Tourists Surfing In The Street As Bali Resorts Flood

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Following sudden heavy rains in the south of Bali, many parts of Denpasar and the resorts of Kuta and Seminyak have experienced flooding.

The rising water level has caused havoc on the roads, but some tourists are trying to see the bright side. 

Tourists in Kuta have taken to surfing in the street as water levels in the resort started to rise on Thursday, April 4th.

Heavy rains have persisted into the afternoon, and more storms are forecasted for the rest of the week. 

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Tourists who would have otherwise been simply crossing the road to go surf at the beach had to battle through flood waters to get from their accommodation to the beachfront.

In making the most of a bad situation, tourists could be seen paddling out along the deeply flooded road towards Kuta Beach. 

Despite flood waters being more than 50cm deep in places, cars and motorcycles have still be trying to pass through the roads.

The conditions on Bali’s roads are treacherous enough at times. As flood waters subside, all road users are being urged to reconsider their route and whether the journey is essential. 

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The flooding has been widespread across Denpasar, Kuta, and Seminyak. Jalan Pantai Kuta is amongst the worst roads affected, and officers from the Natural Disaster Management Agency have been deployed across the region to help out citizens in need and ensure that water is draining away as quickly as possible. 

With flood waters making some small alleyways, known as gangs, impassable, some hotels have had to inflate rubber dinghies to shuttle their guests to useable roads.

Jalan Sunset Road has also been seriously affected by morning rush hour traffic, which has caused people to have to navigate through floodwaters along the busiest portion of the road. 

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Flooding was also present on the Ngurah Rai Bypass from Jimbaran through to Sanur, with traffic piling up at the Jimbaran intersection by the big KFC.

There are hopes that flood waters will now subside just enough that the situation does not worsen when the next huge rain storms come rolling in on the early hours of 5th April, but tourists and travelers in Bali should seriously reconsider travel plans for the coming few days. 

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Outside the Penjor Coffee & Eatery in Renon, a huge tree has been uprooted from the side of the road and fallen into electric pylons and the cafe building.

More reports of fallen trees, landslides, and potential road collapses are expected.

Earlier this week, areas of Gianyar, close to Ubud, were also hit by flash flooding. The worst affected areas included the Senggol Bedulu Market.

There are now calls from Bali lovers across the island for serious action to be taken to help better utilities spatial planning across the island to reduce the risk of flooding and losses in the event of a natural disaster. 

Tourists who are planning to travel in and around the Denpasar, Kuta, and Seminyak areas in the coming days are encouraged to leave plenty of time, even for the shortest of trips.

Although alternative routes that are not flooded will be open, they will be shouldering the brunt of traffic that is trying to avoid the major highways. Tourist driving motorcycles should be extra cautious to avoid flooded areas. 

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This spell of heavy rain is being experienced throughout Indonesia, The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has issued extreme weather warnings throughout the country. Provinces that will be worst affected include Aceh, West Sumatra, West Java, DKI Jakarta. 

Rainstorms are predicted across Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and West Papua. Three topical cyclone seeds, 91S, 94S, and 93P, are to blame for the sudden change in weather conditions.

Cyclones are being monitored around the Indian Ocean, south of Java in the Timor Sea and the Australian Sea, and they are having the most impact on the southern regions of Indonesia.