North Sumatra declares state of emergency in seven regencies as forest fires spread

JAKARTA: Seven of the 33 regencies and cities in North Sumatra have declared a state of emergency as forest fires continue to sweep across the province, burning thousands of hectares of land.

North Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Head Tuahta Ramajaya Saragih said the seven affected regencies are Toba, Samosir, Simalungun, Humbang Hasundutan, Karo, Dairi and North Tapanuli.