Drought leaves more than 100,000 short on water in Gunungkidul
Source: The Jakarta Post
Date: 2 September
With 15 of 18 districts in Yogyakarta's Gunungkidul regency hit by drought, authorities estimate that more than 120,000 residents will experience a shortage of water.
"We have received requests for clean water supplies from 11 affected districts," Gunungkidul Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) acting head Edy Basuki said on Tuesday, as quoted by tempo.co.
The local administration has allocated a Rp 700 million (US$47,719) for clean water procurement to handle shortages in the region. The BPBD has delivered a total of 550 water tanks to the affected residents so far.
"We will try to meet the residents' needs," Edy went on to say.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had warned about a risk of extreme weather in the upcoming days due to the transition from the dry season to the rainy season.
The agency has alerted residents of East Java, Bali, most parts of West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara to be prepared for drought in September, even though the dry season usually peaks in August.
The agency had previously estimated the dry season would be less severe this year than in previous years.
