Acting head of the Center for Disaster Data, Information, and Communication at the agency, Abdul Muhari, said that last week, Indonesia was mostly hit by dry hydrometeorological disasters, such as forest and land fires.
He delivered the statement during an online disaster briefing here on Monday.
"So, this week, once again we experience more incidents. There were 14 floods, followed by five forest and land fires," he elaborated.
In the first week of August, the two disasters are still expected to occur, he said and urged everyone to remain cautious.
"This means, of course, with record of these incidents, we must truly prepare ourselves. The regional government must prepare for these two possibilities because sometimes it happens in one province--in one part it (is a) wet hydrometeorological event, while in another part it is a dry hydrometeorological event. This often happens to be the case, as we have observed," he added.
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The recent flooding alone submerged 1,143 houses, affecting 6,349 people and forcing some of them, including those whose houses were damaged, to evacuate, he said. Meanwhile, forest and land fires burnt through 48.71 hectares of land.
"If we look at the spatial distribution, flood events are most dominant in the middle and east. Meanwhile, in central to west Indonesia, forest and land fires have begun to dominate," he pointed out.
Based on the weather forecast from the Meteorological, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency, the central to western parts of Indonesia need to stay alert for dry hydrometeorological disasters because the dry season has begun, with more hotspots spotted.
The central to eastern parts of Indonesia, meanwhile, are expected to face wet hydrometeorological events. Thus, people must exercise caution and pay heed to weather forecasts.
People must also remain alert for high-intensity rains lasting more than an hour, or rainfall that is not so intense but lasts very long.
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Translator: Devi N S R, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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