At least 14 people on Bali in Indonesia have been killed in what officials say are the island’s worst floods in a decade.
Torrential rains triggered severe flooding across most of the island, causing rivers to burst their banks. The rain has now stopped and water levels are receding but rescuers are still searching for survivors. Two people are missing in Denpasar, where eight of the deaths occurred.
Since Tuesday hundreds of residents have been evacuated as their homes were submerged. Major roads have been shut by landslides and at least two bridges damaged.
“People here were shocked. The flooding was so bad,” Bali resident Tasha told BBC News Indonesia. “I thought Bali had adequate drainage.”
The provincial government has declared a week-long state of emergency.
President Prabowo Subianto expressed his deep condolences for the flooding in a statement on Wednesday. The president had instructed all relevant agencies to act “swiftly” and emphasised the need for “targeted aid”, his cabinet secretary said.
Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of Bali’s search and rescue agency, told local news agency Antara, rescue teams were having “difficulty accessing the flooded areas”.
“Floods are everywhere, even trucks can barely pass through,” he said.
Two people died from electrocution and were swept away by the current, in the south-west of Bali in Jembrana Regency, authorities said.
Eight other victims were found dead in Denpasar, Bali’s capital, and three were found in Gianyar. In Badung County one person died.
At least 85 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters in the Jembrana district in Bali’s south-west, while in Denpasar, two buildings collapsed.
Bali isn’t the only island in Indonesia that’s been affected by the flash floods and heavy rainfall.
At least three people died, two were injured and four were missing in neighbouring East Nusa Tenggara province, the disaster agency reported on Tuesday.
More than 385mm of rain in 24 hours was recorded at the climatological station in Bali.
Popular tourist areas have also been badly affected, with hotels and businesses struggling to cope with the disruption. Officials in some areas say rubbish clogged drainage systems, making the floods worse. The island has long struggled with waste management problems and poor infrastructure.
Bali remains under a severe weather warning, though rains are expected to be less intense over the island from Thursday.
Landslides and flash floods are not uncommon across the Indonesian archipelago especially during the rainy season and climate change has made the situation worse, officials say.
