Some 1,887 hotspots were detected by the Terra and Aqua Satellite on Friday at 5 AM.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said the number of hotspots detected in Sumatra and Kalimantan has continued to increase despite the governments efforts to intensify its emergency operations.
"Although we have launched emergency operations, hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan have continued to increase, reaching 1,887 points," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a press statement in Jakarta on Saturday.
Some 1,887 hotspots were detected by the Terra and Aqua Satellite on Friday at 5 a.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB). It included of 575 hotspots in Sumatra and 1,312 in Kalimantan.
In Sumatra, the hotspots were mostly detected in South Sumatra Province with 449 points, Jambi Province with 93 points, Bangka Belitung Province with 49 and Riau Province with 11 such spots.
In Kalimantan, a total of 1,312 hotspots were detected, with 508 being located in West Kalimantan, 127 in South Kalimantan, 579 in Central Kalimantan, 95 in East Kalimantan and four in North Kalimantan.
BNPB Chief Willem Rampangilei said on Friday that operational plans to put out forest and bush fires should be carried out simultaneously.
"Human resources should be deployed to prevent new fires, intensify popularization efforts and enforce the law," he said during a meeting on fire extinguishing efforts held in Palembang, South Sumatra.
He further said that BNPB will borrow a MI-171 helicopter from Papua to put out fires in Palembang.
Therefore, BNPB will also coordinate with the Ministry of Transportation regarding flight permits for 1,050 military personnel, who are attached with the BNPB to help fire extinguishing efforts.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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