Indonesia: Huge fire ravages forest area of Kota Batu's Mt Panderman

Antara 22 Jul 19;

Kota Batu, Jawa Timur (ANTARA) - A huge wildfire ravaged forest area on the slope of Mount Panderman in Kota Batu, East Java, on Sunday evening but the disaster did not harm anyone because all mountaineers had safely arrived at the mountain's observation post, according to local authorities.

Head of Kota Batu's Disaster Mitigation Agency's Emergency and Logistics Unit Achmad Choirur Rochim said here on Monday that the latest report of Mt Panderman's Observation Post authority had confirmed that wildfire did not harm the lives of climbers.

"According to the latest report released by Mount Panderman's Observation Post authority at 10 p.m. local time, none of climbers remains at the mountain's climbing tracks when the fire is engulfing the forest," Rochim said.

Two latest mountaineers who reached the observation post were Much. Adnan Fanani and Firgiawan Listanto. Both are residents of Mojokerto District, he said.

Rochim said the wildfire started burning the forest area of Mt Panderman's slope, located 2,045 meters above the sea level, at around 07:45 p.m. local time. After receiving report on the wildfire, a preparation for extinguishing the fire was made.

In the firefighting mission, the local disaster mitigation agency coordinated with representatives of a state-owned forestry firm (Perhutani), police, military, and rural forestry community institution (LMDH), he said.

The agency also sent all personnel who would get involved in the firefighting operation to Toyomerto Hamlet of Pesanggrahan Village, Batu Subsdistrict, on Sunday evening, where they discussed strategies to put out the wildfire, he said.

Indonesia is bracing for a devastating and protracted drought this year, according to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency's (BMKG's) warning, with the condition likely to peak in August and September.

Related news: PUPR Ministry inspects availability of clean water in regions

Those residing in the affected areas should maintain vigil to deal with the impact of the drought.

It has not merely led to a scarcity of clean water and a deterioration in the air quality but it has also triggered a potential recurrence of bush and forest fires in certain provinces.

In Banyumas, Central Java Province, for instance, the district's Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) confirmed Friday that some 3,150 families in 12 villages are reeling from a clean water crisis.

In dealing with this scarcity, the BPBD has prepared one thousand water tanks and regularly distributed clean water supplies to meet the requirement of some 10,876 people.

Reporter: Vicky F, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf

Five villages in Temanggung, Central Java, ravaged by dry spell
Antara 22 Jul 19;

The extreme dry season has adversely affected five villages in Temanggung District, Central Java Province, leaving them parched and without clean water.

The five villages hit by the dry spell were Getan in Kranggan Sub-district, Drono in Tembarak Sub-district, Jetis in Selopampang Sub-district, Dampit in Tlogomulyo Sub-district, and Kalimanggis in Kaloran Sub-district, Gito Walngadi, head of the Temanggung disaster mitigation office, stated recently.

Since the springs in those villages have dried up, the local residents are seeking help of the government and humanitarian NGOs to meet their supply of clean water.

The office has dispatched six water tanker trucks on a regular basis to supply clean water to those villages, he confirmed.

In Temanggung, 129 hamlets in 40 villages located in 12 sub-districts are prone to water shortages due to the dry spell.

The Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry has reviewed the availability of clean water in dams, lakes, and reservoirs in regions, as Indonesia is currently reeling from a severe dry season resulting in a water crisis.

"During drought, the supply of clean water (for households) is a priority, and next is for agricultural irrigation," PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono had remarked in a statement here on Wednesday.

The ministry checked the availability of clean water in 231 dams, including 16 major dams, each with a capacity to hold 50 million cubic meters of water. Of the major dams, water levels are normal in the eight dams of Cirata, Saguling, Betutegi, Wadaslintang, Bili-Bili, Kalola, Way Rarem, and Ponre-ponre.

In the meantime, water levels in eight other major dams -- Jatiluhur, Kedungombo, Wonogiri, Sutami, Wonorejo, Cacaban, Selorejo, and Batu Bulan -- are below normal.

Based on data as of June 30, 2019, the water volume in the six major dams totaled 3,858.25 million cubic meters, out of their effective capacity of nearly six million cubic meters.

Furthermore, the ministry monitored the availability of water in a total of 1,922 reservoirs, of which some 63.2 percent, or 1,214 reservoirs, had normal water levels, while 36.8 percent, or 708 reservoirs, had below-normal water levels.

The ministry has also dispatched one thousand centrifugal pumps to 34 provinces across the country.

Reporter: Heru Suyitno, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution

Ministry handles forest fires with a hotspot approach
Antara 23 Jul 19;

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry was working on a system to prevent forest and land fires with a hotspot approach, the ministry’s Secretary General, Bambang Hendroyo has said. "Now walking is monitoring hotspots. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) carried it out," Bambang said here Monday.

The formula, once monitored by hot spots, will be with the Community of Fire Care (MPA) which helps the Manggala Agni team monitor in the field, discovering the presence of fire as early as possible, he said.

"The fire will be immediately extinguished as long as its location is reachable from land," he said.

Another approach is that if a fire cannot be reached by land, it will be suppressed from the air, he continued. The government builds reservoirs and canals so that water to extinguish the fire is available.

"With the hotspot approach, we know where to go. The system at the grassroots must go into the field. Then, it is overcome by an integrated system," he continued.

The regional government no longer has to be ordered to set an emergency alert, he further said. "The authority is indeed there, and the system or task force has its own approach in handling forest and land fires.

The ministry uses prevention, countermeasures and recovery methods in dealing with forest and land fires, according to him.

The recovery of the burned area has also taken the approach of ensuring the peat ecosystem remains wet, he said. Monitoring and management of water on peatlands guarantees that when it is dry, water is available.


Reporter: Virna/Eliswan Azly
Editor: Bambang Purwanto