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Monday,17-February-2025
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Aid response mounts for Cyclone Dikeledi victims in Africa: UN

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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.

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10 students injured as roof collapses in primary school in Gujarat village

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Una, Feb 13: Ten children were injured after roof tiles from the lobby ceiling collapsed onto them during their morning prayer session in Una in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district.

The incident occurred at the primary school in Vashoj village, Una, on Thursday. Ten children sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious and were promptly transported to the Una Government Hospital via 108 emergency services for treatment.

Among the injured, students from Classes four and five suffered the most severe injuries, particularly to their heads. Four to five children were reported to be in critical condition and are currently receiving medical attention.

Preliminary reports suggest that the collapse may have been triggered by vibrations from loud music played at a nearby wedding ceremony.

More details were awaited as the probe was on.

However, this incident has raised concerns about the construction quality of the school building. Questions are being asked about the integrity of the structure and why such substandard materials may have been used. Authorities are expected to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of the collapse and to assess the structural safety of the school building to prevent future incidents.

In recent years, Gujarat has witnessed several incidents involving structural collapses in educational institutions, raising concerns about building safety standards. In July 2024, a classroom wall at Shree Narayan Vidhyalay near Gurukul crossroads in Vadodara collapsed, injuring a Class 7 student. The incident occurred during a break, which prevented a major catastrophe as most students were outside the classroom at the time. The injured student received primary treatment and was reported to be stable.

In another incident in September 2024, at least 23 labourers were injured when iron beams of an under-construction structure fell upon them at Chandrabala Modi Academy in Kondh village near Valia town, Bharuch district. The injured were rushed to a hospital in Ankleshwar for treatment.

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Massive Fire Breaks Out At Oshiwara Furniture Market In Jogeshwari, No Injuries Reported; Visuals Surface

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Mumbai: A massive fire broke out at a furniture godown in Oshiwara Furniture Market in Jogeshwari West, on Tuesday morning. The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) reported the incident at 11:52 am, classifying it as a Level-II fire at 11:46 am. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Details On The Fire Incident

The fire erupted in a ground-floor furniture godown near A1 Darbar Restaurant on Swami Vivekanand Marg. Thick smoke and flames were seen rising from the structure, causing panic in the area. Firefighters and other emergency services rushed to the spot to contain the blaze.

Authorities quickly mobilised multiple agencies, including the Mumbai Fire Brigade, police, Adani electricity officials, ward staff and 108 ambulance services. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported so far.

Cause Of Fire Not Known Yet

Firefighting operations were underway to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby structures, with efforts focused on controlling the flames and ensuring the safety of surrounding areas. The cause of the fire remains unknown and further investigation will be conducted to determine the exact reason behind the incident.

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Four killed, several injured in firecracker factory blast at Bengal’s Kalyani

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Kolkata, Feb 7: At least four persons were killed and several others have been injured following a blast at a firecracker factory at Kalyani in West Bengal’s Nadia district on Friday afternoon.

Sources from the district police said that so far, four charred bodies have been recovered from the spot of the blast and of the four, two are women. The administration has yet to reveal the identities of these four deceased individuals. It is perceived that the four individuals killed in the blast were workers at the said factory.

Local eyewitnesses said that the impact of the blast was such that the entire factory shade was blown off and the entire structure came tumbling down.

Local people also suspect that the administration’s figure of four deaths till now is not accurate and the number of casualties will be much higher. The conditions of some of those who had been injured are so critical that it is doubtful that they may survive.

A huge police contingent and personnel from the state fire services and the disaster management departments have already reached the spot and started the rescue operations. The rescue teams are trying to locate whether there are more bodies trapped under the debris.

Now questions are being raised on how permission for running such a hazardous factory was given in that area which is heavily crowded. At the same time, the police have started an investigation to track whether the firecracker factory had the requisite license or not.

For the last couple of years, West Bengal has been in the national headlines because of unfortunate deaths because of illegal firecracker factory or warehouse blasts.

In 2023, as many as nine persons were killed in a similar blast at an illegal firecracker factory at Egra in East Midnapore district. There were similar blasts at Budge Budge in South 24 Parganas and Duttapukur in North 24 Parganas districts during the last couple of years killing several people.

Every time after the blast the administration cautions of strong actions against such illegal firecracker entities. Police raids continue for some time and fade away.

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