Cirebon Declares Drought Emergency Status
The Cirebon Regency Government has declared a drought emergency status from 1 July to 30 September 2026. The status was imposed to anticipate the threat of a clean water crisis, forest and land fires, and disruption to the agricultural sector during the dry season.
Samsul Huda, Executive Secretary of the Cirebon Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), stated that the emergency status declaration refers to a Decree of the Governor of West Java and serves as the basis for all regional apparatus to strengthen preparedness. “This drought emergency status is an anticipatory step so that the local government can move more quickly in carrying out mitigation and handling the impacts of drought in the community,” Samsul said on Monday.
Samsul explained that BPBD has mapped several risks during the dry season. Besides the reduced availability of clean water, the threat of forest and land fires is expected to increase due to drying vegetation in various areas. He noted that the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors are also potentially affected, even though these three sectors are the main pillars of the community’s economy in Cirebon Regency.
Based on BPBD data, drought previously hit 57 villages in 21 sub-districts in 2019. Conditions improved from 2020 to 2022, but expanded again in 2023, impacting 38 villages in 21 sub-districts. In 2024, the number of affected villages decreased to 19 across six sub-districts, while throughout 2025, no villages were recorded as being affected by drought. Despite this, BPBD is increasing vigilance as dozens of villages are once again included in the drought-prone area map. These areas are spread across the sub-districts of Gempol, Mundu, Sedong, Greged, Beber, Gunungjati, Kapetakan, Suranenggala, Klangenan, Panguragan, Waled, Karangsembung, Gegesik, and Tengah Tani.
To anticipate the impacts of drought, BPBD has prepared a fleet of water tanker trucks for clean water distribution and activated a Drought Emergency Command Post during the emergency period. The local government is also continuing long-term efforts through the construction of boreholes in cooperation with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). This programme has so far reached Walahar Village and Cupang Village in Gempol District, Beber Village in Beber District, as well as Kamarang Village and Greged Village in Greged District. Samsul added that authorities are intensifying public education, focusing on water conservation, prevention of land fires, and emergency reporting mechanisms disseminated through social media and WhatsApp groups.
Samsul said that handling drought requires synergy from various parties, ranging from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in providing weather information and early warnings, to the BNPB in disaster management support, and the local government to ensure services to the community continue to function. “We also hope that the availability of clean water for the community can be maintained, and potential losses due to drought and forest and land fires can be minimised,” Samsul said.