Bali tourists being warned of possible tidal waves amid wild weather

Authorities are warning tourists to stay out of the water in Bali, after a surge of powerful waves and increased debris smash the coastline.

Tourists in Bali are being urged to take extreme caution, with the Bali Denpasar Center for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics warning there may be risk of a tidal wave amid the island’s current weather patterns.

Extreme weather warnings were issued late last week, including high wave alerts, with authorities urging tourists not to enter the water until conditions calm down.

The latest report from the country’s bureau warns that visitors should be on “alert for moderate to heavy rain” as well as “lightning and strong winds” across most areas of the coast.

Some of the region’s most popular beaches have already witnessed a surge in waves — with some taking to social media to show the destruction the increased activity is causing along the coast.

The moment a wave surge hit Seminyak Beach.

The video showed a man trying to save items caught in the waves.

“Seminyak Beach was hit by a tidal wave,” one claimed, although it appears the wave was just high surf.

“Those who are in the area are advised to be more alert.”

The video, showing a large wave sweeping into small beach bars and down canals, wasn’t the only part of Bali to be battered by the surging sea.

One man can be seen desperately trying to save items swept away by a large wave in nearby Canggu Beach, with onlookers shouting as the water collides with deck chairs and what appear to be small beach stalls.

The waves also crashed through Canggu.

Stall owners along the sand scrambled to ensure items weren’t swept away.

Another video, taken from the seat of a passenger boat heading from the Gili Islands to Penida Islands, sees huge waves crashing through windshields and on to passengers seated inside.

While no one was hurt, the terrifying footage shows how dangerous the swell has been over the course of the past week.

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Late last week, the Head of UPT Balawista Kuta I, Ketut Ipel, told local media that wave surges along the coast could be sudden and dangerous if not taken seriously.

“Thursday’s wave was quite large, even reaching land; we from Balawista are taking preventive steps and are more alert to anticipate things that we don’t want,” he said, adding some red flags had been plotted along parts of the coastline as a way of urging beachgoers not to swim in the water.

“We always urge beach visitors to obey the signs that we have installed in places that are prone to sea accidents. I predict conditions like this will last until Purnama Kedasa (full moon on 25 and 26 March). Maybe that will be the highlight. But hopefully not.”

In addition to wild surf conditions, authorities are also warning of the dangers the weather system could have on land with falling trees, flooding, and landslides occurring across much of the island.

The moment a wave swept down a nearby canal.

The surge of water took over the coastline.

Late last week, an Australian woman died alongside her partner after a landslide swept away their Bali villa.

Angelina Smith, 47, died in the disaster alongside her partner Luciano Kross, 50, when the building they were staying in at Jatiluwih village was swept away while they were still sleeping.

Jatiluwih village had been hit with heavy rain that caused the natural disaster, with authorities saying the intense rain eroded water canals used for irrigation that sit above the villa and triggered the landslide, killing the two.

It is understood the extreme weather the popular tourist island is experiencing is, in part, due to cyclone seeding in the area.

Video inside a boat travelling through rough seas in Bali.

No one was injured during the journey between the Gili Islands and Penida Islands.

Along with the extreme weather comes the extreme surge of rubbish. During December and March, heavy rain and winds force rubbish, junk and debris down rivers through the regency and then they accumulate on the coastline.

Nearby landfill sites are a big factor to blame for the issue, with some of the region’s largest dumping grounds only 25 minutes away by boat.

“With these heavy monsoon rains it’s inevitable that a lot of that landfill rubbish, including an immense amount of plastics, will be washed into the ocean and will head straight for Bali,” Indonesia Institute founder Ross Taylor said last February.

Indonesia is one of the worst contributors to plastic pollution, with 200,000 tonnes of plastic washing into the ocean, according to a study published by the journal Nature Communications in 2017.