Unusual Flood Hits During Dry Season
On Bali Island, Indonesia's premier tourist destination, a recent flood resulted in at least 14 deaths and forced over 500 residents to evacuate.
According to international media outlets such as The Guardian on September 11 (local time), heavy rains that began on September 9 triggered a large-scale flood on Bali Island, leaving 14 people dead and 2 missing. The initial death toll was reported as 9, but the number rose as more missing persons were found dead during ongoing search operations.
Among the victims, 4 people died near a market in Denpasar, southern Bali, when a building collapsed due to ground subsidence. Most of the other fatalities occurred when people were swept away by swollen rivers. No foreign nationals have been confirmed among the deceased. The overflowing rivers inundated 9 cities across Bali, flooding a total of 120 areas and causing landslides.
On the 10th (local time), after flooding occurred in Denpasar, southern Bali Island, people are cleaning up stores. Photo by EPA Yonhap News
On social media, videos have spread showing buildings collapsing in the torrent and major roads in Denpasar, a popular tourist city, submerged under water.
Wayan Koster, Governor of Bali, explained that landslides occurred in 18 regions of the island, including Badung and Gianyar, damaging roads and bridges, and that floodwaters in some areas rose as high as 2.5 meters. Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), said that 125 rescue workers were deployed in Denpasar to search for the two missing persons, and that more than 500 people evacuated to schools and mosques. He added, "The heavy rain has now passed, and most of the water has receded from the roads," and "We are currently clearing mud from the streets." Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto expressed his condolences and dispatched Suharyanto, head of the National Disaster Management Agency, to Bali to oversee the emergency response.
Meanwhile, Indonesia typically experiences its rainy season from October to April, when landslides and floods frequently cause casualties. In November last year, a landslide in North Sumatra Province left 20 people dead, and in January this year, floods and landslides in Central Java Province claimed 25 lives. However, this recent flood occurred during the dry season, making it an unusual event. Experts have warned that, in recent years, climate change has lengthened the rainy season and increased the frequency of torrential downpours in Southeast and South Asia.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
