“Every year the disaster happens in the same area but this year it is more extreme, causing some people to die of starvation and several thousand to evacuate,” BNPB head Suharyanto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told a virtual briefing on Monday.
“The area is no longer suitable to be inhabited by people. However, relocating people, especially Papuans who have customs, traditions, and cultural ties to the place, is not easy.”
He said the area was only accessible by motorbike, helicopter or plane because of rough terrain and the presence of separatists who have waged a decades-long insurgency against Indonesian rule.
A former Dutch colony, Papua declared independence in 1961 but neighbouring Indonesia took control two years later, promising an independence referendum that was subsequently considered a sham.
Similar droughts hit the region in 2015 and 2019.
The United Nations has warned the world to prepare for the prolonged effects of El Nino, which occurs on average every two-to-seven years with episodes that typically last nine to 12 months.