Rescuers have recovered the bodies of 15 people who have died in flash flooding in two Indonesian provinces, while authorities said 10 others were missing.
Torrential rains beginning on Monday caused flooding and landslides in East Nusa Tenggara province and on the island of Bali.
Rescuers on Wednesday recovered the bodies of a mother and her child buried under mud in the worst-hit village of Mauponggo and a man in the neighbouring village of Loka laba in the Nagekeo district of East Nusa Tenggara, officials said.
Previously, three members of a family were found dead after their house was swept away and four people were missing in Mauponggo village.
In Bali, rescuers retrieved the body of a woman near the Badung market in the provincial capital of Denpasar late Wednesday, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari. He said rescuers were searching for six people still missing in the province.
Eight bodies were found earlier, including four people who were in a building that was swept away in the Kumbasari market area of South Denpasar, said Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of Bali’s Search and Rescue Agency.
Rain has caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through nine cities and districts in Bali.
Mud, rocks and trees tumbled on to mountainside hamlets and rising rivers submerged at least 112 neighbourhoods and resulted in several landslides, Bali’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement.
Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed cars floating in muddy waters while soldiers and rescuers in rubber boats helped children and older people who were forced on to the roofs of flooded homes and buildings.
Severe flooding inundated thousands of homes and buildings in residential areas and tourist spots.
Authorities have cut electricity and water, prompting hotels, restaurants, hospitals and other public facilities to use generators, the Bali governor, Wayan Koster, said.
There have been landslides in 18 neighbourhoods of Karangasem, Gianyar and Badung districts and swept through at least 15 shops and houses and damaged several roads and bridges, he said.
“This disaster also caused material losses for traders and tourism businesses,” Koster said, adding that more than 800 people were in temporary shelters after flood water reached up to 2.5 metres in places.
The Local Disaster Mitigation Agency head, Agustinus Pone, said flash floods in Nagekeo swept away villagers and vehicles passing through devastated villages and triggered a landslide that blocked three roads, killing at least six villagers, and four people were missing.
The severe weather and rugged terrain hampered rescue efforts, and the flooding in Nagekeo also destroyed two bridges, two government offices, a plantation, rice fields and livestock, Muhari said.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its consulate general in Bali stood ready to provide assistance to any Australian citizens affected by the flooding.
“DFAT’s travel advice for Indonesia continues to highlight the possibility of flooding during heavy rain, including in Bali,” a spokesperson said.
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“The Australian consulate-general in Bali is publishing regular updates noting heavy rains can cause disruption to roads and transportation.”
‘No one was getting through’
Philipp Peltz, 49, a German music producer who had been visiting Canggu in Bali, had a flight booked to leave Denpasar on Wednesday afternoon.
“No taxis would pick me up, the roads were flooded and no one was getting through,” he said, speaking from Thailand.
He eventually rode his scooter to the airport, at times pushing it through waist-high flood waters.
“It took three-and-a-half hours, but I made it, soaked through. As always, the Balinese people were helping each other out, there was no panic,” he said.
He said the floods had reignited ongoing local debate about the impacts of tourism infrastructure development and climate change.
“I’ve been visiting Bali for more than a decade and I have never seen flooding like this,” he said.
Dedians Jebarus, a tour operator based in Canggu, said his sister’s home in Dalung, near Denpasar, had been flooded but that his relatives were safe.
On Thursday, the sun was shining in Denpasar, he said.
“Today is back to normal,” he said.
Heavy seasonal rain from about September to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia.