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Jakarta Post

Death and injury in Bali windstorm

A powerful windstorm relentlessly pounded the resort island of Bali on Thursday, uprooting trees and triggering panic among residents

Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post)
Denpasar
Fri, March 16, 2012

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Death and injury in Bali windstorm

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powerful windstorm relentlessly pounded the resort island of Bali on Thursday, uprooting trees and triggering panic among residents.

An elderly woman, Ni Wayan Puri, 80, was killed when a huge durian tree fell on her house in Petak Kaja village, Gianyar regency.

Three people were reportedly injured in accidents caused by the storm.

The harbor authority suspended ferry services at Gilimanuk seaport, which connects Bali to Java, and Padangbai seaport, which connects the island with Lombok, due to high waves and strong currents.

On the famed Kuta beach, the elements created a mini sandstorm that saw tourists hurriedly leaving the beach.

The storm took place while the island’s residents were still trying to come to terms with the demise of six villagers in a landslide and massive flood that struck remote villages in Kintamani, Bangli, on Tuesday, and a mud flood in Buleleng on Monday.

The Provincial Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported that the storm had uprooted dozens of trees across the island. Falling trees inflicted damage on scores of buildings and one temple in Tabanan regency.

Uprooted trees also injured Eko, 21, Misyanto, 25, and Sri Astini, 39. Eko and Misyanto were riding their motorbike when a tree fell on Jl. Tjok Agung Tresna in Denpasar. Meanwhile, Sri Astini was injured when a tree fell on her on Jl. Tukad Yeh Aya, Denpasar.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported that high waves reached 5 meters with wind speeds reaching 45 kilometers per hour, double that of normal conditions.

Torrential rain followed the windstorm in some areas, with a rainfall intensity of 120-200 milliliters per day.

A BMKG official in charge of data and information, I Nyoman Gde Wiryajaya, said the high waves were triggered by strong winds and high tides along Bali’s coastline as well as by a tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean.

“We predict that the windstorm, high tides, and torrential rain will continue for at least three days,” Wiryajaya said.

Gilimanuk seaport’s operational manager, Ospar Silaban, said the port had to be closed for 4 hours between 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“We closed the port because of the high tides and powerful storm. We did it for safety reasons,” Ospar said.

As of Thursday evening, several villages in Bangli that were hit by a flood and landslide on Tuesday remained isolated.

“Only motorbikes can reach our village. The disaster has destroyed existing bridges and the road is covered by soil and mud. There’s been no electricity in our village since the landslide,” Belandingan village leader, Wayan Waris, said.

The villagers and a rescue team continued searching for two siblings who went missing in the disaster and had been declared dead.

At 1:35 p.m., the search party found the body of Buda Ranya, 25, at a shallow point in the river. His 9-year-old brother, I Ketut Tapa, is still missing.

“We have not received any aid or logistics, or even food from the government,” he said, adding that the rescue team was in the village for only a few hours, forcing the locals to do most of the searching themselves.

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