BNPB Provides Helicopter Assistance For Riau Karhutla Patrol

PeKANBARU - Head of the Riau Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), M Edy Afrizal, said that his party had obtained a helicopter unit assisted by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) to intensify patrols in monitoring forest and land fires in Riau.

"The helicopter can be used to patrol the air for 3.5 hours, and if it is found that there is a forest and land fire, it will be immediately reported to get further handling by land and air," said M Edy Afrizal as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, May 2.

He said helicopter assistance would make it easier and faster to patrol forest and land fires more.

In addition to the patrol helicopter, his party is currently waiting for a helicopter for a water boom that is being sent from Australia. Currently, the position of the helicopter is in Kupang.

"The water boom helicopter sent from Australia is already in Kupang, it is being checked by the Customs and Excise authorities and it is hoped that this week it will also arrive in Riau.

As an effort to overcome forest and land fires (karhutla) in Riau province, especially in coastal areas of Riau province. Until now, Weather Modification Technology (TMC) efforts have been made by seeding salt in the sky of Riau province.

BPBD Riau said that the TMC activities in Riau had been carried out for the past week. Currently, Riau Province has received 20 tons of salt assistance for TMC.

"We received 20 tons of salt for TMC, so far 9 tons have been smeared in Riau's skies," he said.

He explained that TMC activities were mostly carried out in the sky around the coastal area of Riau because the rainfall had decreased at that location and there had also been forest and land fires, namely Dumai City and Bengkalis Regency.

Therefore, he said, TMC was focused a lot on the coastal areas of Riau, where the rainfall was low and there was forest and land fires.