The weather in Bali this week has been nothing shy of brutal. Persistent heavy rains have caused widespread flooding, forcing evacuations of both local communities and tourists.
Fallen trees and landslides have only added to the devastation faced by communities during what will go down as one of the worst rainy seasons in living memory.
With the dry season not due to arrive until mid-April, heavier rain is certainly on the horizon.
Earlier this week, Bali’s Governor spoke to reporters following a week of devastating weather and called on both local residents and tourists to minimise long-distance road travel and to keep watch for more extreme weather warnings over the coming weeks.
While flood waters have started to subside and the clean-up operation can begin, the scale of the impact in terms of material losses is yet to be fully understood, though it is likely to be in the hundreds of millions of rupiah.
Tourists in Sanur, Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak had to be rescued from their accommodations this week by the Bali Police Rescue Units.
Teams were deployed across the worst-affected areas and helped both local community members and tourists reach safety as floodwaters rose.
Officers supported elderly people and children, and even helped save pets as floodwaters reached more than 1m in places.
In light of this week’s flooding across Bali’s top tourism resort areas, tourism leaders in Bali are calling on accommodation providers to do more to mitigate the issue.
This is not the first time that tourists have had to be evacuated this rainy season.
While there are protocols in place to keep people safe, leaders do not want evacuation to become a commonplace solution.
Speaking to reporters, Gede Nick Sukarta, Secretary of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Badung branch, explained that a more proactive approach to flood mitigation is necessary. Badung Regency is home to almost all of Bali’s most popular vacation destinations, including Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Canggu, and Uluwatu.
Sukarta told reporters, “Mitigation efforts must begin long before flooding occurs. Hotels need to ensure their internal drainage systems are functioning properly, regularly clean drains, and establish clear emergency response procedures.”
He explained to reporters his belief that the repeated flooding incidents in recent years have provided an important lesson for tourism businesses, particularly hotels and restaurants. He noted how mitigation measures must not only focus on physical infrastructure readiness but also on operational responses and logistics, too.
The Bali Flood Crisis
As Bali faces one of the worst rainy seasons in living memory, officials are calling for massive changes. Tap a card for the latest on the floods and what tourists need to know.
BRUTAL FLOODS
Widespread Devastation
TAP TO REVEALHOTEL PROTOCOLS
Proactive Mitigation
TAP TO REVEALTHE FORECAST
More Rain Expected
TAP TO REVEALTOURIST PREP
Expect the Unexpected
TAP TO REVEALFrom Sukarta’s standpoint, hotel management needs to provide employees with training on evacuation procedures, asset security, and communication with guests during extreme weather.
He explained, “Tourist confidence is largely determined by how we respond to the situation. If mitigation is carried out effectively, even if heavy rain occurs, the impact can be minimized.”
Reiterating that climate change is having a huge impact across Badung Regency and all of Bali Province, Sukarta concluded, ”Mitigation is not just a short-term response, but a long-term investment to maintain the image and sustainability of tourism.”
Tourists traveling to Bali between now and mid-April must be prepared for extreme weather events, including heavy rain. It is essential that all tourists take out a fully comprehensive travel insurance policy that includes cover for extreme weather events and natural disasters.
Tourists traveling to Bali in the coming months are advised to include some rainy-day activity options in their itineraries and to be prepared to change plans at the last minute should weather warnings come into effect, to help prioritise safety.
Here at The Bali Sun, we will continue to report on the latest news affecting tourists, digital nomads, and expats in Bali, including extreme weather warnings and important forecasts.
It is advisable to also follow the Bali Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency on Instagram, where weather forecasts and warnings are posted in both Bahasa Indonesia and English.
Remove All Ads & Unlock All Articles… Sign up for The Bali Sun Premium
Plan Your Bali Holiday:
Book The Best English Speaking Drivers For Airport Transfers & Tours
Choose From Thousands of Bali Hotels, Resorts, and Hostels with Free Cancellation On Most Properties
Book Cheap Flights To Bali
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance That Covers Medical Expenses In Bali
For the latest Bali News & Debate Join our Facebook Community
SUBSCRIBE TO NEW POSTS
Enter your email address to subscribe to The Bali Sun’s latest breaking news, straight to your inbox.
Discover more from The Bali Sun
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Ida bagus
Monday 2nd of March 2026
In sanur on jalan bumi ayu, unrestricted villa development has led to severly increased flooding. New villas are built higher with walls keeping the water from entering fhe property. The result is more water enters the street and floods older, lower lying homes. No building codes are in place to mitigate this disaster. A new drainage system was installed along bumi ayu that is poorly designed and woefully inadequate. It actually has made the flooding worse. Welcome to Pardise.
Mr Bear Snr
Saturday 28th of February 2026
When a government allows buildings on rainwater runoff areas then naturally streets will flood. Nothing short of another river is required now to extract the runoff to the ocean
Steve bmi
Saturday 28th of February 2026
He says make sure your internal drainage systems are A1 FFS it's all the systems out side that's the problem there aren't any or they are filled with rubbish, The building out on the surface no run off as well.
Shorty
Thursday 5th of March 2026
@Exp,
Steve bmi and M's posts acknowledge problems and more importantly offer possible solutions.
Yours is just you're usual criticisms.
Exp
Sunday 1st of March 2026
@Steve bmi, Local gov. dole out permits without any consideration for drainage, electricty, trash, roads etc. When all goes pearshaped expect typical fingerpointing Bali style.
M
Sunday 1st of March 2026
@Steve bmi, it will happen and happen again. For lowlands like Denpasar, once overbuilt, there's no way the water will go anywhere. No drainage possibility. The only way at this point to handle it is to select the illegal houses, crashe them down and recreate green areas with trees and possibility for the water to naturally go underground. Otherwise you gotta handle it like in Tokyo and build deep under ground tunnels and pumping systems where rainwater is getting collected and pumped to the sea before it can flood whole areas. But as we see even a promise for building an underground LRT are empty words, imagine upgrading flooding infrastructure... and who would gonna keep it clean is the other big problem in Bali.
WAYAN BO
Saturday 28th of February 2026
Bali like Atlantis, water booms everywhere. - Wouldn’t be surprised about possibility of cholera and typhus outbreak❗️
Ida bagus
Monday 2nd of March 2026
@WAYAN BO, the longer water stays, the more likely infectious deseases develop. Not an if but a when.