Bali Blow by Blow

(3/3/2013)

Strong whirlwinds – known locally an “angin putting beliung” caused damage in several areas of Bali on Monday, February 25, 2013.

In Tabanan, West Bali, 15 homes and several other structures were damaged by high winds and falling trees.

On the opposite side of the island in Gianyar regency, falling trees also struck and damaged a number of houses.

Both incidents happened at around 3:00 pm on Monday afternoon.

In Tabanan, the winds blew in from a westerly direction. In the hamlet of Cekik, in the village of Berembeng, winds destroyed four chicken pens owned by Made Jimat. The winds leveled the large-scale chicken breeding facility and destroyed heating equipment powered by bottled gas, resulting in a fire that caused further damage. The total damage to the poultry production center was put at Rp. 500 million (US$50,000).

When the strong winds shifted to the east, they caused damage in the villages of Samsaman Kelod, Kukuh and Kerambitan – all in Tabanan. Four homes were severely damaged together with less formal housing used by local residents.

Also in Tabanan, at a cemetery in the village of Denbantas, a large tree believed to be more than 100-years-old fell over a main roadway. Traffic was disrupted between Tabanan and Penebel before local citizens managed to clear the road at 06:00 am the following morning.

High winds also played havoc with two Bali temples (pura) in the Kediri sub district: Pura Puseh Desa Pakramam Pandak Gede and Pura Puseh Pejaten. A seven-tiered ceremonial tower at Pura Puseh Desa Pakrama Pandak Gede was leveled by the strong winds. Damage to the two temples is put at hundred of millions of Rupiahs.

Still in Kediri, winds damaged homes in Capaka and Nyamu.

In the sub district of Marga in Tabanan, 5 large trees were felled near Alas Kedaton, temporarily closing access to that popular tourism destination.

Meanwhile, according to the Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPDB), eight points were affected by strong winds in the regency of Gianyar. A large tree that fell near Samplangan closed the road to Bukit Batu. Another tree fell at Banjar Sangguan Kawan near the Gunung Merta Temple. Elsewhere, a tree closed the main roadway for a period at Pengosekam. In Tulikup, a Banyan tree downed by the winds also closed a main highway.

At least four homes and several temples were badly damaged by falling trees in Gianyar, including a large and ancient Sawo tree that fell near Puri Gianyar that did damage to one of the outer building at the palace.

The Banyan tree that fell at Tulikup Village brought down power lines plunging the surrounding village into darkness.

In Bali’s north at Kalianget Village in Buleleng, a building used to process organic fertilizers owned by the Provincial Industrial and Trade Department was destroyed by high winds on Saturday, February 23, 2013. According to Denpost, the winds left the entire structure level with the ground.