Levees “Perform Magnificently” but Damage of Hurricane Ida still “Catastrophic”

^{PHOTO: AERIAL FOOTAGE AND STILLS OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY HURRICANE IDA IN LOUISIANA. 31/08/2021}

More than a million people across Louisiana and Mississippi could be in the dark for weeks as officials take stock of the damage from Hurricane Ida. Widespread power outages reached as far north as over 250kms from where the hurricane made landfall. Ida hit Louisiana on Sunday as a Category Four storm, packing winds of 240km/h. It was the fifth strongest to ever hit the US mainland, exactly 16 years after Hurricane Katrina. At least four people have been killed. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell expects that number to grow, as over 5,000 National Guard members launch a search and rescue operation. The good news for the city is that its flood defences, strengthened in Katrina's aftermath, have done their job. Governor John Bel Edwards said the levees had "performed magnificently", but that the “damage is still catastrophic.”

Mexico Battered by Hurricane Nora

^{PHOTO: HOUSE FALLING OVER PITILLAL RIVER AFTER TROPICAL STORM NORA RIPPED THROUGH PUERTO VALLARTA. 31/08/2021}

An equally bad time is being experienced by Mexico after Hurricane Ida hit the US mainland, but Hurricane Nora has now weakened to a tropical storm and has claimed the life of a boy whose body was found near a hotel in Puerto Vallarta. The authorities were searching for a woman who was in a car that was swept away by floodwaters. The governor added that the storm caused severe damage, mainly in Puerto Vallarta and Cihuatlán. In other parts of the region, towns have been flooded, trees have been uprooted and power lines are down. Nora is expected to continue weakening as it moves north-northwest over the next few days.

Eradicating Leaded Petrol “Major Step Forward” for Planet’s Health

^{PHOTO: SOUNDBITES FROM UNEP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INGER ANDERSON AND U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL, ANTONIO GUTERRES, FILE OF PETROL STATIONS, VARIOUS FILE OF WIND TURBINE IN FRONT OF COAL POWER PLANT. 31/08/2021}

Leaded petrol has been eliminated after the world's last remaining stocks were used up last month. The U.N.'s Environment Program has been working for the past 19-years to end the use of the poisonous substance that poses major health and environment risks. Algeria was the last country on earth to be using it and exhausted its final stocks in July. The UN says leaded petrol has been contaminating air, soil and drinking water. It’s been linked to heart disease, stroke and cancer. Some studies even showed it harms brain development, especially in children. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called its eradication an "international success story":

"Ending the use of leaded petrol will prevent more than one million premature deaths each year from heart disease, strokes and cancer, and it will protect children whose IQs are damaged by exposure to lead."