Roundup: Lebanese officials urge wildfire preparedness against heatwave, financial crisis

BEIRUT, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese officials have urged the general public to proactively reduce forest fire risk, as temperatures surged to 40 degrees Celsius while public emergency services are cash-strapped due to the unprecedented financial crisis.

The Lebanese Environment Ministry warned that firefighting teams in 24 to 30 districts were short of necessary equipment, and it needs to invest 5 million U.S. dollars to prepare them with essential fire response capacities.