Cyclone Chris to sweep Bali and Nusa Tenggara waters

Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

The arrival of tropical Cyclone Chris in the eastern Indian Ocean to the south of Indonesia has caused thunderstorms and heavy rain in Denpasar and other places in the southern part of Bali.

Koesbagyo, chief forecaster with the local office of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG), predicted that the cyclone, which started to develop last Sunday, would continue in existence for at least five to seven days.

"The cyclone will badly affect sea transportation between Bali and Nusa Tenggara, and we are also warning fishermen to be on alert these days," he confirmed.

In January, Cyclone Bernie, which was centered in the Gulf of Carpentaria, also affected Indonesia. But, Bali has been the hardest hit of Indonesia's islands and was affected by three tropical cyclones last year, which caused serious damage and coastal erosion on the island.

The BMG's director Putu Pudja previously explained that the wind speed of Cyclone Chris at its center (between northwest Australia and the southern part of Nusa Tenggara waters), had already reached about 108 kilometers per hour yesterday. In Balinese waters, however, wind speeds were only between seven kilometers and nine kilometers per hour.

"Nevertheless, we are forecasting that the cyclone will intensify over the coming days," he warned.

Pudja also explained that the weather in Bali and the surrounding islands would be cloudy with intermittent heavy rain. Rainfall would measure between 300 millimeters and 370 millimeters in South Bali, while sea temperatures had already reached 37 degrees Celcius, meaning that Bali would experience have heavy rain until the end of February.

Koesbagyo added that he expected all relevant agencies, including public works departments and regional administrations, to take all necessary precautions to anticipate possible thunderstorms and even flooding.

"Bali should learn from the current flooding in Jakarta," he said.