[Kabar-indonesia] Malaysia issues haze alert on Malacca Strait; Rains bring relief [3 reports]

[Joyo at aol.com]

also: Rains bring relief to some areas in haze-shrouded Indonesia;
and Thick haze sparks ships crash; one missing 

Agence France-Presse
October 9, 2006

Malaysia issues haze alert on Malacca Strait

Malaysia has issued a hazard warning for ships plying the Malacca Strait 
after thick haze caused visibility to drop along the vital waterway.

"Low visibility less then five kilometres (three miles) occurring over the 
Straits Of Malacca and coastal waters of Sarawak due to haze is expected to 
continue till Thursday," the meteorological department said a statement late 
Sunday.

"This situation is hazardous to ships without navigational equipment," it 
said.

A department spokesman said visibility at 0030 GMT Monday was at 1.3 
kilometres at the western coastal city of Malacca facing the strait, and four 
kilometres at Senai in southern Johor state.

"The visibility will be below five most of the time, so that's why we issued 
the warning there. If the situation improves, we can terminate the warning," 
he told AFP.

Clear conditions normally see visibility at 10 kilometres over the strait, he 
said.

Visibility was also poor in other parts of the country, with Kuala Lumpur 
International Airport at just 500 metres (yards), although flights have not yet 
been disrupted.

"The airport operations are still running as normal and we are monitoring the 
situation," said airport spokeswoman Shuhainie Shamsudin.

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Rains bring relief to some areas in haze-shrouded Indonesia 

JAKARTA, Oct. 9 (AP): Heavy rains brought relief to some areas of Indonesia 
shrouded in smoke by land-clearing fires, but blazes elsewhere Monday delayed 
flights and brought misery to residents.

Skies were clear across parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan islands, locals said.

"Finally God has sent us rain to clear the haze," said Sadikin, a resident in 
Pontianak, the largest city in West Kalimantan province.

Most of the brush fires were illegally started by farmers or agricultural 
companies on Kalimantan and Sumatra islands as a cheap way of clearing the land. 
Smoke from the blazes has also spread to neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.

Despite the respite, visibility remained as low as 25 meters (80 feet) in 
other parts of Borneo, which is shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, 
residents and officials said.

Flights were canceled or delayed at the island's Palangkaraya airport, said 
airport chief Jamaludin Hasibuan.

"The haze has been disturbing our daily activities for weeks now," said 
Panrina, a motorist in the city.

The dry season haze is a perennial problem for the region. The worst case 
occurred in 1997-98, when smoke from land-clearing in Sumatra blanketed much of 
the region and was blamed for losses of nearly US$9 billion in tourism, health 
and business. 

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Thick haze sparks ships crash; one missing 

JAMBI, Jambi province, Oct. 9 (Antara): Two ships collided on Batanghari 
river, Rantau Panjang village, Muaro regency, Jambi province as thick haze was 
covering the river Sunday. One was still missing on Monday.

The incident occurred when tug boat hit Masriana cargo ship, which was parked 
in the river, some 30 kilometers of the capital city of Jambi.

Director of Jambi Water Police Sr. Comr. Hari Sanyoto said Monday Zulkifli, 
22, a crew member of Masriana went missing after he felt down from his boat, 
which was hit by the tug boat.

The ship sank together with all of goods on board.

Thick haze and smoke sparked by forest fires on Kalimantan and Sumatra 
islands has seriously downgraded air quality and hampered flights in Indonesia and 
its neighboring Singapore, and Malaysia.

Because if poor air quality, residents were also suggested to stay in doors, 
while a number of aviations canceled or delayed their local flights schedules 
due to short visions near airports both in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The forest fires on Sumatra and Kalimantan are started by farmers or 
agricultural companies looking for a cheap way to clear brush land for plantations, 
often palm oil. They occur most dry seasons, often on peat lands making them 
difficult to extinguish. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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