Floods on Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali have killed at least nine people this week and affected 600 people, blocking off major roads in the capital and disrupting a busy travel destination, officials said.
Continuous heavy rains between Tuesday evening and Wednesday caused flooding and resulted in the deaths of five people in Bali’s capital Denpasar, Abdul Muhari, the spokesperson of the country’s disaster mitigation agency said in a press release.
Four more people were killed in the regions of Jembrana, Gianyar, and Badung, he said. Two people were still missing.
Out of 600 people affected, nearly 200 have been evacuated to schools and mosques because their houses were still flooded, the agency said.
The floods brought down two buildings in Denpasar, said I Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of the island’s search and rescue agency.
Access to the island’s international airport near Denpasar was limited as only trucks could use the roads, I Nyoman said.
Videos on social media showed floods on major roads leading to complete gridlock.
About 200 rescuers have been dispatched, he said.
Heavy rain also led to flooding in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara where four people have been killed, the disaster mitigation agency said.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto expressed his condolences and instructed the head of the national disaster agency to fly to Bali to lead the emergency response and ensure the basic needs of the people are met.
The agency had distributed tents, food, blankets, mattresses, water pumps, and rubber boats.
