As Bali is experiencing one of the worst monsoon seasons in living memory, tourist destinations across the island have been hit with major flooding.
The popular resorts of Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak have been affected by this weekend’s downpours, with tourists forced to evacuate from their hotels, guesthouses, and villas.
The worst of the flooding was recorded in the Dewi Sri area of Legian, though rising flood waters and calls for support have been documented in Kuta, Seminyak, Canggu, Denpasar, and parts of Ubud, and across Singaraja.
With floodwaters rising above the 75cm across entire communities, and rising further in specific locales, tourists are being urged to act responsibly and cooperate with the Bali Disaster Management Agency and local support teams.
Tourists staying on Kresna Street, Pandawa Street, Dewi Ratih Street, and around Dewi Sri Street in Legian were evacuated from their accommodation on Sunday, 22nd December, as flood waters showed no sign of dissipating.
Tourists were evacuated via rubber dingy to safer ground until flood waters had subsided. Speaking to a reporter, Iman, a domestic tourist from Makassar, explained that he was evacuated from his accommodation after flood waters rose above his waist.
The Dewi Sri area of Legian is one of Bali’s most densely populated tourist resort areas, with hundreds of hotels, guesthouses, and villas tightly packed into the coastal village streets.
Legian community leader Wayan Puspa Negara told reports, “In the past, this area was a rice field that became a place for water absorption. Now, the land has turned into a residential area with trade services and industry. As a result, the water absorption field is significantly reduced.”
He called for the government to step in and take urgent action to upgrade drainage and water management infrastructure in the area.
He explained “The manufacture of water channels or culverts must be carried out massively on all road sections. In Legian there are approximately 22 road sections whose culverts are not perfect, some are full and some are not.”
He continued, “This condition, if it rains heavily, especially in Tukad Mati or the sea level rises, it must have been flooded. This flood repeats and continues because the area is a water reservoir, a rice field area that has now changed its function into a residential and industrial business trade. So there must be a long-term solution,”
Negara said that although tourists had been evacuated, no alternative plans had been put in place to house them going forward.
He noted “We moved them to a dry road so that they could be picked up by vehicles. However, there is no special place like a refuge because this is a tourism area.”
He did note, however, than many of the guests who were evacuated via dingy were already due to check-out and travel home.
Widespread flooding, fallen trees, and landslides have been reported across the province, with the Bali Disaster Management Agency, known as the BPBD, responding to calls around the clock.
The Head of the Denpasar City BPBD, Ida Bagus Joni Ariwibawa, told reporters that dozens of reports of natural disasters have been made in the provincial capital over the weekend.
He and his teams have been attending to the worst affected areas to remove fallen trees and install water pumps to help dissipate flood waters.
Tourists in Bali should be increasingly aware of the dangers this monsoon season is creating for public safety.
While the flood waters generally ease within 24 hours, the heavy daily downpours of rain are causing flash flooding throughout residential and tourism resort areas.
Conditions on the roads, especially the main highways and most popular tourism resort areas, are moving more slowly than usual due to the increased volume of vehicles on the road due to the festive holidays and due to the weather; tourists should leave above and beyond the usual amount of time to travel between destinations.
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