Riau Forest Fire

Newsreader : Hello, welcome! Live from studio 7 in ABC headquarters in

Jakarta. I’m Abellia Auriel will provide you with the latest news from around
the world. Started off with The emergency forest fire situation in Riau, Sumatra.
The forest and peatland fire emergency is in front of our eyes. It has spread
widely in several regions and disrupted healthcare and air transportation.

Fires have spread in several provinces in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Southeast

Sulawesi and Papua. Indonesia's disaster agency has declared disaster alert
status for four provinces, including Riau province near Singapore, as the
number of hotspots from forest fires spiked.

The alert status will allow the central government to mobilise resources to easily
mitigate any fire threats, the Indonesian National Board for Disaster
Management (BNPB) said in a statement on Wednesday. The authorities have
deployed more than 9,000 people to fight the fires in the provinces of Riau,
Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South
Kalimantan.

The fires burned parts of the Tesso Nilo National Park in Riau, home to about
140 endangered wild elephants, according to Mr Edward Sanger, the local
disaster agency spokesman.

Newsreader : To provide you with further information, we’ve been connected

to ABC News journalist in Riau, Sumatra. Fildzah, Can you explain how the
forest fires affect air condition in there?

Reporter : Abellia and Audience, good morning. A very thick haze of smoke
has shrouded Pekanbaru City, Riau, for three days. The thick smoke haze has
covered the sky and disrupting the activities of the local residents. The land and
forest fires (has led to the increase of the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Pekanbaru.
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry reported that the AQI on Friday at
03:00 p.m. climbed to 372 (PM10), or "Hazardous". Since Monday (9/9), ACT
and MRI Riau distributed masks to passers-by.

On Thursday, 2,000 masks were distributed to the residents who were passing
by Jalan Sudirman, Tugu Zapin Intersection, Pekanbaru. Besides Pekanbaru,
masks were also distributed to a number of other affected regencies/cities in
Riau.

Newsreader : How is the forest fire affected activities of the local residents?
Reporter : Haze is worsening in the provincial capital of Riau province,
decreasing visibility and threatening the health of its residents. Haze has
worsened in the neighbour provinces of Riau and Jambi on Sumatra Island. In
Riau, visibility continued to decrease.

Based on observations conducted by the Pekanbaru office of the Meteorology,

Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), visibility in the provincial
capital on Tuesday morning was only 500 meters. Thick smog in Pekanbaru,
Riau, arising from land and forest fires, has compelled the local government to
close schools in the city, a city spokesman stated. Pekanbaru Mayor Firdaus has
given instructions to schools to put a stop to their activities. Fildzah Fakhrana
reporting. Back to You, Abellia.

Newsreader : Thank You, Fildzah. We will continue after a short break.