Stormy Weather in Bali

Bali together with the southern portions of Java have experienced hellish weather during the fourth week of January that ushers in Chinese New Years andGalungan holidays - the "tail effects" of the "Iggy" tropical cyclone system sweeping towards northwest Australia.

A general round up of Bali's inclement over the past week:

• A steady barrage of waves of 2.5 meters in height have pounded Bali's popular Kuta beach causing damage to hotel walls and necessitating the beach to be closed to swimmers for several days
• Local wind storms of strong intensity - known locally as "angin putih beliung" causing damage to at least 53 private homes in the Renon subdistrict of Bali's capital of Denpasar and Sanur. Among the areas worst affected were Jalan Tukad Balian, Gang Buaya, Gang Mandalasari, Gang Tasik Wulan, Jalan Tukad Badung IV, XVII, and XIX. The wind storm struck in the middle of the night at 1:30 a.m. and was preceded by thunder, lightning and heavy rains.
• The Denpasar government counts 11 trees felled by the winds. The trees were downed on Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai, Jalan Dan- au Tamblingan, Panjer, Tonja, Jalan Sulatri, Jalan Sedap Malam, Jalan M. Yamin, Jalan Tukad Balian, Jalan Tukad Pakerisan and Jalan Sudirman. 
• A 50-meter stretch of the seawall along the sea shore at the Hotel Discovery Kartika Plaza was damaged by the large waves allowing water to inundate a part of the hotel's gardens. 
• A 2-kilometer walkway along popular Kuta beach was partially washed away.
• Wave action and high seas caused local authorities to close Kuta Beach to swimmers for several days.
• Strong seas washed over a cemetery (Setra Banjar) in the village of Tibibiu at Kerambitan in the Tabanan regency of Bali on Saturday, January 28, 2012.
• The Pura Segara sea temple near the Gilimanuk ferry crossing in West Bali was damaged by sea action and heavy winds that washed away the surround wall.
• Rumor of strong winds hitting the Nusa Dua area of Bali and causing a large number of fatalities widely circulating on the social network were proven unfounded and formally denied by the Disaster Management Agency of Badung Regency.
• The ferry crossing at Padang Bai between Bali and Lombok was closed for an initial three day period on Thursday, January 26, 2012, when port officials said waves as high as 5 meters in height and winds of 35 kilometers made seas crossings too dangerous to undertake. A backlog of trucks and cars stretched to 5 kilometers from the entrance to Padang Bai as vehicles waited for the authorities to re-open the crucial sea link to the island chain to Bali's east.
• At least 6 fatalities have been linked the the bad weather in Bali. 2 men were killed in Karangasem, East Bali - one by a falling tree and another another by falling coconuts. Meanwhile, 3 men died in Tabanan West Bali attributed to falling trees. Another man died in Sanur on January 26, 2012, when a tree he was cutting fell on top of him during one of the storms.
• An elementary school in Karangasem was destroyed when an uprooted tree fell on the school.
• High seas in closed ports across the Bali's north and flooded seaside rice fields, causing widespread crop damage along Bungkulum beach. The high seas have also inundated homes along the shores at Bungkulum. 39 homes in the village of Dauh Munduk, 31 homes in the village of Badung, 20 home in the village of Kubu Kelod and 12 homes in the village of Sema. In total, some 103 families were forced to evacuate their homes.
• A ferry on the Padang Bai to Lombok run narrowly averted disaster on Wednesday, January 25, 2012, when high seas caused a dangerous shifting in cargo and vehicles as theAndika Nusantara Ferry approached the Lombok port of Lembar. The ship, under threat of sinking, the 120 passengers were evacuated to another ship the Indra Nusantara.
• The Bali Life Saving Service (Balawista) and the Kuta Water Police have posted "no-swimming" red flags because flare waves and strong winds. Authorities will monitor the weather conditions on a day to day basis to determine when the swimming ban can be lifted.
• Surfing operators along Kuta beach report no customers for several days with no visitors prepare to brave the waves.
• A landslide in the parking area in front of Bali's iconic Pura Taman Ayun in Mengwi on Saturday, January 28, 2012 causes the death of an infant child and injuries to its mother.
• Floods in the Lembah Sangulan area of Tabanan on Saturday, January 28, 2012, caused by clogged gutters caused 6 families to evacuate their families.
• Floods in the village of Karobelahan, West Tianyar, in Karangasem washed away electrical polls and destroyed 11 homes.
• A whirlwind knocked down a large tree on Jalan Sulatri-Penatih in Denpasar on the early hours Sunday, January 29, 2012, knocking out electrical service, disrupting water supplies and causing traffic jams.
• A large branch of a  Banyan tree located in from to thePura Bujangga temple broke off closing Jalan Trenggli in Denpasar,
• On Saturday, January 28, 2012, a tree fell on Jalan Penjaringan Sanur, Gang III, interrupting power service.
• A branch falling from a Banyan tree cut electrical service to Jalan Batur Sari in Sanur.
• A whirlwind struck Kubutambahan, Buleleng, north Bali on Sunday, January 29, 2012 damaging 76 private homes and destroying a bridge serving as a main access to the village Bengkala.
• High winds prevented sever boats from tying up at at the port of Gilimanuk at the ferry crossing to Java, damage to vessels that washed onto the local reef and causing temporary closings of the narrow crossing between Java and Bali.

The after effects of the cyclone Iggy weather system is expected to begin to dissipate by 01 February.

 

Source: BaliDiscovery.com