The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Denpasar Meteorology and Geophysics Agency urged residents of Bali on Saturday to be aware of the impact of the approaching Cyclone Glenda, which has brought heavy rains and raised fears of major flooding and landslides.
The cyclone, which is on a path toward eastern Indonesia, is being monitored on the possibility that it may reach the country on Sunday.
"Cyclone Glenda was created mainly by the strength of the pressure center in the Australian waters to the southwest (of Bali)," Sutrisno, head of the agency, said in Denpasar.
Sutrisno made the statement in response to the weather situation in Bali, where it has been pouring with rain for the last three days.
He said that a wind speed of 30 knots toward Bali had greatly affected weather on the resort island. The agency's data showed the wind blew across East Java, Bali and West and East Nusa Tenggara.
"Due to the cyclone, rain is falling in the four provinces and is accompanied by stormy winds," Sutrisno said.
A similar warning was made by coast guard Made Suarta, especially to tourists intending to swim at Legian Beach.
"The weather has been a bit rough over the last few days, and we worry that big waves will sweep many swimmers out to sea," Made said.
On Wednesday, three locals were swept away by high tides at Legian Beach. Only two could be saved.
Prior to the incident, Suarta and his colleagues had warned visitors to be on the alert due to the uncompromising weather condition.
"Many swimmers just disregarded the warning, so unexpected things happened," he said.
In Yogyakarta two passenger planes, operated by Mandala and national carrier Garuda Indonesia, failed to land Saturday at Adisucipto airport due to incessant rain and strong winds since Friday night.
The two planes, plying the Jakarta-Yogyakarta route, were expected to arrive in Yogyakarta at 10:15 a.m. They were later detoured to Juanda airport in Surabaya.
The Garuda aircraft finally returned to Yogyakarta at 11 a.m., and the Mandala flight at 12:45 p.m.
"The planes were unable to land due to the strong winds present," Second Lt. Suparman of the meteorology section of Adisucipto airport said.
Moreover, the vision of the pilots was also disrupted by the thick cloud cover in the area, he added.
In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, a Cassa 212 plane flying local routes in the province was forced to return to El Tari airport due to thick clouds.
The Merpati plane was initially scheduled to fly to Satartacik airport in Ruteng, West Flores, and Larantuka, East Flores, at about 6 a.m. Another attempt to land in Larantuka was made in the afternoon but was unsuccessful.
"I was scared because the plane experienced major shocks twice ... but thanks to God, my child and I could get back to Kupang safely," Yuliana Dai, one of the passengers to Larantuka, said.
In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, high tides hit fishermen and residential areas in Batu Nampar in Central Lombok on Friday, destroying the walls of a fish auction center and inundating hundreds of hectares of fish ponds and salt production centers.
"Local residents were forced to flee to the nearby hills for fear of other big tides," said Amaq Nurhayati, a resident.
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