The devastating flash floods in Bali on Wednesday, 10 September 2025, caused billions of rupiahs in damage, numerous injuries, 18 deaths, and at least five people were reported as missing.
As reported by Beritabali.com, rescue, recovery, and rebuilding efforts are still underway.
The Bali Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD-Bali) assesses that the total damages are still being evaluated, acknowledging that the island’s infrastructure has suffered significant damage, resulting in injuries and a tragic loss of life.
The spokesman for the District IX Udayana Military Command in Bali, Col (Infantry) Widi Rahman, S.H., M.Si., stated that the flood has claimed 18 lives with five still missing. Twelve people died within the city limits of Bali’s capital city of Denpasar. 3 deaths in Gianyar Regency, two deaths in Jembrana Regency, and one death in Badung Regency,
In addition to the loss of human lives, the flash flood caused significant floor damage in 163 areas of Bali, landslides in 64 separate locations, 35 fallen trees, two damaged bridges, and made three major roadways impassable. Furthermore, 21 more areas reported damaged embankments, irrigation channels, and streets.
The floods caused 188 human dislocations of Denpasar residents in six locations:
SD 25 Pemecutan
Banjar Sedana Merta Ubung
Banjar Dakdakan Peguyangan
Banjar Kesambi Kesiman
Pulau Misol
Banjar Tohpati Kesiman Kertalangu.
In Jembrana Regency, the BPBD-Bali operates two public kitchens. One kitchen, located at the BPBD Jembrana Center, serves 350 people daily, while a public kitchen in Pengambengan feeds 3,000 people.
Assisting in rescue and recovery efforts now underway, armed forces officers from the IX Udayana Military Command in Denpasar are helping to evacuate and relocate flood victims, provide logistical support, and establish satellite command posts.
Military personnel are cooperating with the BPBD and the Police. Local government agencies and numerous volunteers are needed to hasten the recovery process. Col. Widi Rahman told the press that the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI-AD) remains absolutely committed to assisting the Indonesian Public in times of natural disaster.
Rahman said the worst part of the natural disaster has now passed, with normality returning to many areas affected by the flood in Bali. Several traditional markets damaged by the floods have already reopened for business.
The Chief Information Officer for the IX Military Command stated, “We urge the public to remain calm and not to panic. All damage caused by the recent floods should be reported to one of the command posts, where it will be inventoried and handled as soon as possible.”
Across southern Bali, search and rescue activities, infrastructure repairs, and aid distribution are being carried out in a coordinated manner.
What Caused the Bali Floods?
The devastating flood in Bali has heightened the focus on how Bali manages its local environment.
As also reported by Beritabali.com, Hanif Faisol Nurrofiq, Indonesia’s Minister of the Environment, who also serves as the Chief of the National Environmental Control Agency, says the recent heavy rains are not the only cause of the floods.
Speaking during a visit to the People’s School in Tabanan Regency on Saturday, 13 September 2025, Hanif said a number of divergent issues must now be addressed in the wake of the natural disaster.
Hanif pointed out that a forest cover of only 4 percent remains in the Mount Batur region of Bangli. The lack of vegetative growth and jungle cover exacerbates the risk of flooding and environmental degradation. Adding: “So, of the 49,000 hectares of river basins, less than 1,200 hectares have forest cover. This is a tiny area.”
The Minister for the Environment emphasized the need to transform Bali’s environmental landscape to make it more sustainable. One much-needed focus is on controlling land conversion, which has been quite widespread in recent years.
“The Governor is currently reviewing ongoing land conversion. We will monitor the results of the mapping process being conducted by the Governor,” he explained.
Hanif said that, if necessary, the central government will intervene directly to enforce the law and strengthen environmental management. He believes that environmental degradation has impacted the decline of water ecosystem services across Bali.
“There has been a degradation of land use function that we need to restore. We need to work together to avoid the conversion of agricultural lands and jungle domains as much as possible. Innovative steps are needed to develop Bali’s growing strength as a tourism destination,” said the Minister.
Furthermore, the Minister does not rule out the possibility of imposing a development moratorium in Bali. “In my opinion, a moratorium is required . . . serious steps are needed,” he said.
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