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lthough many regions in the country are now starting to experience floods caused by heavy rainfall, some areas in Central Java and Bali are still enduring drought conditions.

The extended drought has caused four districts in Wonogiri regency, Central Java, to suffer from a food shortage crisis due to crop failure.

The four districts, Kismantoro, Paranggupito, Giritontro and Giriwoyo, are located in the eastern and southern parts of the regency and are included in the poverty red zone.

'€œIn Lemah Bang village, Kismantoro, more than 610 families, or around 2,000 people, are experiencing a food shortage. They have been consuming gaplek [dried cassava] in the last three months,'€ Wonogiri Social Affairs Office head Suwartono said on Wednesday.

He added that around 8,000 residents of the four districts were experiencing food crises.

To address the problem his office has coordinated with the Central Java Food Reliance Agency (BKP) through the Wonogiri Food Reliance Agency (KKP).

Separately, Wonogiri KKP head Stefanus Pranowo said that his office had distributed as much as 5.7 tons rice to each of the four districts, which was funded by the 2015 Central Java provincial budget from the food crisis emergency funds.

Meanwhile, in Bali, unevenly distributed rainfall has caused several parts of Bali to suffer from drought.

Denpasar station Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) staff member Eka Putra Wirawan said the unpredictable weather could be seen in the uneven rainfall.

'€œBased on the [BMKG] weather forecast, [...] the rain in Bali will take place at the end of the month,'€ said Wirawan.

He added that, despite the uneven rain in Bali, several regencies, such as Karangasem, Klungkung and Tabanan, were still facing drought.

Wirawan said that heavy rain would fall across Bali at the end of December, while the peak of the rainy season would take place in January next year.

'€œThe Bali provincial administration has urged residents to remain alert to [the possibility of] landslides and floods during the rainy season,'€ Wirawan said.

Hundreds of hectares of rice fields in Bali are experiencing drought, especially in Bongan hamlet, Tegalmengkeb village, Selemadeg district, Tabanan.

'€œIt has not rained for two months. My field has dried up and I'€™m suffering from crop failure,'€ said farmer I Nengah Nuanda, of Bongan hamlet.

He added he could only resign himself to fate as the drought had severely affected his 80-acre rice field.

'€œThe absence of rain has caused the irrigation channels, which used to irrigate the fields, to dry up,'€ he added.