Kang Emil, West Java Beware Of Drought Disasters

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JAKARTA - Head of the West Java Province (Jabar) Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Dani Ramdan said his party was aware of the drought.

This is because some areas led by Ridwan Kamil alias Kang Emil have entered the dry season and are expected to continue to expand.

"This condition can trigger drought and forest and land fires," he said, in Bandung, as reported by Antara, Thursday, June 10.

Dani explained that of the 36 season zones in West Java, seven of them have entered the dry season since May 2021 and the seven season zones are located in parts of Cirebon, Indramayu, Subang, and Karawang regencies.

"West Java is divided into 36 seasonal zones. Each of these seasonal zones can enter the dry season or the rainy season earlier or later. We see, Cianjur, Sukabumi, and Bogor, the rainy season is longer. Until now it is still raining," said Dani.

"But in Pantura, namely from Cirebon, Indramayu, Subang, starting from Karawang, it has started to enter the dry season. This season zone is not the entire area of the district. Because this season zone is different from the administrative boundaries of the district / city," he said

If you look at records from year to year, said Dani, the impact of drought in each region is different. For example, for Bogor Regency, Bandung Regency, and Bekasi Regency. Problems that arise during the dry season are related to the availability of clean water for drinking.

In contrast to Indramayu Regency, Subang Regency, and Cirebon Regency. The dry season will cause drought in agricultural lands. As a result, agricultural land in the three areas often experiences a slump.

"It's based on historical records. It's almost like that from year to year. Indeed, there are several other areas that experience drought, but the scale is small. For example, only one village, one village, or several villages," he said.

In addition to the minimal availability of clean water and causing puso, the dry season in West Java can trigger forest and land fires in seven areas, namely Cirebon City, Cimahi, Cirebon Regency, Kuningan, West Bandung, Sumedang, and Sukabumi.

Dani said that his party had made a number of efforts to overcome the effects of drought that occurred every dry season. One of them is holding a coordination meeting with the Regency/City BPBD and related agencies, starting from the BMKG, the Social Service, to the Environment Agency, on 19 May 2021.

"In the coordination meeting, we collected data on areas that may be affected by drought based on historical and weather forecasts submitted by the BMKG. Which areas are likely to experience severe conditions. That has been identified. Including the number of villages, number of family heads, who will be affected," he said.

Based on the identification results, according to Dani, his party calculated the water needs in areas experiencing drought. In addition, identification of water sources was carried out.

"We also take into account how the mobilization is, the means of transportation. Usually we use water tanks. We count the water tanks in the Regency/City BPBD, Damkar, PU, Social Service. If it's not enough, we will ask the TNI/Polri for assistance. If there is a drought, who will do what is already known," he said.