Drought Spreads to Depok, Residents Queue for Clean Water Supplies

The dry season, which has triggered widespread drought, is now being felt by residents in RW 0_8, Cipayung Jaya Village, Cipayung District, Depok, West Java. This drought has led to a clean water crisis for the local community. In response, the Depok City Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) distributed clean water assistance to affected residents on Wednesday (30/7).

According to the Depok City Government news portal, four personnel were deployed to distribute water in collaboration with PT Tirta Asasta. Using a 4,000-litre capacity water tanker, the team filled dozens of containers brought by residents. It is recorded that 78 households in RW 08, Cipayung Jaya Village, are currently affected by the water crisis caused by the dry season currently hitting parts of Depok.

Residents have been queuing to receive these clean water supplies. The Depok City PMI has also lent a 250-litre capacity water tank and is conducting socialisation on the wise use of clean water and safe water storage for daily needs.

Drought is spreading across several regions in Indonesia as the dry season progresses this year. Banten is one of the regions near Jakarta that has been significantly impacted. The Governor of Banten, Andra Soni, stated that seven regencies/cities in Banten Province are experiencing drought due to extreme dry weather triggered by the ‘El Nino Godzilla’ phenomenon.

Andra noted that there are 140 drought-affected points spread across Cilegon, Serang, South Tangerang, Serang Regency, Lebak, Pandeglang, and Tangerang Regency, though Tangerang City is not included in the affected areas. “There are 140 affected points across Banten Province, excluding Tangerang City,” Andra said in Tangerang on Tuesday (28/7).

Other regions experiencing drought include Gunungkidul Regency in Yogyakarta and several areas in East Java. According to data from the East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), these 14 areas include Bondowoso, Lamongan, Banyuwangi, Lumajang, Bangkalan, Blitar, Pasuruan, Trenggalek, Gresik, Malang, Jember, Sampang, Mojokerto, and Situbondo. Of these, Lumajang, Mojokerto, and Situbondo have raised their status to Emergency Response, while the other 11 areas remain on Emergency Alert status. Drought is also occurring in Central Java and regions outside of Java.