Bali Floods Destroy Homes, Displace Families Amid Tourism Boom

In September 2024, Bali experienced its worst flooding in a decade, with devastating consequences. The deluge, caused by record rainfall and exacerbated by years of unchecked development and waste mismanagement, killed at least 18 people and left 4 missing.

One of the affected residents, Ruth Deidree Boelan, stands where her family home once was and prays for her missing relatives who were swept away by the floodwaters. The island's formerly verdant south has been transformed by a tourism boom, with paddy fields and coconut groves that once provided drainage paved over for roads and buildings.

Experts warn that the infrastructure catering to the over 4.6 million foreign tourists who visited Bali in the first 8 months of 2024 has led to "land conversion, chaotic urban management and lax enforcement of spatial planning laws," putting the island in a "very disaster-prone situation."

The government has vowed to address the issues, including launching a review of building along major rivers and cracking down on construction that violates zoning regulations. However, the waste management crisis, with less than half of the 4,200 tons of daily waste going to landfill, also needs urgent attention to prevent future disasters.