Residents cheer sporadic rain amid drought, haze

JAKARTA (JP): Amidst pessimistic forecasts that the current drought could drag on even longer, rains fell sporadically yesterday to the great cheer from residents who had been suffering from water shortages and foul air due to haze for the past several months.

Three hours of drizzle lifted the spirits of residents in Bandung, West Java. "It will at least be able to reduce dust on the streets and the roofs," said Dadang, a local.

In Surabaya, the capital city of East Java, about 15 minutes of rain was welcomed by residents of Tambaksari, Semampir and Sukolilo districts.

Two hours of heavy downpours came over Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, early Friday, accompanied by lightning and strong winds. Fog blanketed the city, which has for the past several months been plagued by haze causing poor visibility and forcing residents to wear not only protective masks but also use lamps to light their way.

Earlier in the week, downpours in the Central Java regency of Bojonegoro brought disaster. Strong winds and torrential rains killed a ten-year-old boy on Wednesday and ruined 30 houses.

Sporadic rain also fell on Friday and Saturday in several places in North Sumatra, Irian Jaya and North Sulawesi.

However, National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency officials warned people not to expect too much, because dry winds coming from Australia are still dominant and may delay the real monsoon season.

"It is unlikely that the rainy season will come at least before November," said agency chief Sri Diharto yesterday.

Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah said Friday that significant amounts of rain would unlikely fall before Christmas this year.

This year's severe drought has exacerbated the problem of forest fires and has caused health problems, as well as failed crops and rice harvests in several provinces. Thick smog and poor visibility has also caused a number of traffic accidents, the last of which was the collision last Sunday of two boats in Barito River, Central Kalimantan, killing 28 people.

President Soeharto denied last week that a food shortage has forced people in some provinces to eat cassava for their daily meals.

"Farmers in some regencies in Java prefer to consume tiwul (foodstuff made of cassava) or mix it with rice because they believe it gives them extra strength to work in their fields," Soeharto insisted.

A total of 461 drought-related deaths was recorded recently in the regencies of Jayawijaya, Puncak Jaya and Merauke in Irian Jaya.

Antara reported yesterday that toxic smoke has caused at least 11 deaths in Central Kalimantan during this dry season.

"More than 23,000 people have also suffered pulmonary problems," the official news agency said.

Many residents in Sumatra and Kalimantan have suffered from respiratory infections, pulmonary problems and asthma from the haze caused by forest fires.

Choking haze from Indonesian forest fires also enveloped Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, some parts of the Philippines and Thailand. International criticism of Indonesia has been pouring in because of the forest fires. (prb/42)