Riau's economic loss from forest fires in March hits 20t rupiah

THE loss to local businesses and incomes from forest fires so far this year, which have largely been concentrated on the island of Sumatra, is approaching the damage wrought by the 2004 tsunami that devastated the province of Aceh.

Last month's fires have sapped 20 trillion rupiah (S$2.18 billion) this year from the regional economy, according to Sutopo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Agency for Disaster Management, or BNPB.

By comparison, the economic disruption from the deadly tsunami 10 years ago was to the tune of 30 trillion rupiah, he noted. The 20 trillion rupiah economic loss figure is for Riau alone. The BNPB spent 103 billion rupiah fighting fires in Riau for all of last year.