In the Southwest Pacific, Cyclone Pam struck the nation of Vanuatu on March 13 with winds of up to 185 miles per hour, killing at least 24 people and leaving more than 3,000 homeless. 

Spread across more than 60 islands, many of Vanuatu’s 250,000 people were left without communications or access to fresh water, raising concerns that the death toll could grow substantially.

Pam also caused flooding in the nations of Kiribati, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

Off the coast of Myanmar, about 50 people were killed on March 14 when a ferry carrying 209 people sank in conditions of high waves and poor weather. The ferry was traveling from the town of Taunggok to the city of Sittwe. Residents of Taunggok believe the death toll to be higher, as there would have been many unregistered passengers on board.

Ferry and other marine accidents are common in Myanmar. 

The Nigerian town of Gwoza, headquarters of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, was retaken by the Nigerian army on March 27. Gwoza had been captured in August 2014, after which Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, declared all territory held by his group to be a caliphate under his control.

Since January 2014, most of the territory held by Boko Haram has been retaken by Nigeria with the help of armed forces from neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.