Antara, Jakarta – The government of Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta, has declared a state of emergency due to the worsening drought as 14 out of 18 districts are dealing with a shortage of clean water.

Sumadi, the head of emergency and logistics at the Gunungkidul Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), said today, August 14, that the region had entered the peak of the dry season.

"BPBD issues a drought state of emergency to anticipate the effects of the increasingly widespread drought. This policy is valid until September 30, 2023," Sumadi announced, adding that the status period could be extended depending on the situation.

According to data collected by the agency, a total of 107,853 people in 350 hamlets of 55 sub-districts could be affected by the prolonged dry season. "There are 30,526 families spread across 816 RT (neighborhood units)," Sumadi said.

The rest four districts, namely Wonosari, Karangmojo, Playen, and Semin, were predicted to be free from the clean water crisis.

Sumadi explained that with the emergency status, the agency could get an additional budget for the provision of clean water from an unexpected spending post belonging to the Gunungkidul Regency Government. However, it has not yet been accessed because the agency still has a budget for social aid distribution. "So we haven't asked for additional funds from the unexpected spending budget," he added.

Gunungkidul BPBD Head Purwono said that he had allocated a budget of Rp230 million for water supply this year, for a total of 1,000 tanks. "We continue to distribute aid to people in need. Currently, there are only about 65 deliveries of water," Sumadi said.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1759546/yogyakartas-gunungkidul-declares-drought-emergenc