World · East Asia & Pacific · 2 hrs ago
Wildfire in Indonesia's Sumatra destroys nearly 300 homes
A wildfire destroyed nearly 300 homes in a village in Bangka Belitung province on Indonesia’s Sumatra island.
Almost 1,000 people fled as the fire spread, according to the local disaster agency.
The fire had smouldered beneath the surface of peatland after residents thought they had put it out, then winds drove it toward homes, many made of wood.
El Niño has made Indonesia’s dry-season fires more intense this year, while experts also point to land clearing by burning.
The fires have caused severe haze and tens of thousands of cases of respiratory illness in Indonesia, as well as air pollution spikes in Singapore and Malaysia.
Indonesia’s president ordered maximum efforts to contain the fires on Monday, and the government has deployed more than 60,000 personnel on the ground.
A wildfire on Indonesia’s Sumatra island destroyed nearly 300 homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate.
Nearly 1,000 people fled the village in Bangka Belitung province, according to the local disaster agency.
Residents first spotted the fire approaching on Saturday and tried to put it out with portable water pumps.
An official said the fire smouldered beneath peatland before shifting winds drove it toward the settlement.
Officials and experts linked the fires to El Niño and land-clearing practices.
- Who
- Residents of a village in Bangka Belitung province were affected. Nearly 1,000 people fled, according to the local disaster agency.
- What
- A wildfire destroyed nearly 300 homes and forced people to evacuate.
- When
- Residents first spotted the fire approaching on Saturday. The report was published on Tuesday.
- Where
- Bangka Belitung province on Indonesia’s Sumatra island.
- Why
- An official said fire smouldering beneath peatland was driven toward the settlement by shifting winds. The article also says El Niño has made fires more intense this year.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Residents first spotted the fire approaching their village and tried to put it out with portable water pumps.
President Prabowo Subianto ordered the government to mobilise maximum efforts to extinguish wildfires.
An official reported that the fire had destroyed nearly 300 homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate.
- Homes destroyed
- Nearly 300
- People who fled
- Nearly 1,000
- Province
- Bangka Belitung
- Island
- Sumatra
- Personnel deployed
- More than 60,000
What people are saying
They thought it was taken care of. But it’s peatland, and there was still a fire smouldering underneath. So, when they assumed it was over, the wind shifted and quickly drove the fire toward the settlement.
My house is gone,
I immediately ran to save myself. None of my belongings survived ... only the clothes on my back,
the government had deployed more than 60,000 personnel on the ground.
Sources
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