JAKARTA: Pekanbaru and Pelalawan in Indonesia’s Riau province on Sumatra island have upgraded their emergency status for forest and land fires from "emergency alert” to "emergency response” as worsening haze pushes air quality to very unhealthy levels.
Riau Regional Disaster Management and Fire Agency Head M Edy Afrizal said Pekanbaru, the provincial capital, and Pelalawan regency were among the areas severely affected by the fires, with schools and universities shifting to distance learning due to the deteriorating conditions.
"The upgrading of the status to emergency response is expected to strengthen cross-sectoral coordination, while accelerating efforts to tackle the fires and their impact on the public,” he said, according to Antara News Agency on Thursday (Aug 27).
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), an emergency alert status applies when a potential disaster threat is escalating, while emergency response status applies when the disaster is occurring and has begun disrupting people’s lives and livelihoods.
BNPB earlier reported that 68 hotspots were detected across Riau amid ongoing forest and land fires in the province.
Edy said authorities were still monitoring conditions before deciding whether to declare an emergency response status across Riau, although all regencies and cities in the province have already declared an emergency alert, with Kuantan Singingi the latest to do so. - Bernama
