Four Districts in West Lombok Hit by Drought, 2,370 Families Affected

Four districts in West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), have been hit by drought since June, affecting 2,370 families. “There are 15 hamlets affected, around 2,370 families,” said Toni Hidayat, Head of Emergency and Logistics at the West Lombok Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), on Thursday (2/7/2026). The affected areas include Giri Tembesi Village and Banyu Urip Village in Gerung District; South Kuripan Village in Kuripan District; West Sekotong Village and Cendi Manik Village in Sekotong District; and Penanggak Preparatory Village in Batulayar District. The West Lombok Regency Government has declared a drought alert status, effective until 31 August 2026. According to Toni, the status will be evaluated periodically. If the impact of the drought widens, the handling status could be raised to a disaster emergency response. “We are evaluating it. If it does spread, the status can be raised to emergency response,” Toni added. Toni stated that 124,000 litres of clean water have been distributed to affected residents. The West Lombok BPBD is collaborating with several regional apparatus organisations to distribute clean water to those impacted by the drought. Currently, West Lombok does not have a specific budget for drought management. Toni said that a budget for clean water distribution can only be allocated if the disaster status is raised to emergency response. Toni urged the public to conserve water usage, especially since last year’s drought spread to 27 villages and lasted until September. “We hope residents will be efficient or frugal in using water,” he concluded.