Indonesia deploys warships, temporary shelters in haze crisis

comments     dpa     Published     Updated

Eleven warships were set to join the effort to help people affected by haze in Indonesia today, as President Joko Widodo cut short a visit to the United States to help resolve the crisis that has also affected neighbouring countries.

Half a million people living in two Indonesian provinces have suffered respiratory infections caused by haze and pollution, authorities said.

An estimated 25 million people have been exposed to the haze on the main islands of Sumatra and Indonesian Borneo, said National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Sutopo Nugroho, with haze also drifting to Java and the capital Jakarta.

Eleven warships and two passenger ships will be sent to affected areas to serve as temporary shelters and transport residents, especially children, to safer locations, Nugroho said.

Several of the ships had already arrived in Kalimantan, one of the affected provinces, he said.

Authorities set up temporary shelters equipped with air purifiers for vulnerable citizens, but many residents chose to stay at home, Nugroho said.

“They said the shelters are far away and they had to work and wanted to be with their relatives and neighbours,” he said.

Joko said he would cut short his US visit because of the haze.

“There have been many complaints from members of the public related to the social and health effects of the haze,” Joko was quoted as saying by the state Antara news agency late yesterday.

“So I decided to cancel my trip to the West Coast,” he said.

Joko had been scheduled to meet chief executives of US technology companies, but decided to send his ministers instead.

Joko said he would fly direct from the US to Sumatra and Borneo islands to monitor the fire-fighting and humanitarian efforts.

- dpa



Malaysiakini
news and views that matter


Sign In