[ad_1]
The General Directorate of Civil Defense in Lebanon has warned about the danger of fires, due to the high temperatures that the country is witnessing in excess of its seasonal rates in a notable way, according to the perspective of the outbreak of forest fires, issued by the direction.
The Directorate, in a statement published today, Thursday, called upon citizens to act with caution and adhere to its guidelines to raise awareness of the dangers of forest fires, especially with regard to not burning dry grass when clear the land, and also place weeds and small branches in safe places away from the woods after cleaning them from under the trees. He recalled the need to call the operating room at the emergency number 125 to report any emergency, in addition to the possibility of communicating through the website of the electronic Directorate General of Civil Defense.
Director of Civil Defense Operations George Abu Musa told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that “This week, at significantly high temperatures and exceeding a threshold of 34 degrees, we had to issue a warning statement to citizens, to be vigilant to this and refrain from any steps or behavior that could “lead to forest fires. We also base our assessment of the situation on the rapid north winds, high humidity and drought, so we get ahead of our elements to deal with any fire. “
In mid-October last year, Lebanon recorded 140 fires in various Lebanese regions in one day, the most serious of which was in the Mount Lebanon region. Only the torrential rains that collapsed saved the country from a major catastrophe that could have occurred, given the limited capabilities, equipment, and aircraft capable of quickly extinguishing this large number of fires and controlling them before they spread. These fires injured large numbers of citizens, after they reached areas related to residential buildings, and resulted in the death of young Salim Abu Mujahid, who died after a heart attack he suffered while helping to put out the fires.
Lebanon then used two planes from Cyprus to help put out the fires, despite having 3 Sikorsky helicopters that it obtained as a gift in 2009 from the association “Green Dime”, when Ziad Baroud was the Minister of the Interior, which raised donations of more of $ 13 million.
The donation included 3 years of maintenance for the rafts, in addition to a million dollars in exchange for spare parts, but after the term expired, the state did not complete its maintenance, which led to the suspension of work, which It was a great scandal.
Today, the Lebanese state, which is busy fighting the Corona virus, continues to neglect Lebanon’s forests, its forests and the safety of its citizens. Environmental Committee member Assem Araji told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that the country has not moved, either for equipment or aircraft maintenance, since the last fires in 2019, despite its severity and proximity to an environmental and health disaster. Elements of Civil Defense and its individual and personal initiatives. Araji expresses his apprehension on the land where wheat is grown, especially in Bekaa, especially since most of the land was cultivated this year only with wheat that is known to be highly flammable. Hence the need to be vigilant and take proactive measures to protect people’s lands and livelihoods.
According to the latest statistics released by the Union of Relief and Development Associations in Lebanon (URDA) in 2019, forest fires and forests in Lebanon occur annually, at approximately ten million square meters, and the rate can sometimes increase to 13 million square meters.
[ad_2]
