Monitoring and Prediction of Hydrological Drought Using a Drought Early Warning System in Pemali-Comal River Basin, Indonesia.

Unlike meteorological drought, hydrological drought in Indonesia has not been routinely monitored. This paper discusses hydrological drought monitoring and prediction system in Pemali-Comal River Basin by utilizing a Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) based on Delft-FEWS software. The Standardized Runoff Index (SRI) is applied to river discharges data which is collected through a real-time telemetering system. In case of unavailability of river discharge data, TRMM satellite rainfall data is used to simulate river discharges. A preliminary prototype of DEWS shows that the characteristics of previous drought events can be evaluated, and the simulation shows the possibility of forecasting hydrological drought with time lag of 6 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]