Dam, Seven Oaks Dam).


title: Flood control

text: Excess water can be used for groundwater replenishment by diversion onto land that can absorb the water. This technique can reduce the impact of later droughts by using the ground as a natural reservoir. It is being used in California, where orchards and vineyards can be flooded without damaging crops, or in other places wilderness areas have been re-engineered to act as floodplains.


title: Flood control

text: In many countries, rivers are prone to floods and are often carefully managed. Defenses such as levees, bunds, reservoirs, and weirs are used to prevent rivers from bursting their banks. A weir, also known as a lowhead dam, is most often used to create millponds, but on the Humber River in Toronto, a weir was built near Raymore Drive to prevent a recurrence of the flood damage caused by Hurricane Hazel in October 1954.


title: Flood control

text: The Leeds flood alleviation scheme uses movable weirs which are lowered during periods of high water to reduce the chances of flooding upstream. Two such weirs, the first in the UK, were installed on the River Aire in October 2017 at Crown Point, Leeds city centre and Knostrop. The Knostrop weir was operated during the 2019 England floods. They are designed to reduce potential flood levels by up to one metre.


title: Flood control

text: Coastal flooding has been addressed with coastal defenses, such as sea walls, beach nourishment, and barrier islands.


title: Flood control

text: Tide gates are used in conjunction with dykes and culverts. They can be placed at the mouth of streams or small rivers, where an estuary begins or where tributary streams, or drainage ditches connect to sloughs. Tide gates close during incoming tides to prevent tidal waters from moving upland, and open during outgoing tides to allow waters to drain out via the culvert and into the estuary side of the dike. The opening and closing of the gates is driven by a difference in water level on either side of the gate.


title: Flood control

text: The Living Breakwaters initiative is the result of an Obama-era competition for innovative designs to prevent further flooding in coastal communities during harsh weather conditions.


title: Flood control

text: In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast of the United States causing more than $65 billion in damages and economic loss. One of the areas that got hit hardest was Staten Island's South Shore where the beach community of Tottenville saw sixteen-foot waves that destroyed homes and killed two residents (Dejean).


title: Flood control

text: In response to the devastation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development created the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force to develop “implementable solutions to the region's most complex needs (Hurricane Sandy Design Competition).” Shortly after its formation, the task force introduced Rebuild by Design, a competition that promised a total of $920 million from the Community Block Disaster Recovery program for the winners to implement their plans (Tottenville Shoreline Protection Project). Ten teams submitted designs and six of them were eventually awarded funding for their respective projects.


title: Flood control

text: One winning design was the Living Breakwaters initiative proposed by landscape architect Kate Orff. Her firm, SCAPE, envisioned what Orff describes as a “living piece of infrastructure” including a barrier that protrudes from the water and houses an oyster reef (Dejean). SCAPE's green infrastructure solution will be implemented in three stages beginning in Tottenville, subsequently expanding to the surrounding areas, and to be completed in 2021 (Melcher). The plan aims to protect the South Shore of Staten Island from future storm damage, employing oysters to purify the water and restore the coastline. They claim that the breakwaters will protect the coastline from the intense storm conditions caused by climate change and the wave protection will reduce erosion which has greatly contributed to habitat loss in the area (Dejean).


title: Flood control

text: The living breakwaters, however, are not going to exist in an isolated system. SCAPE's design is a part of a layered approach that includes partnerships with the Billion Oyster Project and the Tottenville Shoreline Protection Project, a separately funded project to build similar shoreline protection structures. In addition, part of the Living Breakwaters project's funding is allocated for establishing a “learning hub” to inform local communities about the benefits of oysters and protecting the shoreline ecosystem (Hurricane Sandy Design Competition). This information hopes to encourage residents of Tottenville the surrounding areas to practice sustainable habits, prevent pollution, and continue to engage with the project in the future.


title: Flood control

text: The self-closing flood barrier (SCFB) is a flood defense system designed to protect people and property from inland waterway floods caused by heavy rainfall, gales, or rapid melting snow. The SCFB can be built to protect residential properties and whole communities, as well as industrial or other strategic areas. The barrier system is constantly ready to deploy in a flood situation, it can be installed in any length and uses the rising flood water to deploy.


title: Flood control

text: When permanent defenses fail, emergency measures such as sandbags or inflatable impermeable sacks are used.


title: Flood control

text: In 1988, a method of using water to control flooding was discovered. This was accomplished by containing 2 parallel tubes within a third outer tube. When filled, this structure formed a non-rolling wall of water that can control 80 percent of its height in external water depth, with dry ground behind it. Eight foot tall water filled barriers were used to surround Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station during the 2011 Missouri River Flooding. Instead of trucking in sandbag material for a flood, stacking it, then trucking it out to a hazmat disposal site, flood control can be accomplished by using the on site water. However, these are not fool proof. A high long water filled rubber flood berm that surrounded portions of the plant was punctured by a skid-steer loader and it collapsed flooding a portion of the facility.


title: Flood control

text: In 1999, a group of Norwegian engineers patented a transportable, removable, and reusable flood barrier which uses the water's weight against itself. This removable flood panels protect cities and public utilities.


title: Flood control

text: Other solutions, such as HydroSack, are polypropylene exteriors with wood pulp within, though they are one-time use.


title: Flood control

text: One way of reducing the damage caused by flooding is to remove buildings from flood-prone areas, leaving them as parks or returning them to wilderness. Floodplain buyout programs have been operated in places like New Jersey (both before and after Hurricane Sandy), Charlotte, North Carolina, and Missouri.


title: Flood control

text: In the United States, FEMA produces flood insurance rate maps that identify areas of future risk, enabling local governments to apply zoning regulations to prevent or minimize property damage.


title: Flood control

text: Buildings and other urban infrastructure can be designed so that even if a flood does happen, the city can recover quickly and costs are minimized. For example, homes can be put on stilts, electrical and HVAC equipment can be put on the roof instead of in the basement, and subway entrances and tunnels can have built-in movable water barriers. New York City began a substantial effort to plan and build for flood resilience after Hurricane Sandy.


title: Flood control

text: An elaborate system of flood way defenses can be found in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The Red River flows northward from the United States, passing through the city of Winnipeg (where it meets the Assiniboine River) and into Lake Winnipeg. As is the case with all north-flowing rivers in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, snow melt in southern sections may cause river levels to rise before northern sections have had a chance to completely thaw. This can lead to devastating flooding, as occurred in Winnipeg during the spring of 1950. To protect the city from future floods, the Manitoba government undertook the construction of a massive system of diversions, dikes, and flood ways (including the Red River Floodway and the Portage Diversion). The system kept Winnipeg safe during the 1997 flood which devastated many communities upriver from Winnipeg, including Grand Forks, North Dakota and Ste. Agathe, Manitoba.


title: Flood control

text: In the United States, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the lead flood control agency. After Hurricane Sandy, New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) initiated multiple flood barrier projects to protect the transit assets in Manhattan. In one case, the MTA's New York City Transit Authority (NYCT) sealed subway entrances in lower Manhattan using a deployable fabric cover system called Flex-Gate, a system that protects the subway entrances against of water. Extreme storm flood protection levels have been revised based on new Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines for 100-year and 500-year design flood elevations.


title: Flood control

text: In the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, 35 percent of which sits below sea level, is protected by hundreds of miles of levees and flood gates. This system failed catastrophically, with numerous breaks, during Hurricane Katrina (2005) in the city proper and in eastern sections of the Metro Area, resulting in the inundation of approximately 50 percent of the metropolitan area, ranging from a few inches to twenty feet in coastal communities.


title: Flood control

text: The Morganza Spillway provides a method of diverting water from the Mississippi River when a river flood threatens New Orleans, Baton Rouge and other major cities on the lower Mississippi. It is the largest of a system of spillways and floodways along the Mississippi. Completed in 1954, the spillway has been opened twice, in 1973 and in 2011.


title: Flood control

text: In an act of successful flood prevention, the federal government offered to buy out flood-prone properties in the United States in order to prevent repeated disasters after the 1993 flood across the Midwest. Several communities accepted and the government, in partnership with the state, bought 25,000 properties which they converted into wetlands. These wetlands act as a sponge in storms and in 1995, when the floods returned, the government did not have to expend resources in those areas.


title: Flood control

text: In Kyoto, Japan, the Hata clan successfully controlled floods on the Katsura River in around 500 A.D and also constructed a sluice on the Kazuno River.


title: Flood control

text: In China flood diversion areas are rural areas that are deliberately flooded in emergencies in order to protect cities.


title: Flood control

text: The consequences of deforestation and changing land use on the risk and severity of flooding are subjects of discussion. In assessing the impacts of Himalayan deforestation on the Ganges-Brahmaputra Lowlands, it was found that forests would not have prevented or significantly reduced flooding in the case of an extreme weather event. However, more general or overview studies agree on the negative impacts that deforestation has on flood safety - and the positive effects of wise land use and reforestation.


title: Flood control

text: Many have proposed that loss of vegetation (deforestation) will lead to an increased risk of flooding. With natural forest cover the flood duration should decrease. Reducing the rate of deforestation should improve the incidents and severity of floods.


title: Flood control

text: In Egypt, both the Aswan Low Dam (1902) and the Aswan High Dam (1976) have controlled various amounts of flooding along the Nile River.


title: Flood control

text: Following the misery and destruction caused by the 1910 Great Flood of Paris, the French government built a series of reservoirs called (or Great Lakes) which helps remove pressure from the Seine during floods, especially the regular winter flooding.


title: Flood control

text: London is protected from flooding by Thames Barrier, a huge mechanical barrier across the River Thames, which is raised when the water level reaches a certain point.


title: Flood control

text: Project MOSE in Venice has a similar arrangement, although it is already unable to cope with very high tides. The defenses of both London and Venice will be rendered inadequate if sea levels continue to rise.


title: Flood control

text: The largest and most elaborate flood defenses can be found in the Netherlands, where they are referred to as Delta Works with the Oosterschelde dam as its crowning achievement. These works were built in response to the North Sea flood of 1953, in the southwestern part of the Netherlands. The Dutch had already built one of the world's largest dams in the north of the country. The Afsluitdijk closing occurred in 1932.


title: Flood control

text: The Saint Petersburg Dam was completed in 2008 to protect Saint Petersburg from storm surges. It also has a main traffic function, as it completes a ring road around Saint Petersburg. Eleven dams extend for and stand above water level.


title: Flood control

text: Clean-up activities following floods often pose hazards to workers and volunteers involved in the effort. Potential dangers include electrical hazards, carbon monoxide exposure, musculoskeletal hazards, heat or cold stress, motor vehicle-related dangers, fire, drowning, and exposure to hazardous materials. Because flooded disaster sites are unstable, clean-up workers might encounter sharp jagged debris, biological hazards in the flood water, exposed electrical lines, blood or other body fluids, and animal and human remains. In planning for and reacting to flood disasters, managers provide workers with hard hats, goggles, heavy work gloves, life jackets, and watertight boots with steel toes and insoles.


title: Flood control

text: Europe is at the forefront of the flood control technology, with low-lying countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium developing techniques that can serve as examples to other countries facing similar problems and other countries which may soon face these problems.


title: Flood control

text: After Hurricane Katrina, the US state of Louisiana sent politicians to the Netherlands to take a tour of the complex and highly developed flood control system in place in the Netherlands. With a BBC article quoting experts as saying 70 percent more people will live in delta cities by 2050, the number of people impacted by a rise in sea level will greatly increase. The Netherlands has one of the best flood control systems in the world and new ways to deal with water are constantly being developed and tested, such as the underground storage of water, storing water in reservoirs in large parking garages or on playgrounds, Rotterdam started a project to construct a floating housing development of to deal with rising sea levels. Several approaches, from high-tech sensors detecting imminent levee failure to movable semi-circular structures closing an entire river, are being developed or used around the world. Regular maintenance of hydraulic structures, however, is another crucial part of flood control.


title: 0verflow

text: Overflow's "School Days" video game was adapted into a 12-episode anime series in 2007. Both "School Days" and "Cross Days" have also received manga adaptations.


title: 0verflow

text: Stack's "Welcome to Pia Carrot!!" video game series was adapted into a three-episode hentai OVA from 1997 to 1998. Its sequel, "Welcome to Pia Carrot!! 2" was adapted into a three-episode hentai OVA from 1998 to 1999, and a six-episode OVA titled "Welcome to the Pia Carrot!! 2 DX" from 1999 to 2000. The video game also received an anime film titled "Welcome to Pia Carrot!! -Sayaka no Koi-monogatari-" in 2002.


title: 0verflow

text: On February 10, 2012, 0verflow confirmed that "Shiny Days", a remake of "Summer Days", would be the last title produced by the brand. Customers were told that the company would continue to support their line of video games.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Hurricane Patricia was the strongest tropical cyclone on record worldwide in terms of wind speed and the second-most intense on record worldwide in terms of pressure, behind Typhoon Tip in 1979, with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 872 mbar (hPa; ). Originating from a sprawling disturbance near the Gulf of Tehuantepec, south of Mexico, in mid-October 2015, Patricia was first classified a tropical depression on October 20. Initial development was slow, with only modest strengthening within the first day of its classification. The system later became a tropical storm and was named Patricia, the twenty-fourth named storm of the annual hurricane season. Exceptionally favorable environmental conditions fueled explosive intensification on October 22. A well-defined eye developed within an intense central dense overcast and Patricia grew from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just 24 hours—a near-record pace. On October 23, the hurricane achieved its record peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 215 mph (345 km/h). This made it the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Western Hemisphere and the strongest globally in terms of one-minute maximum sustained winds.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Late on October 23, dramatic weakening ensued and Patricia made landfall near Cuixmala, Jalisco, with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h). This still made it the strongest landfalling Pacific hurricane on record. Patricia continued to weaken extremely quickly, faster than it had intensified, as it interacted with the mountainous terrain of Mexico. Within 24 hours of moving ashore, Patricia weakened into a tropical depression and dissipated soon thereafter, late on October 24.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: The precursor to Patricia produced widespread flooding rains in Central America. Hundreds of thousands of people were directly affected by the storm, mostly in Guatemala. At least six fatalities were attributed to the event: four in El Salvador, one in Guatemala, and one in Nicaragua. Torrential rains extended into southeastern Mexico, with areas of Quintana Roo and Veracruz reporting accumulations in excess of . Damage in Chetumal reached MX$1.4 billion (US$85.3 million).


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: As a tropical cyclone, Patricia's effects in Mexico were tremendous; however, the affected areas were predominantly rural, lessening the number of people directly impacted. Violent winds tore roofs from structures and stripped coastal areas of their vegetation. Preliminary assessments indicated hundreds of homes to be destroyed; seven fatalities were linked to the hurricane directly or indirectly, including one during evacuations. Total damage from Patricia was estimated to be at least $462.8 million (2015 USD); the damage in Mexico alone was estimated to be in excess of MX$5.4 billion (US$325 million), with agriculture and infrastructure comprising the majority of losses. Flooding partially associated with remnant moisture from Patricia inflicted US$52.5 million in damage across Southern Texas.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: On October 11, 2015, an area of disturbed weather traversed Central America and emerged over the eastern Pacific Ocean. The disturbance moved slowly over the next few days, later merging with a tropical wave on October 15. The merger of these systems and the effects of a concurrent Tehuantepec gap wind event spurred the formation of a broad area of low pressure. This feature gradually consolidated and became a tropical depression shortly after 00:00 UTC on October 20; at this time the depression was situated roughly 205 mi (335 km) south-southeast of Salina Cruz, Mexico. A mid-level ridge to the north steered the depression generally west and later pulled it north along an arcing path.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Development was initially slowed by locally cooler sea surface temperatures and dry air, and the depression became Tropical Storm Patricia later that day. Once clear of the unfavorable region, Patricia traversed anomalously warm waters within an environment exceptionally conducive to rapid intensification. Dramatic strengthening began late on October 21 and continued through October 23. Patricia reached hurricane strength shortly after 00:00 UTC on October 22, featuring prominent outflow, well-defined banding features, and a developing eye. Data from hurricane hunters investigating the cyclone indicated Patricia to have reached Category 4 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale by 18:00 UTC.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: By the early hours of October 23, a clear northward turn took place followed by acceleration northeast. A solid ring of cloud tops surrounded the hurricane's wide eye and signaled its intensification into a Category 5 hurricane. In a 24-hour time span, Patricia's maximum sustained winds increased by 120 mph (195 km/h), the fastest such intensification in any hurricane observed by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The hurricane achieved its peak around 12:00 UTC on October 23, with estimated winds around 215 mph (345 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 872 mbar (hPa; ); these values are based upon continued intensification after a Hurricane Hunter mission into the storm six hours prior. In the NHC's report on Patricia, it is noted that the hurricane may have surpassed Typhoon Tip as the strongest tropical cyclone ever observed, but lack of direct observations at the time of its peak prevents analysis of such.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Later on October 23, rapid weakening ensued as an eyewall replacement cycle took shape and wind shear increased. In the five hours up until landfall in Mexico, Patricia weakened at an unprecedented rate while still over water. However, upon moving ashore around 23:00 UTC near Cuixmala, Jalisco, it remained a strong Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and an analyzed pressure of 932 mbar (hPa; ). This made Patricia the most intense landfalling Pacific hurricane on record. Once onshore, the high terrain of the Sierra Madre mountains accelerated Patricia's weakening. The low- and mid-level circulations of the tropical cyclone decoupled, with the latter accelerating northeast, and Patricia dissipated on October 24 over central Mexico, less than 18 hours after moving ashore.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Hurricane Patricia set multiple records for maximum strength, rate of intensification, and rate of weakening throughout its relatively short existence. With maximum sustained winds of 215 mph (345 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 872 mbar (hPa; ), Patricia is the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Western Hemisphere. In terms of central pressure, it is also the second-most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide, just shy of Typhoon Tip in 1979 which had a minimum pressure of 870 mbar (hPa; ).


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Patricia's one-minute maximum sustained winds ranked as the highest ever reliably observed or estimated in a tropical cyclone, surpassing Typhoon Haiyan of 2013. The magnitude of Patricia's rapid intensification is among the fastest ever observed. In a 24-hour period, 06:00–06:00 UTC October 22–23, its maximum sustained winds increased from 85 mph (140 km/h) to 205 mph (335 km/h), a record increase of 120 mph (195 km/h). During the same period, Patricia's central pressure fell by 95 mbar (hPa; ). Despite record over-water weakening prior to striking Mexico, Patricia became the most intense Pacific hurricane to make landfall, with a pressure of 932 mbar (hPa; ).


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Before Hurricane Patricia arrived, the Government of Mexico issued multiple watches and warnings for coastal communities. A hurricane watch was first raised at 09:00 UTC on October 21, encompassing areas of Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco. A tropical storm watch also covered portions of Guerrero. As Patricia intensified, the government issued a hurricane warning for areas between Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, and Punta San Telmo, Michoacán; a tropical storm warning supplemented this for areas farther north and east. The hurricane warning was extended northward to include areas south of San Blas, Nayarit, on October 23. Once the storm moved inland and the threat of damaging winds diminished, these warnings were gradually discontinued on October 24.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Following Patricia's upgrade to Category 5 status, the National Hurricane Center called the storm "potentially catastrophic", a source of criticism and praise from various media. Citing the relatively limited damage and loss of life, some outlets, including the Associated Press, claimed the agency was exaggerating the danger posed by the storm. However, most outlets praised them for effectively communicating the dire threat and potentially saving lives from an exceptionally powerful hurricane.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Across Michoacán, Colima, Jalisco, and Nayarit, 1,782 shelters were opened on October 22 with a collective capacity of 258,000 people. Officials in Manzanillo began distributing sandbags during the afternoon of October 22. Schools across Guerrero and Jalisco suspended activities for October 22 and 23, respectively. Civil protection officials planned to evacuate roughly 50,000 people from Colima, Jalisco, and Nayarit. To expedite the process, 2 aircraft and 600 buses were used to shuttle evacuees. Ultimately, 8,500 people evacuated prior to the storm's arrival, including 2,600 in Cabo Corrientes. One person died during an evacuation in Jalisco. Roughly 25,000 personnel from the Mexican Army, Navy, and Federal Police were deployed preemptively. More than 500 Red Cross volunteers were on standby. The Mexican Red Cross prepositioned food for 3,500 families.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Approximately of aid was prepositioned in Colima for distribution after the hurricane's passage. The Electric Federal Commission dispatched 2,500 crewmen, 152 cranes, 15 all-terrain vehicles, 4 helicopters, and 84 generators to cope with potential power outages. Mexican authorities received praise for effectively carrying out emergency preparations.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: The precursor of Patricia was a large and sprawling system that affected much of Central America with heavy rain for several days. Rainfall was enhanced by the presence of multiple systems, including a tropical wave and a second disturbance over the Caribbean Sea. One person was killed in the Alta Verapaz Department and approximately 2,100 people required evacuation across Guatemala. A total of 442 homes and of crops were damaged while roughly 223,000 people were affected by flooding. Government officials deployed emergency teams and Q40 million (US$5.22 million) was available for relief operations. In nearby El Salvador between of rain fell, causing similar floods. Dozens of homes were affected and four people were killed. The Goascorán River overflowed its banks twice in two days, inundating surrounding communities. Owing to widespread flooding, authorities suspended school activities across the country on October 19. In Nicaragua, a landslide buried four miners in Bonanza; one died while the others were rescued. The Ulúa River in Honduras over-topped its banks for the first time in 17 years on October 18, prompting the evacuation of more than 200 people. Furthermore, flooding damaged 10 homes in Jacó, Costa Rica.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: The aforementioned rains extended into Southwestern and Northeastern Mexico, falling from October 18–20; precipitation was enhanced by another tropical disturbance over the northwestern Caribbean Sea. Portions of Quintana Roo saw their most intense rainfall event on record, with observed in Chetumal. This surpassed the previous record of during Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Flooding affected approximately 1,500 homes in the city, with 150 people seeking refuge in public shelters. Damage in Chetumal was pegged at MX$1.4 billion (US$85.3 million). Seven municipalities were declared disaster areas accordingly. In nearby Veracruz, more than of rain caused widespread flooding; at least 50 municipalities reported damage from the event as multiple rivers over-topped their banks. Flooding in Tabasco affected of crops. In Oaxaca, several roads were washed out by the accompanying floods and mudslides, particularly in the Sierra Norte region. Widespread flooding affected large areas of Chiapas and Guerrero, prompting dozens of evacuations. In Tapachula, Chiapas, of rain fell in just 90 minutes, triggering flash floods that caught residents by surprise. Hundreds of families were affected and 64 homes were damaged or destroyed.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Hurricane Patricia made landfall in Jalisco as a Category 4 hurricane during the evening of October 23. The wide core of Patricia largely avoided populated centers, passing through areas with a population density of less than 30 people per square mile. This, alongside effective evacuations, is credited for the relatively low death toll, despite the hurricane's intensity. Several small communities along the path sustained tremendous damage, however. Had the hurricane moved farther east or west, the densely populated areas surrounding Manzanillo or Puerto Vallarta would have suffered a direct hit.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Throughout the affected region, the storm's powerful winds left 261,989 people without electricity. Twenty-one of the nation's thirty-one states, and the Federal District, were affected by the hurricane's rain. Accumulations in Jalisco peaked at on Nevado de Colima. Roughly of crops were affected across Colima, Jalisco, Michoacán, and Nayarit, with deemed a total loss and partially damaged. Six deaths occurred due to direct or indirect effects of the hurricane, all in Jalisco. Damage assessments indicate total losses around MX$5.4 billion (US$325 million), primarily from agriculture and infrastructure.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Striking Jalisco as a strong Category 4 hurricane, Patricia wrought tremendous damage, though the most extreme effects were relatively localized. In the small community of Emiliano Zapata, the hurricane's violent winds tore roofs off homes and business. Countless trees were defoliated, stripped of their branches, snapped, or uprooted. Hillsides along the immediate landfall area were largely stripped of vegetation. Storm chaser Josh Morgerman described the aftermath: "... the tropical landscape was transformed into something barren and wintry." Furthermore, the winds toppled concrete power poles and crumpled transmission towers.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: A total of six deaths in incidents related to Patricia were reported in the state. Two of these deaths occurred when a tree toppled over in the storm's powerful winds. A woman was also hospitalized after sustaining injuries in the same incident. Another four people were killed in an automobile accident in southern Jalisco. Two of the victims died in the wreckage and the other two died after being brought to a hospital.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Throughout Jalisco, approximately 9,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The coastal hamlet of Chamela, home to 40 families, was completely flattened. More than of crops were affected across the state: sustained total losses while were partially so. Damage from agriculture amounted to roughly MX$168 million (US$10.1 million). Total damage reached to MX$1.139 billion (US$68.6 million). A cargo ship—the bulk carrier "Los Llanitos"—was shifted off-course by the hurricane and grounded near Barra de Navidad, Jalisco. Her 27 crew were unharmed but required rescue by a military helicopter. The ship was subsequently deemed a total loss and crews began scrapping the vessel on-site in February 2016.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: In nearby Colima, preliminary surveys indicated localized but severe damage. A total of 200 schools, 107 health facilities, 34 sport facilities, and of agriculture was affected by the storm. Severe damage was incurred by the banana crops, with losses from the fruit alone estimated at MX$500 million (US$30.1 million). Total damage in the state reached MX$1.7 billion (US$102.5 million).


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Although Patricia made landfall farther west, damage across Michoacán was severe. Numerous communities were temporarily isolated as roads were either rendered impassible or washed away altogether by floods. A total of 1,512 homes were damaged and another 127 were destroyed across the state, including 600 in Coahuayana. The storm severely damaged 150 homes in the Arteaga Municipality. A portion of Highway 200 was shut down in Aquila. Agriculture sustained extensive damage with of crops destroyed; losses in the sector amounted to MX$2.5 billion (US$150.7 million). In Coahuayana alone, of bananas were ruined, the greatest loss of crops in the municipality's history; thousands of residents lost their jobs as a result of the damage. Losses to health facilities in the state reached MX$13.5 million (US$814,000).


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: The hurricane produced large swells along the shores of Guerrero on October 22, causing damage to coastal structures. The remnants of Patricia brought heavy rain to much of northern Mexico on October 24. Up to of rain was observed in Tamaulipas, resulting in flooding. Dozens of structures sustained damage and hundreds were left without power, with areas in Reynosa and Río Bravo particularly affected.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Patricia's direct effects in Texas were limited to southern areas of the state. Moisture associated with the hurricane streamed ahead of its circulation and interacted with a frontal boundary over the region. Antecedent rains saturated the region and produced severe flooding, with cars flooded and a train derailed. Fears arose that the collective effects of these storms would produce deadly floods, similar to those in May earlier in the year; however, no deaths resulted. Houston received of rain during a 24-hour span from October 24–25, and a brief tornado caused minor damage near the city. Rain fell at rates of per hour in southern Hidalgo County, leading to damaging flash floods. An estimated , or more, accumulated across the Progreso–Weslaco area. Several feet of water rendered roads impassible, stranded cars, and affected more than 500 homes. Twenty-six water rescues were conducted in the area. Damage was estimated at $50 million. Several roads in and around Corpus Christi were inundated, including part of Interstate 37. Two hours of "blinding rains" flooded the majority of eastern Willacy County, prompting multiple water rescues, and leaving $2.5 million in damage. Remnant moisture then moved north and northwest through the Great Lakes, Appalachia and Mid-Atlantic states, and Florida Panhandle before exiting the nation.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: In the aftermath of the hurricane, 5,791 Marines from Mexico's Naval Infantry Force were deployed to assist with recovery and rescue efforts. Rescuers reached some of the hardest-hit areas within a day of Patricia's landfall. Red Cross volunteers began needs assessments on October 24 and distribution of humanitarian aid started the following day. Power was restored to 88 percent of those affected within two days of the storm. Through the nation's livestock catastrophe fund, MX$150 million (US$9.04 million) were allocated for agricultural areas affected by the storm on October 29. Of this total, MX$76 million (US$4.58 million) were delegated to Jalisco.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: The Secretariat of Social Development's budget allowed for MX$250 million (US$15.1 million) in relief funds for Jalisco. Of this, MX$34 million (US$2.05 million) were allocated for affected persons. On October 27, Rafael Pacchiano Alamán announced an initial fund of MX$5.3 million (US$319,000) through the Temporary Employment Program (Programa de Empleo Temporal) to help spur economic recovery in Colima. On October 28, 15 of Jalisco's 125 municipalities were declared disaster areas. Of the more than of crops affected by Patricia in Jalisco, only were covered by insurance. Through late January 2016, provided entrepreneurs with MX$3.577 million (US$216,000) in funds.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: In January 2016, the Michoacán Ministry of Social Development enacted a MX$10 million (US$603,000) rehabilitation program to build 605 homes in affected communities.


title: Hurricane Patricia

text: Due to the hurricane's extreme intensity and the damages caused in Mexico, the name "Patricia" was retired by the World Meteorological Organization on April 25, 2016. The name chosen to replace it for the 2021 Pacific hurricane season was "Pamela".


title: Communication studies

text: Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in different cultures. Communication is commonly defined as giving, receiving or exchanging ideas, information, signals or messages through appropriate media, enabling individuals or groups to persuade, to seek information, to give information or to express emotions effectively. Communication studies is a social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge that encompasses a range of topics, from face-to-face conversation at a level of individual agency and interaction to social and cultural communication systems at a macro level.


title: Communication studies

text: Scholarly communication theorists focus primarily on refining the theoretical understanding of communication, examining statistics in order to help substantiate claims. The range of social scientific methods to study communication has been expanding. Communication researchers draw upon a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The linguistic and cultural turns of the mid-20th century led to increasingly interpretative, hermeneutic, and philosophic approaches towards the analysis of communication. Conversely, the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s have seen the rise of new analytically, mathematically, and computationally focused techniques.


title: Communication studies

text: As a field of study, communication is applied to journalism, business, mass media, public relations, marketing, news and television broadcasting, interpersonal and intercultural communication, education, public administration—and beyond. As all spheres of human activity and conveyance are affected by the interplay between social communication structure and individual agency, communication studies has gradually expanded its focus to other domains, such as health, medicine, economy, military and penal institutions, the Internet, social capital, and the role of communicative activity in the development of scientific knowledge.


title: Communication studies

text: Communication, a natural human behavior, became a topic of study in the 20th century. As communication technologies developed, so did the serious study of communication. During this time, a renewed interest in the studies of rhetoric, such as persuasion and public address, was created, which ultimately laid the foundation for several of the forms of communication studies that we know of today. The focus of communication studies developed further in the 20th century, eventually including means of communication such as mass communication, interpersonal communication, and oral interpretation. When World War I ended, the interest in studying communication intensified. The methods of communication that had been used during the war had challenged the beliefs many people had on the limits of it that existed prior to these events. Innovations were invented during this period of time that no one had ever seen before, like the aircraft telephones and throat microphones. However, new ways of communicating that had been discovered, especially the use of morse code through portable morse code machines, helped troops to communicate in a much more rapid pace than ever before. This then sparked ideas for even more advanced ways of communication to later be created and discovered.


title: Communication studies

text: The social science study was fully recognized as a legitimate discipline after World War II. Prior to being established as its own discipline, communication studies, was formed from three other major studies no: psychology, sociology, and political science. Communication studies focus on communication as central to the human experience, which involves understanding how people behave in creating, exchanging, and interpreting messages. Today, this accepted discipline now also encompasses more modern forms of communication studies as well, such as gender and communication, intercultural communication, political communication, health communication, and organizational communication.


title: Communication studies

text: The institutionalization of communication studies in U.S. higher education and research has often been traced to Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where early pioneers of the field worked after the Second World War.


title: Communication studies

text: Wilbur Schramm is considered the founder of the field of communication studies in the United States. Schramm was hugely influential in establishing communications as a field of study and in forming departments of communication studies across universities in the United States. He was the first individual to identify himself as a communication scholar; he created the first academic degree-granting programs with communication in their name; and he trained the first generation of communication scholars. Schramm had a background in English literature and developed communication studies partly by merging existing programs in speech communication, rhetoric, and journalism. He also edited a textbook "The Process and Effects of Mass Communication" (1954) that helped define the field, partly by claiming Paul Lazarsfeld, Harold Lasswell, Carl Hovland, and Kurt Lewin as its founding fore fathers.


title: Communication studies

text: Schramm established three important communication institutes: the Institute of Communications Research (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), the Institute for Communication Research (Stanford University), and the East-West Communication Institute (Honolulu). The patterns of scholarly work in communication studies that were set in motion at these institutes continue to this day. Many of Schramm's students, such as Everett Rogers and David Berlo went on to make important contributions of their own.


title: Communication studies

text: The first college of communication was founded at Michigan State University in 1958, led by scholars from Schramm's original ICR and dedicated to studying communication scientifically using a quantitative approach. MSU was soon followed by important departments of communication at Purdue University, University of Texas-Austin, Stanford University, University of Iowa, University of Illinois, University of Pennsylvania, The University of Southern California, and Northwestern University.


title: Communication studies

text: Associations related to Communication Studies were founded or expanded during the 1950s. The National Society for the Study of Communication (NSSC) was founded in 1950 to encourage scholars to pursue communication research as a social science. This Association launched the Journal of Communication in the same year as its founding. Like many communication associations founded around this decade, the name of the association changed with the field. In 1968 the name changed to the International Communication Association (ICA).


title: Communication studies

text: Undergraduate curricula aim to prepare students to interrogate the nature of communication in society, and the development of communication as a specific field.


title: Communication studies

text: The National Communication Association (NCA) recognizes several distinct but often overlapping specializations within the broader communication discipline including: technology, critical-cultural, health, intercultural, interpersonal-small group, mass communication, organizational, political, rhetorical, and environmental communication. Students take courses in these subject areas. Other programs and courses often integrated in communication programs include journalism, rhetoric, film criticism, theatre, public relations, political science (e.g., political campaign strategies, public speaking, effects of media on elections), as well as radio, television, computer-mediated communication, film production, and new media.


title: Communication studies

text: Many colleges in the United States offer a variety of different majors within the realm of communication studies, consisting of programs of study in the areas mentioned above. Communication studies is often perceived by many in society as being primarily centered around the media arts, however, those that become communication studies graduates could move on to have careers in areas ranging from media arts to public advocacy to marketing to non-profit organizations and even more.


title: Communication studies

text: With the early influence of federal institutional inquiries, notably the 1951 "Massey Commission", which "investigated the overall state of culture in Canada," the study of communication in Canada has frequently focused on the development of a cohesive national culture, and on infrastructural empires of social and material circulation. Although influenced by the American Communication tradition and British Cultural Studies, Communication studies in Canada has been more directly oriented toward the state and the policy apparatus, for example the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Influential thinkers from the Canadian communication tradition include Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, Florian Sauvageau, Gertrude Robinson, Marc Raboy, Dallas Smythe, James R. Taylor, François Cooren, Gail Guthrie Valaskakis and George Grant.


title: Communication studies

text: Communication studies within Canada are a relatively new discipline, however, there are programs and departments to support and teach this topic in about 13 Canadian universities and many colleges as well. The Communication et information from Laval, and the Canadian Journal of Communication from McGill University in Montréal, are two journals that exist in Canada. There are also organizations and associations, both national and in Québec, that appeal to the specific interests that are targeted towards these academics. These specific journals consist of representatives from the industry of communication, the government, and members of the public as a whole.


title: Communication studies

text: Communication studies integrates aspects of both social sciences and the humanities. As a social science, the discipline overlaps with sociology, psychology, anthropology, biology, political science, economics, and public policy. From a humanities perspective, communication is concerned with rhetoric and persuasion (traditional graduate programs in communication studies trace their history to the rhetoricians of Ancient Greece). Humanities approaches to communication often overlap with history, philosophy, English, and cultural studies.


title: Communication studies

text: Communication research informs politicians and policy makers, educators, strategists, legislators, business magnates, managers, social workers, non-governmental organizations, non-profit organizations, and people interested in resolving communication issues in general. There is often a great deal of crossover between social research, cultural research, market research, and other statistical fields.


title: Communication studies

text: Recent critiques have been made about the homogeneity of communication scholarship. For example, Chakravartty, et al. (2018) find that white scholars are comprise the vast majority of publications, citations, and editorial positions. This state is particularly problematic for a interdisciplinary field that engages with a wide range of social justice concerns.


title: Communication studies

text: Business communications emerged as a field of study in the late 20th century, due to the centrality of communication within business relationships. The scope of the field is difficult to define because of the various ways in which communication is used between employers, employees, consumers, and brands. Because of this, the focus of the field is usually placed on the demands of employers, which is more universally understood by the revision of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of business standards to emphasize written and oral communication as an important characteristic in the curriculum. Business communication studies, therefore, revolve around the, ever changing, written and oral communication aspects directly related to the field of business. Implementation of modern business communication curriculums are enhancing the study of business communication as a whole, while further preparing those to be able to effectively communicate in the business community.


title: Repatriation

text: Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the process of returning military personnel to their place of origin following a war. It also applies to diplomatic envoys, international officials as well as expatriates and migrants in time of international crisis. For refugees, asylum seekers and illegal migrants, repatriation can mean either voluntary return or deportation.


title: Repatriation

text: Voluntary return is the return of eligible persons, such as refugees, to their country of origin or citizenship on the basis of freely expressed willingness to such return. Voluntary return, unlike expulsion and deportation, which are actions of sovereign states, is defined as a personal right under specific conditions described in various international instruments, such as the OAU Convention, along with customary international law.


title: Repatriation

text: Certain countries offer financial support to refugees and immigrants in order to facilitate the process of starting a new life in their country of origin. Examples of 21st century voluntary return include the Danish government, which in 2009 began offering £12,000 each to immigrants to return, Switzerland offering approximately 6,500 Francs, targeted for business startups upon returning home, as well as Ireland. In 2016, Germany allocated €150 million over three years for migrants willing to return, and the Swedish government began offering £3,500 each. 544 Nigerians returned home from Switzerland in 2013. This financial support may also be considered as residency buyouts.


title: Repatriation

text: Two countries may have a re-admission agreement, which establishes procedures, on a reciprocal basis, for one state to return irregular non-nationals to their country of origin or a country through which they have transited. Illegal immigrants are frequently repatriated as a matter of government policy. Repatriation measures of voluntary return, with financial assistance, as well as measures of deportation are used in many countries.


title: Repatriation

text: As repatriation can be voluntary or forced, the term is also used as a euphemism for deportation. Involuntary or forced repatriation is the return of refugees, prisoners of war, or civil detainees to their country of origin under circumstances that leave no other viable alternatives. According to modern international law, prisoners of war, civil detainees, or refugees refusing repatriation, particularly if motivated by fears of political persecution in their own country, should be protected from refoulement and given, if possible, temporary or permanent asylum. The forced return of people to countries where they would face persecution is more specifically known as refoulement, which is against international law.


title: Repatriation

text: While repatriation necessarily brings an individual to his or her territory of origin or citizenship, a return potentially includes bringing the person back to the point of departure. This could be to a third country, including a country of transit, which is a country the person has traveled through to get to the country of destination. A return could also be within the territorial boundaries of a country, as in the case of returning internally displaced persons and demobilized combatants. The distinction between repatriation and return, voluntary or involuntary, is not always clear.


title: Repatriation

text: Repatriation is linked with health care due to the costs and resources associated with providing medical treatment to travelers and immigrants pursuing citizenship. For example, if a foreign national is in the United States with a visa and becomes ill, the insurance that the visa holder has in his or her native country may not apply in the United States, especially if it is a country with universal health care coverage. This scenario forces hospitals to choose one of three options:


title: Repatriation

text: In some cases, a traveler's personal insurance company is required to repatriate the patient for medical treatment. The method of repatriation could be via regular flight, by ground, or by air ambulance. Medical repatriation is different from the act of medical evacuation.


title: Repatriation

text: In the 20th century, following all European wars, several repatriation commissions were created to supervise the return of war refugees, displaced persons, and prisoners of war to their country of origin. Repatriation hospitals were established in some countries to care for the ongoing medical and health requirements of returned military personnel. In the Soviet Union, the refugees seen as traitors for surrendering were often killed or sent to Siberian concentration camps.


title: Repatriation

text: Issues surrounding repatriation have been some of the most heatedly debated political topics of the 20th and 21st centuries. Many forced back to the Soviet Union by Allied forces in World War II still hold this forced migration against the United States of America and the United Kingdom.


title: Repatriation

text: The term "repatriation" was often used by Communist governments to describe the large-scale state-sponsored ethnic cleansing actions and expulsion of national groups. Poles born in territories that were annexed by the Soviet Union, although deported to the State of Poland, were settled in the annexed former German territories (referred to in Polish as the Regained Territories). In the process they were told that they had returned to their Motherland.


title: Repatriation

text: The Korean War marked the first time that the United States or any nation began returning the bodies of battlefield casualties as soon as possible. During Operation Glory, which followed the Korean Armistice Agreement, thousands of remains were exchanged by both sides. The practice of immediately recovering casualties continued for United States during the Vietnam War.