Weather Modification, BNPB Efforts To Reduce Floods That Hit Central Java

Floods in Demak, Central Java (Doc. ANTARA)

The high intensity of rain in the past week had an impact on flooding in a number of areas in Central Java. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) seeks to reduce this effect by modifying the weather for five days, from Saturday to Wednesday, March 16-20.

Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center Abdul Muhari in Jakarta, Saturday, said that the target area for the weather modification operation or TMC covers the Central Part Pantura area including Grobogan Regency and its surroundings.

"The weather modification operation that has started today is carried out by combining salt (NaCl) using an airplane to a cloud clump in the sky of the target area," he said as quoted by Antara.

He explained that in the first day of operation, three times the sortie spent three tons of NaCl using a Cesna Grand Carravan aircraft with the BNPB logo with the hull number PK-SNG from Ahmad Yani Air Base, Semarang.

As for the first and second sorties, the plane piloted by Captain Eggy was airborne and seeded the NaCl material above the skies of the waters north of Central Java at a cruising altitude of 8,000 - 12,000 feet.

Then the third sortie, the aircraft made a naming above the sky of Tegal Regency, Pemalang Regency and Pekalongan Regency at a cruising altitude of 8,000-12,000 feet.

This was done in the hope of reducing the intensity of rain and accelerating the handling of floods that had hit the northern coast area, including Grobogan, since Wednesday (13/3).

According to Abdul, the weather modification operation was carried out thanks to the cooperation support between BNPB and BMKG, BRIN, TNI, Central Java Provincial Government and other related elements.

All of these efforts were carried out inseparable from the report on the results of the analysis of the Class II Meteorological Station of BMKG Ahmad Yani Semarang which stated that weather conditions such as moderate to heavy rain still have the potential to occur in the Grobogan area and its surroundings. In fact, warning extreme weather also has the potential to occur in the Central Java region until Monday (18/3).

Apart from that, he hopes, the community can synergize with the local government so that it can reduce the risk of this wet hydro-meteorological disaster.

BNPB appealed that if there was rain with heavy intensity of up to more than an hour with a visibility of less than 100 meters, people living on the slopes of cliffs and the banks of embankments or rivers should temporarily evacuate to safer places, and remain under the supervision of the local government.