The Star 24 Sep 15;
KUCHING: With little improvement after a month, many Sarawakians are just trying their best to weather the haze problem.
Layang Layang Aerospace, which operates Sarawak’s flying doctor service, has seen its Kuching helicopter grounded for most of the second half of this month.
“It’s just so bad and unfortunate. Our helicopters should not fly when visibility is under 3km. We need ground visuals, not to mention visuals of electricity poles and all sorts,” said operations manager Captain Irwin Menezes, who is also chief pilot.
The company’s helicopters are based in the state capital, Sibu and Miri. So far, the Sibu and Miri teams have not been affected.
The flying doctor serves rural Sarawak where there is no road access, visiting up to 100 settlements each month.
“Everyone in the aviation industry is affected, including commercial flights. Our workers have caught the flu although no one has taken leave. As advised, we drink lots of water to get through the haze,” added Menezes.
Meanwhile, hotel corporate communications executive Ng Ai Fern is worried about her six-month-old’s health ever since the haze started last month.
“What do you do when the air is this bad? He has been coughing a little bit. He is too young to be taking medicine.
“People say drink lots of water but my baby is only six months old. He can’t drink that much water and he can’t tell us how he feels,” she said.
Since last week, Ng and her husband have kept their son indoors as much as possible. Except for trips to the nanny during the day – as both parents work – they do not expose him to the outdoors.
“You constantly feel he is at risk. He stays indoors with the air-conditioner on all day long, but then again, too much air-cond is not good,” she added.
Visibility in Kuching yesterday afternoon was 800m.
State health director Datuk Dr Zulkifli Jantan said there had been an increase of 30% in outpatient cases related to the haze since last week.
“In this situation it is normal to have more patients. However, there has not been any significant increase in hospital admissions,” he said.
Several areas in Sarawak continued to experience unhealthy air quality yesterday, with Samarahan recording the highest Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 191 at 9am before dropping to 167 at 3pm.
The API was 150 in Kuching and 127 in Sri Aman at 3pm while Sarikei recorded 101 briefly before going down to 100.
Sarawak: Haze Back, Disrupts 7 Flights To And From KIA
Bernama 22 Sep 15;
KUCHING, Sept 22 (BERNAMA) -- The haze returned Tuesday, and by noon the Kuching Division had registered an Air Pollutant Index (API) of 96, from 76 as of 8am.
Kuching International Airport (KIA) senior manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim said by noon, seven flights involving 668 passengers were affected.
He said the flights comprised two departures with 448 passengers and five arrivals involving 220, adding that those affected were on Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia flights between Sibu and Kuching, and Bintulu and Kuching.
"The visibility distance at KIA was at 800 metres this morning before improving to 900 by noon.
"All passengers on flights using the KIA are advised to check their flying schedules with the respective flight companies before going to the airport for any possible disruption," he said when contacted by Bernama.
Meanwhile, according to the department of environment, the API for Sri Aman was at an unhealthy 116, which was the highest in the state as of noon.
It was followed by Kuching with a moderate 96, Samarahan (90), Sarikei (85) and Sibu (74).
-- BERNAMA
Be wary of fake portal with false haze info: DOE
ADIB POVERA New Straits Times 23 Sep 15;
KUCHING: A fake portal has been identified for spreading false and misleading information on the haze situation in Sarawak, Department of Environment said.
In a statement today, the department said information on haze provided by the portal ( www.yangshitianqi.com/Kuching/kongqizhiliang.html) was false and had created panic among the people in the state.
“The department is serious about an act by certain quarters spreading false information on haze in the state, which had created panic among the people in Sarawak.
“For the official and latest Air Pollutant Index readings, please visit the department’s link for haze on our website at http://apims.doe.gov.my/v2/ or download the MyIPU application for smartphones via ‘Google Play’ (for Android users) or App Store (for iOS users).”
Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/09/be-wary-fake-portal-false-haze-info-doe
