Drought in Indonesia

NTT prepared for drought, S. Sumatra, C. Sulawesi suffer
Djemi Amnifu and Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post 18 Aug 15;

The East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provincial administration claimed to have anticipated the drought by making various mitigation efforts while several areas in Central Sulawesi and South Sumatra are still suffering from the prolonged dry season.

“We were very prepared for the drought and anticipated the El Niño weather phenomenon, including coordinating with regents and mayors to handle the situation in the fields,” said NTT Governor Frans Lebu Raya in a radio and television address as well as in online and print media in Kupang ahead of Indonesia’s 70th Independence Day celebrations on Sunday.

Frans said the NTT Public Works and People’s Housing Office had provided water tankers as well as building artesian wells in regions affected by the drought.

He said the drought so far had not affected food supplies in NTT, and they remained sufficient until now, thanks to the reserves of 200 tons of rice in the province, and 100 tons of rice in regencies and cities stored to anticipate food shortages.

Despite the sufficient food reserves, Frans urged the community in NTT to consume local staples, like maize, which is less favored.

“I call on journalists to promote eating corn, as it doesn’t mean you’re poor. Eating corn does not lower our dignity, but instead raises it, as we eat from the yields of our hard work,” said Frans.

According to Frans, based on data as of April 2015, corn production in NTT increased more than 6,000 tons. By the end of this year, corn production is estimated to have risen more than 7,000 tons.

“That’s just from corn, not to mention beans, tubers and others. We must strengthen our understanding of food because we always think about rice,” he said.

In contrast, 247 hectares of soybean plants have reportedly suffered crop failure in several regencies in South Sumatra due to the drought, Antara reported on Monday.

An official at the province’s Agriculture and Food Plants Agency, M Zuhri, said crop failures happened in Tungkal Ilir district, Banyuasin regency, Sosoh Buay Rayap district, Ogan Komering Ulu regency, and Central Kikim district, Lahat regency.

Zuhri also revealed 483 hectares of corn fields and 434 hectares of paddy farmland had suffered crop failures in the current drought.

Meanwhile, a number of regions in Central Sulawesi, such as Sigi, Palu, Tolitoli and Buol, have been hit by drought.

River levels, in a number of regions in Sigi and Palu have lowered further over the past several days, such as the Palu River, which bisects West Palu and South Palu districts.

The Gumbasa River level in Sigi has also receded but has yet to disrupt water supplies to irrigate rice fields.

However, in a number of areas, water to irrigate farmland has further declined, as farmers in Dolo district, Sigi, are forced to buy water to irrigate their fields.

“If they don’t buy water they would suffer more losses,” said Central Sulawesi Agriculture Office head Tri Lamakampali.

The drought in Central Sulawesi has depleted the wells in residents’ houses in Palu. Housewife Ani, of Besusu subdictrict, East Palu, complained of the depleting water in her well. “However, my house is located near the Palu River,” said Ani.

Bali warned of severe drought
Ni Komang Erviani and Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 19 Aug 15;

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has warned Bali that a severe drought could become widespread on the island, including in some tourist spots, within months.

“Several areas are experiencing drought in many areas in Bali. It could worsen,” BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told journalist in Kuta on Tuesday.

Sutopo said water shortages would become severe in Bali, as well as on Java Island and West and East Nusa Tenggara provinces.

Data from the Bali Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) shows that four regencies are experiencing drought: Buleleng in northern Bali, Karangasem in eastern Bali, Klungkung and Bangli.

In Buleleng, drought has hit three subdistricts: Tejakula, Sukasada and Gerokgak. In Karangasem, Kubu, Abang and Karangasem subdistricts have been affected, while in Klungkung, drought has hit Nusa Penida subdistrict, which is made up of three islands: Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. In Bangli regency, drought has hit Kintamani and Tembuku.

Hundreds of thousands of people living in those areas are facing difficulty getting clean water for daily use. Hundreds of hectares of rice fields have reportedly dried up.

Based on the latest Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) weather forecast, areas that will not get rain for 30 days or more are Buleleng, western Jembrana regency in western Bali and southern Denpasar. The BMKG also forecast that rain would not fall for at least 60 days in Buleleng, Bangli, Jembrana, southern Badung regency and popular tourist spots such as Kuta, Tuban, Jimbaran and Pecatu.

Sutopo said the dry season would be prolonged and last until the end of the year as a result of the El Niño climate phenomenon affecting the equatorial Pacific region.

“The BMKG predicts that El Niño will affect areas south of the equator. The dry season will be more severe as rainfall will be extremely low until the end of this year,” he said.

Meanwhile, after more than a fortnight of rain, Riau has been hit by hot weather again, followed by the return of hot spots.

“Riau was recently declared free of hot spots thanks to even rainfall across the province. Actually, low and medium intensity rain, followed by lightning and strong winds at noon and in the afternoon remains possible, but the weather will be hot in Riau this week,” Pekanbaru BMKG head Sugarin said on Tuesday.

Based on Pekanbaru BMKG data, satellite images revealed on Tuesday morning that there were 20 hot spots in four regencies. The majority were in Indragiri Hulu regency, where 10 hot spots were detected, followed by Kampar with four.

Three hot spots were detected in both Kuantan Sengingi and Pelalawan regencies. “There are indications that 12 of the hot spots are land and forest fires. We are 70 percent certain of this. Actually, two hot spots were detected Kampar, Kuantan Sengingi and Pelalawan, plus five in Indragiri Hulu,” said Sugarin.

“On Monday morning, a hot spot was detected in Riau, that is in Pelalawan, while in the afternoon seven were found — three in Kampar, three in Kuantan Sengingi and one in Indragiri Hulu — while three fire spots were detected in Kampar and one in Kuantan Sengingi,” he added.

In Sumatra, 94 hot spots have been detected in Jambi, followed by South Sumatra (75), Bangka Belitung (15) and West Sumatra, Bengkulu and Lampung (three each) and North Sumatra with one.