Floods in Indonesia’s Tourist Destination, Bali, Result in Eight Deaths

Indonesian rescuers have recovered the bodies of at least 11 people but 13 people are still missing after flash floods struck two provinces of the island nation, authorities say.

Three members of a family were found dead after their house was swept away and five people were missing on Wednesday in the Nagekeo district of East Nusa Tenggara, officials said.

In Bali, rescuers retrieved eight bodies from several areas and eight residents were missing on Wednesday, according to Muhammad Iqbal Simatupang, the police chief in Bali’s provincial capital of Denpasar.

Rain has caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through nine cities and districts in Bali.

Mud, rocks and trees tumbled onto mountainside hamlets and rising rivers submerged at least 112 neighbourhoods and resulted in several landslides, Bali’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement.

Four people were in a building that collapsed and was swept away in the Kumbasari market area of South Denpasar, said Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of Bali’s Search and Rescue Agency.

Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed cars floating in muddy waters while soldiers and rescuers in rubber boats helped children and older people who were forced onto the roofs of flooded homes and buildings.

Severe flooding inundated thousands of homes and buildings in residential areas and tourist spots.

Authorities have cut electricity and water, prompting hotels, restaurants, hospitals and other public facilities to use generators, Bali Governor Wayan Koster said.

There have been landslides in 18 neighbourhoods of Karangasem, Gianyar and Badung districts and flooding swept through at least 15 shops and houses and damaged several roads and bridges, he said.

“This disaster also caused material losses for traders and tourism businesses,” Koster said, adding that more than 800 people were in temporary shelters after floodwater reached up to 2.5 metres in places.

National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said flash floods in Nagekeo swept away villagers and vehicles passing through devastated villages and triggered a landslide that blocked three roads, killing at least three villagers and four people were missing.

The severe weather and rugged terrain hampered rescue efforts, he said, noting that the flooding in Nagekeo also destroyed two bridges, two government offices, a plantation, rice fields and livestock, Muhari said.

Heavy seasonal rain from about September to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia.