United Nations, Jan 14: The United Nations and aid partners are responding to deadly Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi battering southeast Africa with high winds and heavy rain, UN humanitarians said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the UN partners began working with local authorities after the cyclone made landfall on Saturday in northern Madagascar, the same area hit by deadly Cyclone Chido nearly a month ago.

OCHA’s latest ReliefWeb status alert reported that Dikeledi’s center was over the Mozambique Channel, approximately 75 km east of the coast of Nampula province in northeastern Mozambique. It passed just south of Mayotte, the island where Cyclone Chido inflicted heavy death and destruction.

The government of Madagascar reported that three people were killed and more than 350 displaced to several temporary sites. More than 5,200 people were directly affected, nearly 1,300 homes flooded, and five health centers were damaged.

Humanitarian partners distributed water treatment supplies and water, sanitation and hygiene kits.

OCHA said the world body and humanitarian partners in Mozambique continue to assist those affected by Chido, which killed more than 170 people in Madagascar, Mayotte and Malawi.

The World Food Programme reported reaching more than 190,000 Cyclone Chido victims in five districts with one-week food rations as of Saturday. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its partners distributed more than 800 kits of core relief items to more than 4,000 people.

UNHCR also said it stepped up efforts to assess protection concerns in parts of Cabo Delgado province where displaced people are sheltering. Following Cyclone Chido, they lacked shelter or sufficient access to clean water and sanitation facilities.

The loss of livelihoods, particularly in agriculture, has compounded their challenges in rebuilding their lives.

The United Nations and its partners aim to provide humanitarian assistance to more than 400,000 people affected by Cyclone Chido. But to do that, they urgently need additional funding, OCHA said.

Los Angeles, Jan 13: The death toll from the ravaging wildfires in Los Angeles has risen to 24, local media reported.

Wildfires continued to rage through Los Angeles County, marking a catastrophic ‘Black Swan’ event of unprecedented scale in the history of the US’ most populous county.

Among the active fires, the Palisades Fire has burned through 19,978 acres (80.85 square km) with just six per cent containment as of Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Eaton Fire has scorched 13,690 acres (55.4 square km) and remains completely uncontained.

For residents like Michael, an accountant in Altadena where the Eaton Fire erupted, the devastation has been life-altering. He was evacuated moments before his home was engulfed by flames.

“It’s like living through Armageddon,” he said, choking back tears. “We’ve lost everything.”

According to Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, the wildfires, which began Tuesday night, rank among the county’s most destructive natural disasters. Over 10,000 buildings have been destroyed so far, primarily due to the Palisades and Eaton fires.

In Malibu, officials reported the first fatality from the Palisades Fire on Thursday. The cause of death remains under investigation. Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart expressed profound sorrow, offering condolences to the victim’s loved ones.

“This tragedy weighs heavily on our hearts,” he said.

Currently, firefighters are battling four major wildfires: Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills and Hurst Fire in Sylmar.

While some progress has been made in controlling the Eaton Fire, strong winds reaching 100 km per hour have made containing the Palisades Fire particularly challenging. Officials hope calmer weather conditions will improve containment efforts, though the National Weather Service has warned of critical fire weather persisting through Friday night.

The fires have forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents, with at least 70,000 homes under threat and 10,000 destroyed. Looting has been reported in some evacuation zones, leading to multiple arrests.

Dorothy, a retired school administrator who had lived in Pacific Palisades for 40 years, lost her home and everything in it.

Los Angeles: The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have killed 10 people so far and burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings and other structures, officials said Thursday as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew.

The fast-moving Kenneth Fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from a school serving as a shelter for fire evacuees and then moved into neighbouring Ventura County by the evening.

Only hours earlier officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s devastating wildfires that have killed 10 people so far.

“We are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, echoing the forecast that called for winds to strengthen Thursday evening through Friday morning.