Tumbu-Ujung Tengah Road Cut Off; Residents Build Emergency Bridge
Heavy rainfall that pounded Karangasem on Sunday (15 March) caused the road linking the Tumbu and Ujung Tengah areas to be cut off. As a result, approximately 20 households were temporarily isolated as there were no alternative routes available.
The residents did not remain idle. On Monday, numerous residents were observed working together to construct an emergency bridge so that community activities could continue.
Based on observations at the location, the temporary bridge was constructed using wooden logs and bamboo. Sand was placed at each end to facilitate residents crossing on motorcycles.
“We built the emergency bridge so motorcycles could cross. Cars cannot yet cross,” said resident I Wayan Kuten on Monday (16 March 2026).
Kuten explained that residents quickly built the emergency bridge because there were no alternative routes available for people living along the road. Meanwhile, several students still needed road access to get to school, as did other residents for various purposes.
“There is no other alternative route, so we were forced to build an emergency bridge temporarily whilst waiting for repairs from the relevant authorities,” said Kuten.
He explained that the road access was cut off after being hit by water flow from below when the area was pounded by heavy rainfall. Previously there had been no signs that the road would collapse until it eventually became impassable.
Residents hope that the repair process will be carried out quickly so that people are not anxious when crossing the route.
The Head of Operations (Kalaksa) of Karangasem’s Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Ida Bagus Ketut Arimbawa, stated that the heavy rainfall that hit the Karangasem area on Sunday (15 March 2026) triggered several disaster incidents.
According to him, BPBD received several reports including collapsed roads, severed road access, collapsed embankments, and fallen trees.
“The impact of heavy rainfall was dominated by collapsed road access occurring in Manggis, Sidemen and Karangasem districts,” said Arimbawa.
He added that his agency had conducted an assessment of the incident locations and coordinated with relevant institutions to ensure repairs were carried out quickly.
Several disaster incidents that occurred in Karangasem, according to Arimbawa, resulted in no deaths or injuries. Nevertheless, the public is urged to remain vigilant as heavy rainfall continues to affect several areas.