Heavy Rain Expected To Still Happen, BMKG Urges Central Java Residents To Beware Of Hydrometeorological Disasters

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JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) appealed to residents of southern Central Java, especially the Cilacap, Banyumas, and surrounding districts to be aware of the potential for hydrometeorological disasters.

"This is due to moderate to heavy rain which is predicted to still have the potential to occur in the next few days," said Teguh Wardoyo, Head of the BMKG Technician Group at the Meteorological Station (Stamet) Cilacap Station, Teguh Wardoyo, as quoted by Antara, Sunday.

According to him, his party on Sunday issued a weather forecast based on the impact of heavy rain for the Cilacap, Banyumas, and Kebumen Regencies which is valid until Monday tomorrow, at 07.00 WIB, and will be updated if there are further developments.

In this case, the Cilacap Regency areas with alert status include Cipari, Cimanggu, Wanareja, Majenang, Karangpucung, and Nusawungu Districts, while the Banyumas Regency areas with alert status consist of Gumelar, Pekuncen, Cilongok, Kemranjen, Sumpiuh, and Tambak Districts.

While the alert status areas in Kebumen Regency include the Districts of Rowokele, Ayah, Adimulyo, Kuwarasan, Karanganyar, Gombong, Karanggayam, Karangsambung, Alian, Pejagoan, Sruweng, Kebumen, Poncowarno, Klirong, and Petanahan.

"The impact of heavy rains can cause natural disasters such as floods, landslides, strong winds, and lightning strikes," he explained.

In this regard, Teguh appealed to the public to remain calm and alert in case of heavy rains and share information with neighbors around the house.

In addition, he said, the public is advised to be careful when doing activities outside the home and to update information through mass media and social media, including seeking information through disaster-related parties.

"If there is no urgent need, it is better not to move outside the house. Secure important documents, including conditioning goods to be safe from disasters and don't forget to coordinate with disaster-related parties," he said.

Furthermore, Teguh said that based on an analysis of the dynamics of the atmosphere on Sunday (14/8), the Enso index at Nino 3.4 was still negative 0.57 so that it had a significant effect on the increase in daily rainfall in Indonesia. "Normally the Enso index is around 0.5," he said.

In addition, the Dipole Mode Index (DMI) is negative 0.80 which has a significant impact on the supply of water vapor from the Indian Ocean to the western part of Indonesia. Thus, the activity of cloud formation in the western part of Indonesia becomes significant.

In this case, the Dipole Mode is a phenomenon of ocean interaction with the atmosphere in the Indian Ocean which is calculated based on the difference in the value or difference in sea surface temperature between the east coast of Africa and the west coast of Sumatra.

"The difference in the value of the sea surface temperature anomaly is called the Dipole Mode Index (DMI). DMI is considered normal when the value is approximately 0.4," said Teguh.

In addition, he said, currently there are atmospheric waves in the form of the Rossby Equator in southern Sumatra, Java, Bali and the Nusa Tenggara Islands.

According to him, the occurrence of rain in the last few days was also caused by an anomaly in sea surface temperature that was 1-3 degrees Celsius warmer, so there was potential for additional evaporation in the Malacca Strait, the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra, the Natuna Sea, the Karimata Strait, the Sunda Strait, the Java Sea, Madura Strait and Bali Sea.

Then in the Indian Ocean south of Java to East Nusa Tenggara, Flores Sea, Makassar Strait, Sulawesi Sea, Tomini Bay, Bone Bay, Maluku Sea, Seram Sea, Banda Sea, Sawu Sea, Timor Sea, Arafuru Sea, Halmahera Sea, Cendrawasih Bay, and the Pacific Ocean north of Papua.

"Based on these indices, it is estimated that there is still the potential for rain in the next few days," said Teguh