JAKARTA, Aug 25 — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said forest and land fires in several areas have begun to be brought under control, and expressed hope the situation could be fully resolved within one to two weeks.
He said the government has deployed substantial resources, including dozens of helicopters, more than a dozen aircraft, hundreds of water wells and pumps, and thousands of personnel.
Prabowo noted that the world is experiencing a strong El Niño this year, and Indonesia must remain vigilant. He personally visited West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and Sumatra over the past few days to inspect firefighting operations.
He also highlighted the government’s response to other recent disasters, including a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on Aug 15. The quake has killed 103 people, injured 1,666, and displaced over 185,000 residents. As of Tuesday, 7,029 aftershocks had been recorded.
Prabowo stressed that the government is present wherever needed and will continue to act swiftly in response to emergencies.
