474 Villages in West Java Facing Drought, Affecting 647,000 Residents
The West Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) has reported that the drought disaster has expanded across 27 regencies and cities, reaching 198 districts or 474 villages and sub-districts. Meanwhile, the affected population includes 197,008 households, totaling 647,468 individuals.
Hadi Rahmat, an expert public relations officer for BPBD West Java, stated that the drought has expanded alongside frequent forest and land fires as of Monday (31/08/2026). He noted that West Java is facing a dual challenge due to the dry season: widespread drought and the prevalence of forest and land fires (karhutla).
He stated that Bogor Regency is the most severely impacted area, with 242,270 people affected across 31 districts. This is followed by Bekasi Regency with 72,666 people in 12 districts, and Purwakarta Regency, which recorded 54,317 affected individuals.
Other regions experiencing high drought pressure include Tasikmalaya Regency with 46,993 people, Bandung Regency with 31,769 people, Sukabumi City with 31,037 people, Karawang Regency with 24,315 people, Tasikmalaya City with 16,951 people, and Cianjur Regency with 16,277 people.
Meanwhile, areas such as Ciamis Regency, Sukabumi Regency, Cirebon City, and Pangandaran Regency recorded affected populations ranging from 12,000 to 15,000 people. Medium to small-scale impacts are spread across Banjar City with 8,068 people, West Bandung Regency, Cirebon Regency, Garut Regency, Indramayu Regency, Majalengka Regency, Subang Regency, and Sumedang Regency with 4,042 people.
In urban areas such as Bandung City, Cimahi City, Bekasi City, Depok City, and Bogor City, the impact is felt by hundreds to thousands of individuals. Out of all regions, only Kuningan Regency has not yet reported any affected residents, he added.
To respond to the clean water crisis, 14,266,400 litres of clean water have been distributed to various regions. Bekasi Regency received the largest supply of 6,561,700 litres, followed by Bogor Regency with 2,339,500 litres, Karawang Regency with 741,000 litres, and Ciamis Regency with 746,000 litres.
“The BPBD supplied the largest portion, amounting to 8,624,700 litres,” he said.
Furthermore, the threat of forest and land fires has also increased. The BPBD recorded 156 fire incidents spread across 107 districts and 178 villages/sub-districts, burning a total of 228.07 hectares of land.
Sumedang Regency recorded the highest frequency of fires, with 21 incidents burning 21.68 hectares of land. Majalengka Regency followed with 17 incidents covering 26.16 hectares, followed by Bandung Regency with 16 incidents covering 24.80 hectares, and Subang Regency with 14 incidents covering 22.53 hectares.
Kuningan Regency, Purwakarta Regency, and Sukabumi Regency each recorded 12 incidents. Although not the highest number of fire starts, Sukabumi Regency experienced the largest area of land damage, reaching 49.20 hectares. Other areas, such as Cirebon Regency, recorded 20.73 hectares burnt from 8 incidents, while Pangandaran Regency recorded 10.07 hectares from 4 incidents.
He stated that the emergency drought and fire conditions in West Java require sustained handling and intensive vigilance across all levels of society.