Riau receives additional water-bombing helicopter support from BNPB

Pekanbaru - The Riau provincial government has once again received support in the form of one water-bombing helicopter unit from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) for handling forest and land fires (Karhutla) in the local area. Head of the Riau Regional Disaster Management and Firefighting Agency (BPBDPK), M Edy Afrizal, through the Head of Emergency and Logistics Division Jim Gafur, stated that the water-bombing helicopter is of the MI-8AMT type, registration RA-22729. “Riau has once again received assistance in the form of one helicopter unit that can be used for water-bombing activities at locations experiencing Karhutla,” he said in Pekanbaru on Wednesday. He added that with this additional support of one helicopter unit, there are now four helicopters in Riau province for Karhutla handling, comprising two patrol helicopters and two water-bombing helicopters each. In addition to the helicopters, cloud modification operations (OMC) for artificial rain activities are still being conducted in Riau. This OMC activity is in its second phase, following the first phase that began in early February. Currently, hotspots and Karhutla handling are focused in Bengkalis Regency. Manggala Agni, the Forest Fire Control Centre for the Sumatra Region, reported that Karhutla in four villages in Bengkalis is still being addressed. “We are still carrying out cooling operations in Kelemantan Barat Village and Kembung Luar Village. For Sekodi Village and Pelkun Village, we are conducting re-checks because it is very hot this afternoon here,” he said. He expressed gratitude that the water-bombing helicopter is still operating around the location. Meanwhile, the OMC has not yet obtained potential clouds until midday.