Mitigation Strategic of Drought in Central Java Indonesia during Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In 2019, most of the areas in Central Java Indonesia experienced drought disaster. There are 3 districts that conduct emergency response due to drought disasters. If there is another drought in this year during Covid-19 pandemic, it will be very fatal due to the need for more water than usual. Besides being used for daily needs, water is also needed for washing hands and bathing during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study aims to determine the level of drought in Central Java province and provide solutions on how to reduce the drought strategy so as not to aggravate the spread of Covid-19. The method used to determine rainfall prediction is the Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) method with input data of average monthly rainfall for approximately 30 years in Central Java. Then to determine the drought map using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) method with input data of rainfall prediction for the last 3 months from the CCA method. The results of data processing show that in August to October 2020 there was a drought with normal levels in almost all regions in central Java, except in the Muria peninsula which is still very wet (August-September) and wet (October). In November and December 2020 there was a drought in all regions in Central Java with normal levels. The level of dryness in this period is normal, meaning it is neither too high nor too dry. Meanwhile, based on several references that at the end of the year there will be a La Nina phenomenon, so that at the end of the year there will be no drought but there will be lots of rain. Several recommendations to overcome this situation will be presented in the final section of this paper.