A flash flood struck six villages in Nusa Penida on early Monday morning (13/12).
An official from the Klungkung regional government confirmed that a total of 6 villages were struck by a flash flood that struck on early Monday when most people were asleep. The six villages affected were Suana, Ped, Sakti, Kutampi Kaler, Toya Pakeh, and Batununggul.
Suana Village received the most damage from the flash flood, reaching around 1.5 meters in depth. Logs, rocks, and mud were carried by the strong current, damaging everything on its path.
An official from Suana village, Putu Rai Sudarta, confirmed that the heavy rain that started pouring on Sunday evening (12/12) had caused serious damage to his village area.
“This was the worst flood I’ve ever seen. We had similar flood around 25 years ago but it wasn’t this bad,” Sudarta said.
He explained that the water had swept away a pick-up truck and seven motorbikes. “Apart from the vehicles, nine stalls along Mati River were damaged and two of them completely vanished. Other buildings such as houses and a school were damaged from the incident,” Sudarta added. Over 30 families were evacuated to a safer area, and nobody was injured from the incident.
Crystal Bay, a famous tourist spot, was also affected by the incident. The flood completely destroyed 15 stalls along the beach.
Over 9,000 households were unable to access clean water due to broken pipelines. Meanwhile, the Regent of Klungkung District, I Nyoman Suwirta, immediately deployed heavy equipment to remove debris from the affected areas and open the roads for easier access.
Suwirta plans to normalize the rivers in Nusa Penida in anticipation of a similar incident. He also instructed the National Water Supply Company (PDAM) to supply clean water to the villages with their trucks while fixing their damaged pipelines.