El Niño peat fire razes nearly 300 homes in Indonesia's Bangka Belitung

An El Niño-fuelled peat fire razed nearly 300 homes in Bangka Belitung province, Sumatra, forcing nearly 1,000 people to flee. South Bangka chief Riza Herdavid said wind shifted smouldering peat into the settlement after residents with portable pumps failed to hold it back. The village was built on former peatland in a protected area.