All stakeholders and citizens are expected to be prepared to overcome the wildfires that continue to conflagrate several spots
Palembang (ANTARA) - The South Sumatra provincial government has extended the emergency status concerning the ongoing land and forest fires to November 10, 2019, which was earlier set to end in late October.

This status was extended in response to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency’s (BMKG’s) forecast that the region will receive rainfall in the second week of November, Herman Deru, the South Sumatra governor, stated here, Sunday, October 28.

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“All stakeholders and citizens are expected to be prepared to overcome the wildfires that continue to conflagrate several spots,” he emphasized.

Deru explained that the government will not only issue Decree No 592/KPTS/BPBS-SS/2019 to extend the emergency status but also make assurance of the disbursement of funding worth billions of rupiah to tackle wildfires.

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“The funding had been disbursed on Friday, October 25, when we had deployed 850 personnel to tackle hotspots in Ogan Komering Ilir District,” Deru confirmed.

Haze caused by the fire across South Sumatra has been thicker this week, with more hotspots found over several districts. The condition has worsened in Ogan Komering Ilir since it has not received rain for 22 days.

According to data received by October 25, a total of 1,279 hotspots were recorded in South Sumatra, thereby constituting the maximum number of hotspots during this year’s dry season.

Iriansyah, chief of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of South Sumatera, confirmed the deployment of 1,030 additional personnel to handle the situation.

“The personnel comprised 300 members of the National Armed Forces, 500 members of the National Police, and 50 members of the Public Order Enforcers, while the rest are members of BNPB and TAGANA,” he added. Related news: Haze cover over Palembang thickens: Walhi

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Translator: Dolly Rosana, Suwanti
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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