Faculty of Animal Sciences UGM dispatched volunteers on Sunday (3/12), consisting of students and lecturers to help deal with cattle that died due to the Cempaka tropical cyclone that affected Gunungkidul and Kulonprogo regencies
The volunteers also helped the distribution of aid such as food, emergency lamps, sanitary and cattle feeds. “Since Thursday night, volunteers have gone to the impacted areas in Bantul and Gunungkidul,” said volunteer coordinator of the Faculty, Bambang Suwignyo, PhD., to reporters on Sunday evening (4/12).
Bambang said the volunteers were sent to help the local government deal with emergency response. “As many as 15 students have been specially dispatched to Gunungkidul areas, namely Pacarejo Semanu and Gari Wonosari,” he said.
Bambang explained the volunteers buried the carcass of the cattle to prevent from diseases spreading. They had to spray disinfectant first before the burial. There was some problem however because of the difficult access to the location.
“Areas such as Gari village, for example, are inundated up to 1-2 meters high,” he said.
One week after the Cempaka cyclone, cattle mitigation has not finished. There will be a shortage of feed this week while the green zones have been inundated. “We will try to help resolve the problem,” he added.
Reportedly, the recent Cempaka tropical cyclone has inundated houses and cattle while many of the plants have died and road infrastructure and bridges broken.
Dean of Faculty of Animal Sciences UGM, Prof. Dr. Ir. Ali Agus, said the Faculty would continue to help the people affected by the cyclone. “The spirit that we carry is to work together and share the burden and responsibilities,” he said. He asked the wider public to also care and help the people impacted by the disaster.
Meanwhile, Head of Agriculture and Food Agency of Gunungkidul, Bambang Wisnu, reported that there were as many as 16,720 cattle that died in the disaster in both villages, 88 units of cages were inundated while 336.8 hectares of green zones have been damaged by the water.