PPU Forms Drought Disaster Response Team Ahead of Extreme El Niño

The Penajam Paser Utara (PPU) Regency government in East Kalimantan has formed a Tim Penanganan Bencana Kekeringan (Drought Disaster Management Team) to face the challenges of the extreme El Niño phenomenon. The team involves all relevant agencies, including government bodies, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), state-owned enterprises (BUMN), regionally-owned enterprises (BUMD), the private sector, and community groups. Regional Secretary Tohar, who is the team’s responsible officer, stated that a coordination meeting was recently held to specifically anticipate the extreme dry season, which is often marked by dynamic weather patterns referred to as ‘Godzilla El Niño’. He said the government is currently designing and preparing to establish an emergency alert status if natural conditions force the issue. This policy would be based on empirical field references, such as a drop in raw water discharge, increased heat triggering land and property fires, and weather forecasts from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). Tohar explained that once the emergency alert status is officially declared by the regional head, the deployment of aid will not only be the responsibility of autonomous agencies but will involve all elements with resources, including vertical agencies, private parties, institutions, and BUMN/BUMD. Tactical steps being prepared include identifying all work units, legal entities, and private parties that own water transport fleets to schedule periodic clean water distribution to densely populated areas and communal zones. Abdul Rasyid, Director of the regional water company Perumda Air Minum Danum Taka (AMDT), confirmed his company’s commitment to supporting the action, with its primary task being to provide clean water. He detailed that based on mapping, there are only three main locations for clean water supply during the dry season: Sepaku District utilising the Sepaku Semoi Dam, a reservoir in Waru District, and a reservoir in Maridan. Outside these areas, such as Lawe-lawe, Babulu, and Sotek, clean water is not provided, and small reservoirs are expected to dry up. Rasyid noted that during the 2019 dry season, water discharge in those areas dropped by almost 80 per cent, leaving pumps hanging. The government has agreed with various stakeholders, including the Nusantara Capital City Authority (OIKN), TNI-Polri, and others, to deploy all their tanker trucks to handle community requests for water. The mechanism for requesting clean water aid is coordinated through respective village offices, with the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of PPU acting as the field coordinator.