Deadly Bali floods trap Aussie tourists as death toll rises to 19
Australians living and holidaying in Bali have been caught up in flash flooding, with one woman sharing her ordeal as the death toll continues to rise.
Australians in Bali have been grappling with severe flash flooding which has killed at least 19 people and left five others missing.
Torrential rain since late Tuesday triggered floods and landslides in seven districts across Bali, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.
More than 500 people were evacuated, with public facilities including schools, village halls and mosques converted into makeshift shelters.
“Officers are still carrying out emergency response efforts such as searching for victims and managing floods and landslides that have impacted the public,” Abdul said.
The toll from a flash flood that hit the Nagekeo district of Flores island also rose to five after a young child was found dead on Thursday, local search and rescue agency head Fathur Rahman said.
Australian expat Rick Creamer, who runs Rick’s Group in Bali, said his apartment was surrounded by rising waters after a nearby river burst its banks.
“Where I live is right on just off the river bank which had burst its banks and had flooded. So my apartment was basically surrounded by flood waters,” he said.
He described scenes of devastation in Seminyak, where water reached waist height in some areas.
“We saw people being rescued by boat in some of the streets around my house,” he said.
“The water itself was just putrid really. It was horrible.
“In certain parts, you may have seen in some of the videos, there was cockroaches scurrying away from stormwater drains because they were just overflown.”
Mr Creamer said he was able to escape on a motorbike, but described the situation as chaotic.
“One of the main problems was the underpass, which was the main road to the airport … was completely flooded … it was quite a bit of a car park,” he said.
He said the disaster was unusual for the island at this time of year.
“We’re in the dry season at the moment. Wet season doesn’t start until November,” he said.
Perth woman Kim Eastough, 61, has been left stranded in her ground-floor villa in Legian, on Bali’s west coast, after heavy rain caused a nearby river to overflow and flood the property with about 10 centimetres of water.
“The whole complex is flooded out,” she told 7NEWS, as water lapped at her bed.
“No one can leave their buildings or anything because obviously, the water, you can’t see what’s underneath.
“It’s very confronting.”
Desperate parents of young Aussie travellers have been reaching out to online expat forums for information on the evolving weather situation including one mum worried about her daughter in Canggu.
“First time for her travelling by herself overseas … a little bit stressed,” the worried mum said in a post on Facebook.
Another parent reported it took their son three hours to make his way from Canggu to the airport – an 18km trip which can sometimes take as little as 35 minutes but is frequently prone to gridlock.
While Australians staying in popular Kuta hotels including Fourteen Roses, Suriwathi and Jayakarta reported they were high and dry, one unfortunate Aussie staying at the nearby Lokha Legian Resort Spa wasn’t as lucky with his room flooding.
“It’s absolutely shocking,” he wrote on an Aussies in Bali forum.
Ngurah Rai International Airport remains open but with Denpasar impacted particularly heavily by the flooding, they’re advising travellers to allow plenty of extra time to get their given the damage to many local roads.
“Considering the intensity of the rain and traffic conditions that require considerable time to reach I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali, passengers are advised to arrive at the airport early before their scheduled departure time,” the airport shared in a statement.
Gold Coast influencer Lauren Bullen lives in Bali with her baby daughter Lumae.
Ms Bullen, who has more than two million followers on her Instagram account Gypsea Lust, said while her home in Uluwatu was not impacted, it was a very different situation nearby.
“Horrible news to wake up to, and felt so strange to be so close and didn’t even know how severe the weather was just 30 minutes away from us,” Ms Bullen told this masthead.
“We’re feeling for everyone.”
Former Townsville residents Chad and Mia Dixon moved to Bali in late 2023 with their four children.
Like Ms Bullen, they’re among around 10,000 Australians who live in Bali in addition to the 1.2 million who visit annually.
While the family is lucky to have escaped the worst of the disaster, they did have a near miss with their backyard fish pond which threatened to flood their home.
“(At) 4am the fish pond nearly became a bedroom pond,” they shared to Instagram.
“We threw the pump in to get the excess water out.
“Be careful everyone, lots of flooding around, lots of water and storms around.”
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency reports the rain is expected to hang around all week.
The annual monsoon season in Indonesia, typically between November and April, often brings landslides, flash floods and water-borne diseases.
Climate change has affected storm patterns, including the length and severity of the season, leading to heavier rain, flash flooding and stronger wind gusts.
Indonesia is set to submit its emission reduction plan to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change later this year.
“We urge President Prabowo to ensure that Indonesia has an ambitious emissions reduction goal and a concrete plan to transition to 100 percent renewable energy,” 350.org field organiser Suriadi Darmoko said in a statement.
Floods and landslides on Java island in March killed three people and left five others missing after heavy rain inundated two dozen towns.
In January, at least 25 people were killed when floods and landslides hit a town in Central Java.
- with AFP
Originally published as Deadly Bali floods trap Aussie tourists as death toll rises to 19
Join the conversation
Aussie ban ‘biggest cultural change’: PM
Read more
‘Impossible’ amount you now need to retire
Read more