Jakarta Prepares Disaster Mitigation to Face El Nino Phenomenon

The Jakarta Provincial Government has various disaster mitigation steps in dealing with the El Nino phenomenon in Indonesia which according to predictions from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) will strengthen in August-September 2023.

The use of electricity is still the biggest factor causing fires in Jakarta

It is worried that the El Nino phenomenon will cause an extreme dry season similar to the dry season that occurred in 2019, thus there will be an increase in droughts as well as forest and land fires in several areas.

Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency (Gulkarmat) Head, Satriadi Gunawan explained during January-July 2023, there have been 1,034 fire incidents. Then, on August 1-15 2023, there were 88 fires in Jakarta.

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"Some of the suspected causes of the fires during that period were caused by electricity with 42 incidents, burning garbage with 19 incidents, gas explosions with 7 incidents, cigarette butts/fires with 4 incidents, and other with 15 incidents. Based on these data, the use of electricity is still the biggest factor causing fires in Jakarta," he said, in thrle Jakarta Provincial Government's press release, Wednesday (8/16).

He added the high temperature during the dry season affected people's lifestyle in using excess electricity. An increase in the use of electricity that is not wise can cause electronic devices, electrical cables, and electrical installations to become more susceptible to disturbances or short circuits. Even, the dry season also has an impact on the lack of water sources, which is the main ingredient in fighting fires.

"In the event of a fire, it has an impact on the difficulty of extinguishing the process which results in a faster spread of fire, as well as greater losses. Therefore, we prompt the public to be wiser in using electricity during the dry season like today," he added.

Jakarta Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Head, Isnawa Adji added to prevent fires, his agency took the initiative to monitor and operate electrical installations in middle to lower-middle-class residential areas.

"We're preparing efforts to monitor and repair electrical installations like we did in 2022, to suppress fire cases, bearing in mind that most fires are caused by electrical short circuits," he explained.

Besides anticipating fires, his party is also anticipating the impact of drought due to the El Nino phenomenon. That is by holding a coordination meeting in April 2023, involving related agencies to ensure that clean water supplies are available, and serving the community during the dry season.

"Jakarta Government is ready to face the threat of drought by preparing a number of supporting facilities and infrastructure owned by PAM Jaya, SDA Agency, and other related agencies such as 67 tanker cars, 46 units of water reservoir, 9 units of stationary Water Treatment Plant (IPA), and 7 units of mobile IPA," he explained.

In fact, in facing this serious condition, all levels of the Jakarta Government would work together with other agencies, namely BPBD, Gulkarmat Agency, Manpower and Transmigration Agency, Satpol PP, PLN UID, and other regional officials.

Hence, the Jakarta Government calls on residents to be aware of the impact of El-Nino, as well as ensure that electronic devices and electrical installations can be maintained properly, especially in the maintenance and monitoring of cables and electric plugs. They are also expected to turn off electricity when not in use to avoid electrical short circuits that can trigger fires.