PALANGKARAYA (Indonesia), Oct 29 — Residents and firefighters in an Indonesian city long shrouded in a toxic haze brought on by months of wildfires rushed outside dancing and chanting as rain this week brought a welcome respite.
Intermittent rains have been falling in Palangkaraya, the capital of Central Kalimantan province on Indonesian Borneo, where devastating wildfires have raged since August.
Last night, exhausted volunteer firefighters jumped around in the puddles and kissed the ground in gratitude as another burst came down.
“We were overjoyed; every one of us volunteers was so happy that we prostrated ourselves in gratitude. Praise be to God that there was finally rain,” firefighter Lukman El Hakim told AFP.
