0 Stormy weather hits five regencies

Five regencies in Bali have been affected by the strong winds, rain and whirlwinds occurring since Saturday. Karangasem, Badung, Tabanan, Bangli and Gianyar all saw a number of incidents caused by the bad weather, including damage to houses and public facilities following floods and landslides. The road connecting Karangasem and Buleleng was severed after its foundations caved in during a major landslide. The landslide affected part of the road that passed Munti Gunung village in Kubu district. 

A local resident, Gede Antara reported that the road had collapsed along a 15-meter stretch to a depth of 4 meters. Fortunately, the incident did not claim any casualties. In Lemukih and Tejakula district in Buleleng, floods damaged a temple, dam and houses. Meanwhile, the operators of Padangbai and Gilimanuk seaports have halted ferry crossings due to rough seas. Other cross-sea ferry routes to and from Bali were also closed temporarily, including to Nusa Penida and to the Gili islands. 

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that the turbulent weather was due to a nearby tropical cyclone that would recede on Tuesday. However, the agency warned that high waves would still be likely in the seas to the north and south of Bali. I Nyoman Wiryajaya, head of BMKG data and information division, said that the wind speeds had reached 43 kilometers per hour (kph) to the north and the waves up to 5 meters high. “We predict that tropical cyclone Rusty will be heading to the mainland and recede. 

High waves will continue to occur with a possibility of rain, coupled with strong winds and thunder,” he said. Two residents had reportedly drowned in the seas off Mertasari Beach, Sanur, on Saturday. One of them, Made Ada, was found alive Sunday in waters off Serangan. He is currently still undergoing medical treatment in Sanglah Hospital. The other man, Ketut Temontiasa, has not yet been found. Search and rescue efforts were being hampered by rough seas. In Bangli, a landslide damaged the houses of residents living along the side of the main road connecting Kintamani and Singaraja. 

I Made Surya Darma, an officer at the Tabanan Disaster Mitigation Agency, said that some incidents following the strong winds early Monday had caused huge losses. He reported that strong winds had damaged Puseh Pandak Gede Temple causing losses of Rp 500 million (US$51,450). A poultry farm owned by I Made Jimat in Berembeng village in Selemadeg was also affected by the wind. Damage in the poultry cages, which hosted 7,000 fowl, caused a short circuit that resulted in a fire that reached gas cylinders kept nearby and set the farm ablaze. 

It took four fire trucks two hours to extinguish the fire. The losses caused by this incident are estimated to reach Rp 200 million. Meanwhile, in Pengosekan village, Ubud, and in Sidan, several trees and billboards collapsed hitting houses underneath them. The BMKG said the tropical cyclone had occurred as a result of a buildup of low air pressure in the Indian Ocean, to the south of West Nusa Tenggara, which caused the air mass to be pulled into the area. 

The agency had released an early warning for bad weather for Feb. 23 to 25. The agency’s monitoring is seeing increasing numbers of dark clouds south of Sumatra and Java; south of Kalimantan; south and southeast of Sulawesi, Bali, Nusa Tenggara; and over the central and southern part of Papua. On Feb. 26, the agency’s tropical cyclone warning center forecast that the tropical low would move away from the Indonesian area. Strong winds with speeds of up to 40 kph are expected to continue until Feb. 27, however the agency has asked the public not to believe the rumors circulating through social media, SMS and on BlackBerry Messenger that a powerful earthquake and tsunami would hit the neighboring island of Lombok. Last month, tropical cyclone Narelle affected Bali’s weather.

source : bali daily