Satellites Detect 8 Hotspots in Riau Today

Pekanbaru, Riau, March 20 (Antarariau.com)- Terra and Aqua Satellites detected eight hotspots in four districts in Riau Province on Sunday morning.

The hotspots were found in Bengkalis, Meranti, Indragiri Hulu and Pelalawan Districts, Sugarin, head of the Pekanbaru meteorology, climatology and geophysics office, said here, Sunday.

"Four hotspots are detected in Bengkalis, two in Meranti, and one each in Pelalawan and Indrigiri Hulu," he said.

Of the eight hotspots, three were confirmed to come from forest and plantation fires, he noted.

The three hotspots were respectively located in Bengkalis, Meranti and Pelalawan.

In addition to Riau Province, hotspots were also detected in other provinces on Sumatra Island, including 13 in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam, four in North Sumatra, three in West Sumatra, and one each in Riau Islands and Jambi Provinces, Sugarin said.

Brigadier General Nurendi, commander of the Forest Fire Task Force, said six units of military personnel have been deployed in Riau to extinguish and prevent forest, peatland and plantation fires.

On March 7, the Riau provincial government declared an emergency alert status, indicating the need to expedite the efforts to prevent and handle forest and land fires following the discovery of the hotspots.

The status, which will remain effective for three months, is aimed at expediting the measures to handle and prevent forest and land fires.

Riaus district administrations of Meranti, Bengkalis, Dumai, Rokan Hilir, Siak, and Pelalawan had earlier also declared the emergency alert status.

A number of coastal areas in Riau Province have been witnessing a dry season. The forest and land fires have hit those areas since mid February 2016 due to a drastic drop in rainfall.

On March 4, as many as 45 hotspots were detected in seven districts and cities in Riau, including 21 in Bengkalis District and 14 in Siak 14.

Of the 45 hotspots in Riau, 26 were confirmed to have been caused by forest, peatland, and plantation fires. Of the 26 hotspots, 12 were found in Bengkalis, five in Dumai, eight in Siak, and one in Pelalawan District.