Palangka Raya Emergency Response Karhutla, City Government Focuses On Health Services

Illustration. Patients with respiratory disturbances due to exposure to smoke fog are being treated at the Oxygen House ofturbation and Culture, Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Wednesday, September 18, 2019. (Antara- Hafidz M A)

KALTENG - Pemerintah Kota (Pemkot) Palangka Raya menetapkan status tanggap darurat kebakaran hutan dan lahan (karhutla) di Palangka Raya, Provinsi Kalimantan Tengah (Kalteng).

"This determination is in line with the increase in cases of land and air fires which continue to be shrouded in smog, so the government needs to take further action, one of which is by establishing an emergency response status for forest and land fires," said Acting (Pj) Mayor of Palangka Raya, Hera Nugrahayu in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Monday, October 2, confiscated by Antara.

He said, with this status determination, the Palangka Raya City Government through related agencies would meet the indicators that must be completed when the emergency response status of the disaster forest and land fires is declared.

"Currently we prioritize health services to the community and other basic services besides the fire team continue to make efforts to extinguish land fires," he said.

The Acting Head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of the Palangka Raya City Government added that currently the weather conditions due to the rise of forest and land fires are still thick.

Alman added that so far efforts to extinguish a number of forest and land fires in Palangka Raya City have been handled by BPBD together with a joint team to deal with forest and land fires.

This includes intensifying prevention patrol activities, while accompanied by counseling, socialization, and activating supervision of indications of forest and land fires events.

Alman said that the availability of water sources is still a serious obstacle for the forest and land fire control team in the field. Moreover, many bore wells do not work because they dry up.

There are not a few personnel in the field who rely on water sources around the burned land area. Well, when there is no water source at all, it is certainly an obstacle in extinguishing it," said Alman.

Meanwhile, based on observations, fires in vacant land still occur in Palangka Raya. Even at some points, land fires began to approach residential areas.

Not only that, the impact of forest and land fires began to be felt by the community, such as the smell of pungent smog that made shortness of breath and the sad eyes and the throat dry and quickly feeling thirsty.