TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia disaster agency warned on Friday that the haze in Riau province on Western Sumatra island would likely exacerbate after satellites detected 346 hot spots across Sumatra, mostly in Riau.
“The forest and land fires continue to rage until now. The latest development showed that out of 346 hotspots, 148 were detected in Riau,” spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told the Antara News on Friday.
The number is higher than the previous report, which recorded 87 hot spots.
The hot spots are mostly located in Rokan Hilir village with the number reaching 73 hot spots, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
“The haze has also caused the visibility range in several areas disrupted, such as in Pekanbaru, Pelalawan, Rengat and Dumai,” Sutopo added. “If the provincial government does not take any preventative measure, this condition would likely worsen. The dry season in 2014 will make it even worse.”
Sutopo said the fire mitigation process in the region is conducted poorly, adding that the provincial government still mostly relies on the central government for help.
“The role of the Riau government in handling the land and forests fires is still not optimal. The efforts to reduce and prevent fires in Riau are still very low. They are still depending on the central [government],” he said. “The Riau government should by now be able to handle the incident because it is one of the richest regions.”
Riau Governor Annas Maamun said this week that his government is keeping a close eye on the fires in the province.
“We are really serious in anticipating the fires. However, the officials couldn’t possibly keep an eye on the forest all night long,” he said.
ANTARA
