13 October 2020

Bali just entered the rainy season, always carry an umbrella or raincoat if you plan on going outside these days. The rain sometimes come out of nowhere, even when the sky seems so bright things can change in minutes. Some highland areas like Bedugul, Kintamani, and North Tabanan are most likely to have the highest level of rainfalls and landslide-prone. The ocean usually also gets rougher than normal days, so if you decide to keep going for surfing or scuba diving, please be careful and always keep an eye on your surroundings. Stay away from cliffs and landslide-prone areas.

The Head of BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency) Region III Denpasar, M. Taufik Gunawan, explain that Bali is entering a period of transition from the dry season to the rainy season. The ENSO index (El Nino-Southern Oscillation) is at NINO 3.4: -0.72, meaning there has been a significant increase in daily rainfall in Bali. Besides, MJO is currently in quadrant 5, which affects the rain cloud formation process. “We urge the public to remain vigilant as severe weather warnings continue,” add Mr Gunawan.

On Saturday, 10 October 2020, a heavy rain poured down almost in all areas in Bali since the morning to afternoon. Soon, many regions on the island reported following disasters from flood, landslide, and fallen trees.

An 86 years old woman was found dead buried by landslide material (10/10) in Nongan Village, Karangasem. In Bangli several roads were collapsed due to heavy rain on Saturday (10/10), mostly caused by the overcapacity in the road drainage system. Cliffs landslide also happened in Yehembang Kangin Village; some materials still covering roads until Monday afternoon. Several houses in Banjar Tegak Gede were found buried by landslides. 

Pengambengan village in Jembrana reported hundreds of houses had been flooded since Sunday (11/10) night around 23:00 WITA, and the water was still standing until Monday (12/11) morning. Residents worked together to pump out the water from their neighbourhood using pumps. In the future, the head of the village head will advise the local government to approve the construction plan of a drainage channel that is directed to the anchoring pond in the port area.

A sea temple in Siyut beach-Gianyar was also found damaged after hit by the strong river flow nearby. Tabanan is probably the region that has been worst affected by this natural disaster. Tens of the houses were flooded, the landslide severely damaged schools and other public facilities, many roads were also broken, causing traffics on the provincial roads Denpasar-Gilimanuk.

Not only flood and landslide, but Bali also have been warned that some areas might be earthquake and tsunami-prone. The disasters are predicted would come from the south of Java and Bali, as well as Nusa Tenggara.