The district authorities have just taken stock of the drought in Kuyawage district, Lanny Jaya district secretary Tendien Wenda informed on Thursday.
"We, the local government, have taken steps to address it. Some 8.9 tons of rice with nine essential goods have been sent to Kuyawage," he said.
The drought is on a moderate scale, or different from previous years, when the district experienced severe droughts, he added.
Hence, after obtaining information from residents, the government officials immediately formed and sent a team to the drought-affected district.
During the field investigation, the team found that four villages in Kuyawage were affected by the drought.
"The affected community is 500 people in Kuyawage district, (and) 61 people are sick, so on Monday (August 1, 2022), we will hold a meeting and deploy the full strength of the health office and complete equipment," Wenda informed.
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He assured that the government has prepared further handling measures because drought conditions are usually followed by hail.
"If hail falls, all the plants that have dried up, even the sweet potatoes or taro in the soil, (will) rot and smell. That is what usually makes residents evacuate to Puncak, Puncak Jaya, Lanny Jaya, and surrounding areas," he said.
Earlier, on April 16, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Region V Jayapura had forecast that the dry season in Papua province will peak during the period from June to August.
Hendro Nugroho, head of BMKG Region V Jayapura, said that the Australian monsoon would be active from the end of April 2022 and will begin to dominate from May to August, so the BMKG has asked the public affected by the dry season to remain alert.
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Translator: Marius Y, Kenzu T
Editor: Suharto
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