Preventive action can’t avert wildfires but can save lives, meteorologists say
Voice of America
A police officer directs traffic so people can evacuate as a wildfire breaks out near Pacific Palisades on the west side of Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2025. The World Meteorological Organization says evacuation plans are important in saving lives in natural disasters. A National Guardsman talks with a driver near damaged structures burned from a wildfire in Altadena, California, on Jan. 10, 2025. The devastation from the Palisades Fire is seen from the air in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 9, 2025. A person wears a mask because of hazardous air quality due to wildfires as she rides her bike by the beach in Santa Monica, California, on Jan. 8, 2025.
The World Meteorlogical Organization says that preventive action cannot avert natural disasters such as the wildfires raging across Los Angeles, but that it can help save lives and mitigate loss of property.
Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid wait on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Jan. 18, 2025, following the Israeli Cabinet's approval of a ceasefire deal amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Two women talk next to a mural demanding the return of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Jan. 18, 2025.
FILE - The main entrance of Tatu City, a startup city that tries to tackle Africa's problem of urbanizing, is seen in Nairobi, Kenya, Oct. 25, 2024. FILE - Waiters serve in a restaurant at Tatu City, a startup city that tries to tackle Africa's problem of urbanizing, in Nairobi, Kenya, Oct. 25, 2024. FILE - A privately owned townhouse is seen at Tatu City, a startup city that tries to tackle Africa's problem of urbanizing, in Nairobi, Kenya, Oct. 25, 2024.
A man with a Sudanese flag gestures following reports that Sudan's army had entered the central city of Wad Madani and pushed out its paramilitary rivals, the Rapid Support Forces, in Merowe, Sudan, Jan.11, 2025. People queue for water in Omdurman, Sudan, during battles between the Sudanese military and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Jan. 16, 2025. Most of Omdurman is under army control; the RSF holds Khartoum North and some other areas of the capital.