Aid workers widen search for Mozambique cyclone survivors, death toll mounts
21 March 2019 - Rescue workers extended their search in Mozambique on Thursday (21 March) for survivors of devastating floods following a powerful cyclone that ripped through southern Africa a week ago, killing hundreds and destroying buildings and farmland. Cyclone Idai lashed the Mozambican port city of Beira with winds of up to 170 km per hour (105 miles per hour) a week ago, then moved inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi, flattening buildings and putting the lives of millions at risk. (more)

Opioid prescriptions after plastic surgery tied to long-term use
21 March 2019 - Opioids account for more than 90 percent of the painkillers used after plastic surgery, according to a U.S. study that questions how often these addictive narcotics are necessary to ease discomfort after operations. . . . Even so, the findings add to evidence suggesting that prolonged opioid use after surgery might not be due to pain, the authors conclude. (more)

U.S. farmers face devastation following Midwest floods
21 March 2019 - Midwestern farmers have been gambling they could ride out the U.S.-China trade war by storing their corn and soybeans anywhere they could -- in bins, plastic tubes, in barns, or even outside. Now, the unthinkable has happened. Record floods have devastated a wide swath of the Farm Belt across Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and several other states. Early estimates of lost crops and livestock are approaching $1 billion in Nebraska alone. With more flooding expected, damages are expected to climb much higher for the region. (more)

Over 1,000 feared dead after cyclone slams into Mozambique
18 March 2019 - More than 1,000 people were feared dead in Mozambique four days after a cyclone slammed into the country, submerging entire villages ... the nation's President said. Cyclone Idai could prove to be the deadliest storm in generations to hit the impoverished southeast African country of 30 million people. It struck Beira, an Indian Ocean port city of a half-million people, late Thursday and then moved inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi with strong winds and heavy rain. But it took days for the scope of the disaster to come into focus in Mozambique. (more)

Death toll in Mozambique cyclone, floods could surpass 1,000: President
18 March 2019 - The number of people killed in a powerful storm and preceding floods in Mozambique could exceed 1,000, the President said on Monday (18 March), putting the potential death toll greatly more than current figures. Cyclone Idai . . . has also left a trail of death and destruction across Zimbabwe and Malawi, with vast areas of land flooded, roads destroyed, and communication wiped out. (more)

Hot weather to linger across Australia in blow to rural sectors
13 March 2019 - Hot weather will linger in Australia for at least another three months, the country's meteorology bureau said on Thursday, piling pressure on the rural sector in one of the world's top exporters of commodities such as wheat. ... That comes after the summer that just ended in the country was the hottest since national records began in 1910, and among the 10 driest. (more)

US: As wildfires devour communities, toxic threats emerge
13 March 2019 - Fires like the one that razed Paradise (California) last November burn thousands of pounds of wiring, plastic pipes and building materials, leaving dangerous chemicals in the air, soil and water. Lead paint, burned asbestos and even melted refrigerators from tens of thousands of households only add to the danger, public health experts say. (more)

'Almost certain extinction': 1,200 species under severe threat across world
12 March 2019 - More than 1,200 species globally face threats to their survival in more than 90% of their habitat and 'will almost certainly face extinction' without conservation intervention, according to new research. ... The project is from the same team of researchers that found just five countries are responsible for 70% of the world's remaining wilderness. (more)