Jakarta, April 30 -- The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) emphasized that the coordinating desk for forest and land fires (Desk Karhutla) was activated in seven provinces to strengthen disaster handling ahead of the dry season.

BNPB Chief Suharyanto stated here on Wednesday that the seven provinces most vulnerable to forest and land fires are Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and East Kalimantan.

According to Suharyanto, those provinces face a high risk of forest and peatland fires, so each will receive handling assistance from the Desk Karhutla.

"(Seven) provinces are prioritized for forest and land fire handling, with Riau receiving special handling," he explained.

He added ...