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More regions brace for drought as dry season intensifies
Many cities and regencies have declared a state of emergency for the drought caused by the El Niño-induced prolonged dry season, which has led to limited access to clean water for thousands of residents.
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A resident places water jugs in line to get clean water from a water supply truck on Oct. 10, 2023, in Semplak village, Bogor, West Java.
(Antara/Arif Firmansyah)
I
ndonesia’s prolonged dry season has created emergency-status droughts in many areas, forcing local authorities to scramble to provide clean water to residents.
In addition to the clean water shortage that has faced most of the Greater Jakarta area since September, cities across Java and eastern Indonesia have reported droughts so severe that many have announced a state of emergency.
Among them is Pandeglang regency in Banten, which declared a drought emergency status on Tuesday. The regency reported 26 of 35 districts were facing shortages of clean water, forcing them to make an emergency request to the authorities, local media reported.
An emergency status allows the regional administration to access emergency funding to mitigate the impacts of a disaster.
Earlier this month, Pati regency in Central Java also declared a state of emergency as authorities determined that 94 villages in the regency would face drought for the remainder of dry season. Acting Pati regent Henggar Budi Anggoro also said that up to 90 hectares of rice fields across the regency could not be planted because of a lack of water to irrigate them.
Nearly 110,000 people were affected by the drought, according to the Pati Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD). Authorities had disbursed clean water obtained from the BPBD and private companies, as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) measures, to 10 affected districts.
Read also: Desperate for a drink, Central Java villagers dig up dry river bed in drought
