Heavy afternoon rain triggered a significant soil collapse on a main access road to one of Bali’s most iconic landscapes, prompting a multi-agency cleanup and highlighting seasonal vulnerabilities in the island’s upland areas.
TEGALLALANG, Gianyar — A landslide struck the main roadway adjacent to the famed Ceking Tegallalang rice terraces on Wednesday afternoon, burying several parked vehicles under a mix of soil, rock, and debris. In a relief to the area’s residents and tourists, authorities confirmed the incident resulted in no casualties, thanks in part to a rapid, coordinated response from local disaster and public works agencies.
The Gianyar Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) received the initial report at 5:15 p.m. local time. Ida Bagus Putu Suamba, Head of the Gianyar BPBD, stated that agency personnel, alongside local residents and police, worked together to assess the scene and initiate the evacuation of the buried vehicles. “A total of five motorcycles and one car were buried by the landslide, with zero fatalities,” Suamba confirmed.
Cause and Cleanup: A Five-Hour Operation
Officials attributed the landslide directly to intense, sustained rainfall, which saturated and destabilized the hillside soil, causing it to give way and cascade onto the roadside where the vehicles were parked. The cleanup operation was a significant undertaking, requiring coordination with the Bali Provincial Public Works and Housing Department (PUPR), which deployed heavy machinery to carefully extract the buried vehicles.
The process, which involved diverting traffic on the vital Jalan Raya Tegallalang, continued into the night, concluding around 10:00 p.m. In addition to the excavators, trucks were brought in to haul away the landslide material—primarily soil, rocks, and tree branches.
Road Reopened, Minor Cleanup Continues
By late Wednesday, the main road access through Tegallalang was fully reopened to traffic, a critical restoration for both local commuters and the tourism-dependent businesses in the area. “Road access is already open; what remains is the finer cleanup,” Suamba noted, indicating that while the major obstructions were cleared, crews would continue to work on residual debris.
A Context for Bali’s Visitors and Residents
For the international visitors and expatriates who frequent the artistic and scenic hub of Ubud and its surrounding villages like Tegallalang, this incident serves as a seasonal reminder. Bali’s tropical climate, especially during periods of heavy rain, can precipitate such geological events in hilly and terraced regions. While the prompt official response ensured safety and minimal disruption, it underscores the importance of heeding local weather advisories and exercising caution when traveling or parking in upland areas during and after significant rainfall.
The resilience of the local community and the efficiency of the inter-agency response prevented what could have been a more serious event, allowing the world-famous terraces, a UNESCO-recognized cultural landscape, to welcome another day’s visitors with the main artery to them restored.
