Warships ready in Indonesia to evacuate haze victims
Indonesia has prepared warships and ferries in case it needs to evacuate people affected by an acrid haze caused by illegal forest fires across the country.
"For now, the ships will be standing by. We will begin evacuation when there is an instruction from the government," Navy Spokesman Muhammad Zainuddin told AFP on Saturday.
The Indonesian government sent ships to haze-affected provinces, including the two main central islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra to evacuate victims, especially children and women, if necessary.
Thousands of fires made by farmers clearing land for plantations for the palm oil, pulp, and paper industries have choked much of Southeast Asia with thick toxic smog floating in the air. For two months now, the toxic cloud has forced schools to close and scores of flights and some international events to be cancelled.
Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency Spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho announced on Saturday to reporters that, "the impact of the forest fires has caused 10 people in Sumatra and Kalimantan to die, directly and indirectly.”
At least half a million people have suffered from respiratory illness since the fires started in July and 43 million people have been affected by the widespread fires and haze in the country.
According to Indonesia's Forestry Ministry, this year's disaster was the most widespread as more than 1.7 million hectares of land burned and six provinces were severely affected by the haze.
Around 30 aircraft and 22,000 troops have been deployed on the ground to combat the blazes.
The haze has affected neighboring Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines as well, and has strained diplomatic ties between Indonesia and its neighbors.
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