JAKARTA: Flash floods swept two Indonesian islands, including tourist hotspot Bali, killing at least 13 people, with six others missing, the country’s disaster agency said on Wednesday.
Torrential rain since late Tuesday triggered flooding across five Bali districts as well as the provincial capital city Denpasar, forcing the evacuation of nearly 200 people, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement.
He said nine people had been found dead in Bali by Wednesday evening, up from an earlier toll of two. Another two people were missing, Abdul said.
Some 85 people were evacuated to temporary shelters in Jembrana district in Bali’s southwest, he said, and another 108 people were taking shelter in other locations that included an elementary school.
Flash flooding also struck East Nusa Tenggara province’s Flores island on Monday, cutting road access and phone services in 18 villages, Abdul said in a separate statement.
BNPB chief Suharyanto said flooding in the Nagekeo district of Flores killed four people, with another four missing.
He said parts of Bali were still inundated on Wednesday, although floodwaters had receded on Flores.
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.
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 – AFP
