H

eavy rains led to floods and landslides on Monday in Sukasada village, and along the main route linking Singaraja to the provincial capital, Denpasar.

The village was inundated as of Monday afternoon. “This has been the worst flooding we have experienced in the last 10 years,” Made Witana said.

“Our village is located on the slope of the hills near Wanagiri and Ambengan, which is high enough. But we’re now threatened by floods and landslides. The weather is so unpredictable,” he added.

Several houses were ruined and hundreds of villagers were evacuated to refugee camp outside Sukasada.

Another resident, I Gusti Opang Sutama, was also shocked to see his house crumbling. “The water mixed with dirty mud flowing from the river behind my house.” Dozens of trees also fell, blocking access to the street from his home, he said.

Landslides also occurred along the main road between Singaraja and Denpasar, including in Gitgit village, well known for its beautiful waterfalls.

The main streets of the coastal city of Singaraja were also flooded.

“Rivers here are already troubled because of people’s bad habits of dumping their household garbage,” Nyoman Sukadana, a resident of Penarukan, said.

Floods and landslides were also reported in Denpassar, Kuta and in Karangasem, Klungkung  and Jembarana regencies.

The Meteorology, Geophysics and Climatology Agency’s Bali office previously said the island would be in a transitional period between November and March.

“Strong winds, torrential rains and tropical storms may occur across the island between these months…Sea waves might be three to five meters high in Bali’s waters, especially in the south,” according to the office.

Gusti Putu Arthadana, executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment’s Bali chapter said that humans also made great contributions to destroying the island’s environment.

“The roles of tourism-related investors in ‘guiding’ development policy and weak law enforcement and monitoring from local authorities have greatly affected the island’s natural conditions,” Arthadana said.

Investors have built tourist facilities such as hotels and villas along the island’s riverbanks and in protected forest areas, Wahli said, adding that fertile land, rice fields, mangrove forests and coastal areas have been transformed into resorts and golf courses.

Walhi also reported that seawater has penetrated Denpasar’s groundwater reservoir, especially in the densely populated Sesetan and Sidakarya areas.

Seawater has polluted the city’s clean water supply. Buleleng and other coastal regencies are also vulnerable to abrasion and sea water intrusion.

River ecosystems were also in critical condition due to the development of hotels, restaurants, villas along riverbeds. Only 162 of Bali’s 400 rivers are in good condition, while forests have been reduced from 30 percent to only 22 percent of the island’s total areas.

“About 600 hectares of forested areas were changed to make way for various developments,” he said.