The drought crisis in East Java is spreading further. Head of East\nJava\u2019s BPBD disaster agency, Gatot Soebroto, revealed that 24\nregencies\/cities have declared either emergency alert or disaster\nresponse status for drought.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the drought, as of today it is still the same. The number that\nhave proposed and declared a status, whether emergency alert or disaster\nresponse, totals 24 regencies\/cities,\u201d said Gatot on Monday (7\/9).<\/p>\n
Of that number, 20 regencies have begun distributing clean water\nassistance to affected areas. Three districts on Madura Island are\nrecorded as the worst hit by the drought.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf the 24, those that have declared a status and have started\ndistributing clean water number 20 regencies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Of the 38 regencies\/cities in East Java, 24 areas have declared a\ndrought emergency status. Six areas have declared disaster response\nstatus, namely Lumajang, Pasuruan, Malang, Mojokerto, Situbondo and\nSumenep regencies.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the 18 areas that have declared emergency alert status are\nBondowoso, Lamongan, Banyuwangi, Bangkalan, Blitar, Trenggalek, Gresik,\nJember, Sampang, Tulungagung, Ngawi, Pacitan, Ponorogo, Batu City,\nJombang, Bojonegoro, Pamekasan and Probolinggo.<\/p>\n
\u201cBangkalan, Sumenep and Pamekasan are our main concern, and we have\nalready dispatched assistance to those areas, totalling 5,410 tanker\ntrips of water. We have also prepared roughly 1,400 water tanks, along\nwith folding tanks and tarpaulins,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
BPBD East Java is also relying on weather modification operations\n(OMC) as one of its efforts to tackle the drought, in addition to\nwetting mountain and forest areas prone to fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cOMC was carried out earlier. The function of OMC, besides addressing\nwater shortages, is also to wet mountainous areas considered vulnerable\nto fires,\u201d said Gatot.<\/p>\n
However, Gatot stressed that OMC cannot be carried out arbitrarily.\nThe technology is only effective when there is potential for rain clouds\nin the target area.<\/p>\n
\u201cOMC is carried out when rain cloud potential is detected. Without\nrain clouds, OMC is not possible. So we continuously coordinate with\nBMKG to determine whether cloud and wind movements are heading towards\nan area suitable for OMC before proceeding,\u201d he explained.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/24-regencies-cities-in-east-java-declare-drought-emergency-status-1788785548", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }