What we’re watching: Weekly disaster update, January 13

Jan. 13, 2025

Firefighting helicopter drops water to battle the wildfires in Los Angeles. (Photo credit: Jesse Rodriguez)

We know all too well that disaster can strike anytime, anywhere in the world. Some disasters make headlines; others do not. Here at the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP), we monitor the status of disasters worldwide and compile a list of the ones we’re tracking weekly, along with relevant disaster-related media coverage.  

Here’s what we’re watching for the week of Jan. 13, 2025.

New or Emerging Disasters 

Wildfires – Los Angeles, California: On Jan. 7, 2025, a Santa Ana wind event struck Los Angeles County with winds up to 80 mph. The winds, drought conditions, and warmer-than-normal temperatures in southern California caused a massive wildfire that started in Pacific Palisades and then jumped to Lidia, Sunset, Eaton and Hurst, sparking additional fires. The largest fires in Eaton and Pacific Palisades are now 33% contained and 11% contained, respectively.

Containment of these fires is complicated by long-term drought conditions, the Santa Ana winds and an inadequate water supply for fighting fires in LA.

Over 12,000 structures, including homes, schools and businesses, have been destroyed, and 150,000 people have been forced to flee as the fires have engulfed 44,000 acres in Los Angeles County. The blazes spread so quickly that many people fleeing their homes found the roads impassable and were ordered to leave their cars to escape on foot.

At least 24 people have died, mostly older people and people with disabilities who were unable to evacuate or help did not come in time. The number of people missing is growing.

To learn more about California wildfires, head to CDP’s 2025 North American Wildfires profile.

Note: If you are an individual affected by the disaster, we encourage you to contact your local 211 to see what resources are available in your community.

Earthquake – Tibet, Nepal: On Jan. 7, 2024, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the Chinese region of Tibet, killing 126 people and injuring 338 others.

More than 47,000 people had to be resettled in tents and prefab houses immediately following the earthquake as nighttime temperatures hovered at 5 degrees Fahrenheit. The epicenter was located 50 miles north of Mount Everest.

Tremors from the quake were felt in Nepal, India and Bhutan.

Previous/Ongoing Disasters 

H5N1 – United States: There have been 66 cases of H5N1 in humans during the current outbreak, with the first human death from the virus reported on Jan. 6, 2025, in Louisiana.

Avian flu has been spreading among dozens of species, including cattle, pigs, lions, domestic cats, foxes, mice, alpacas and harbor seals. The more animals and humans become infected, the more chances the virus has to mutate. And the more chances the virus has to mutate, the more likely it is to make a mistake replicating its genetic sequence. Such a mistake could make human-to-human transmission possible, which has become a concern of scientists and infectious disease specialists in the U.S. who study pandemics.

Cyclone Chido – Mozambique, Mayotte: On Dec. 14, Mayotte, a small French territory in the Indian Ocean, experienced its worst storm in 90 years. Cyclone Chido, a Category 4 storm, razed the archipelago, cutting electricity, drinking water and internet.

With winds up to 136 mph, the storm destroyed hospitals and schools and leveled entire neighborhoods. Rescuers from France could not reach the islands for three days after the storm hit. At least 39 people died, with 200 still missing and over 5,000 were injured; however, these numbers are still expected to rise.

The storm weakened to a tropical storm as it made landfall in Mozambique on Dec. 15, with nearly 400,000 people receiving warnings to evacuate. At least 94 people have died, 768 have been injured and 622,000 people have been affected. It is estimated that 110,000 homes have been destroyed.

To learn more about the cyclone, check out CDP’s Cyclone Chido disaster profile.

Complex Humanitarian Emergencies – Central African Republic

Women and girls face the brunt of violence in conflict, although they are rarely involved in decision-making around conflicts and peace and security matters. Sexual violence and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV) are frequently used as tactical weapons in war, aiming to terrorize and control populations. Displacement, instability and the destruction of facilities expose women and girls to even more exploitation and abuse. For the next round of Complex Humanitarian Emergency (CHE) updates, CDP will focus on how these crises affect women and girls.

The crisis in the Central African Republic remains one of the most neglected in the world, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. After the election in 2020, violence in the region exploded. Now, one in five Central Africans have been displaced, one in two face food insecurity, and nearly 300,000 CAR children under five suffer from acute severe malnutrition.   Women and girls bear a disproportionate share of this crisis. 

By the numbers:

About 50% of girls in CAR do not attend primary or middle school.
For every 1% of women and girls who experience gender-based violence (GBV), there is an 8% economic loss.
CAR spends 1.2 to 2% of its GDP on GBV services, which is how much it spends on primary education.
At least 20% of married or partnered women/girls experience physical or sexual intimate partner violence.
Approximately 30% of women and girls have experienced GBV generally.
At least 25% of women and girls were married before age 15.
At least 21.6% of women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation.
Amid ongoing conflict, violence against women and girls has increased since 2020 from about 9,200 reported cases to 25,500 as of April 2024.

Financial stress is a significant contributor to the worst types of exploitation of children, with forced labor, sexual violence and child marriage becoming much more prevalent with skyrocketing fuel and food prices, weakened supply chains and international crises.  

International funding for CAR has steadily decreased, with gender-based violence receiving some of the least support in 2024. In 2025, 57 million vulnerable people across West and Central Africa will need lifesaving humanitarian aid, with protection being the most pressing need. In CAR, the UN and other humanitarian partners have set the fundraising goal at $326.1 million.

In addition to the disasters listed above, we are actively monitoring the following disasters or humanitarian emergencies. For more information, see the relevant disaster profiles, which are updated regularly.  

What We’re Reading 

The New Humanitarian (TNH) published three stories in the first half of January that need attention from funders and humanitarian organizations. As we learned from Trista Harris in November’s Futurism webinar, assessing the past helps us look forward and looking forward helps us plan for future needs.
- Humanitarian crises that demand your attention now: “It’s not just Gaza and Ukraine. Wars and other humanitarian emergencies continue to rage around the globe heading into 2025. Many of them – even Sudan, the world’s largest displacement crisis – garner relatively little media coverage and struggle to get their share of donor aid money. And even when the funds are there for a robust response, securing the access to actually deliver one can be all but impossible.”
- Editors’ picks: Ten stories from 2024 that still matter in 2025: The TNH team picked 10 global issues from 2024 that we all need to pay attention to in 2025. They range from Aleppo to Gaza and from tax justice to localization.
- Trends that will spur humanitarian needs in 2025: The TNH editors identified several key elements that will create new problems and issues for people in crisis situations. These include increased risks for women and girls, gang violence in Latin America and debt dependency.
The California wildfires could be leaving deeper inequality in their wake – Associated Press: The Eaton Fire brought massive destruction to Altadena, a town that during the Civil Rights era provided a rare opportunity for Black Americans to access credit to buy homes. It now boasts an 81.5% Black homeownership rate. Approximately 58% of the residents in Altadena are people of color, a significant change from 1960 when 95% of residents were white.

A moment of hope… In Runyan Canyon, an area of Hollywood, Good Samaritans helped save a house from catching fire. A palm tree had caught fire in front of a home, raining embers down onto the roof and the yard. The homeowners had fled but were watching the fire through their Ring camera. People nearby saw the fire and spoke with the homeowners through the camera to gain access to the roof. They drenched the home with water and put out the fire in the tree, saving not just this home but possibly several others on this street.

Gina DeLuca

Content Development Associate