Pekanbaru, MINA – The Riau Provincial Government will soon declare an Emergency Alert Status for Forest and Land Fires after a number of hotspots were detected in several areas.
The announcement was made by Head of the Emergency Division of the Riau Regional Disaster Management Agency, Jim Ghafur, after leading a cross-sector coordination meeting at the Riau BPBD Office on Thursday.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Indonesian National Armed Forces and National Police, the Regional Military Command, Regional Police and District Police, the Air Force Base, Manggala Agni, as well as the Forest and Land Fire Control Center for the Sumatra Region.
Jim stated that presentations from all participating agencies indicated an increased potential for forest and land fires in several areas.
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“Several regencies and cities have reported hotspots. Based on these conditions, we consider Riau eligible to declare an emergency alert status,” he said.
He explained that hotspots were detected in Bengkalis, Siak, Pelalawan, Meranti Islands, Dumai, and Indragiri Hilir. Joint teams are currently carrying out firefighting and cooling operations in the affected locations.
According to Jim, Pelalawan Regency had earlier declared an emergency alert status for forest and land fires. With the recent revision of the Governor Regulation, the provincial government can now declare the status even if only one region has done so.
“With the new regulation, it is sufficient for one region to declare an emergency alert for the province to follow. Pelalawan has declared the status, so the administrative requirements have been fulfilled,” he explained.
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He added that the results of the meeting would soon be submitted to the Acting Governor of Riau as an official recommendation to declare the emergency alert status.
Jim emphasized that the final decision regarding when the status will take effect rests entirely with the governor after consultation with the Assistant and the Regional Secretary.
“The declaration awaits the Governor’s decision after we consult with the relevant officials,” he said.
The Riau Provincial Government hopes that by declaring the emergency alert status, preventive and response measures against forest and land fires can be carried out more swiftly and in a coordinated manner to minimize the impact of fires in the region.[]
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