The Bali Center of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics has issued more extreme weather updates for Denpasar and Badung Regency for the coming days.
The areas set to be worst affected include Canggu, Seminyak, Legian, Kuta, Jimbaran, and Sanur, as well as Denpasar City.
The BMKG Bali has sent out an early weather warning for Bali via SMS. The provincial weather agency is forecasting lightning, strong winds, and heavy rainfall.
With this increased rainfall, the BMKG Bali is also forecasting flooding, landslides, and fallen trees across these areas.
The Head of the Bali Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Gede Agung Teja Bhusana Yadnya, has urged residents and tourists to be aware of the potential natural disasters triggered by extreme weather.
He has also called for local communities to take flood mitigation efforts seriously, to both prepare for more flooding as they clean up from last week’s devastation.
He also urged the public to report disaster points to the Bali Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), which regularly shares updates on Instagram and can be contacted directly at (0361) 251177.
Flooding is predicted to be worse along the Tukad Badung River, especially in Denpasar. As recovery teams, including those from the BPBD, the army, and NGOs like Sungai Watch, work around the clock to remove debris from the Tukad Badung River, intense rainfall is likely to worsen the situation.
In many areas, the river is completely blocked, meaning flooding upstream is now increasingly likely as waters will rise around the regency and city.
As recovery teams continue to work, the sheer scale of the devastation is still not yet fully calculated as more rainfall sees flood waters rise in Canggu, Seminyak, Legian, and the surrounding areas on Monday evening.
Rescue teams have discovered bodies from the debris and dismembered human remains from flash flooding last week.
The Head of the Denpasar Search and Rescue Agency, Nyoman Sidakarya, confirmed to reporters that human remains had been found in the Jalan Kertanegara area on Monday, 15th September.
He shared, “We received information at 8.55 am. The SAR team, who were searching in the Ubung and Kumbasari Market areas, were immediately deployed to the location where the body was found.”
Within the flood debris, search and rescue officers found a dismembered limb and a body. By the end of Monday, the official death toll for last week’s flood was 18, with four people still formally reported missing. Though both figures are likely higher.
Video footage shared on local community citizen journalism social media channels showed flood waters rising across Canggu on Monday afternoon.
Localised flooding made many of the village roads in Canggu impassable, including Jalan Canggu Padang Linjong.
Roads in Berawa have been submerged in water, as well as in Kerbokan and Padangsambian.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster has declared a province-wide State of Emergency that will remain in place until Wednesday, 17th September. Dozens of community groups are coming together to collect relief items for local families affected by the floods.
Top priority items include mattresses, pillows, and blankets. In terms of food, noodles, rice, oil, eggs, and water.
Those who wish to support are advised to look at community citizen journalism social media channels and support efforts in their locale.
While tourist attractions remain open and welcoming to tourists, visitors are advised to work with their local guides to design itineraries that prioritize safety for all. With many roads closed and recommended detours in place, travel times between attractions may be longer than usual.
Tourists are highly advised to leave above and beyond enough time to travel to Bali Airport and to plan to arrive extra early for flights, especially since the roads close to the airport in Kuta and Denpasar have been amongst the most prone to flooding.
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