What happened
In February 2026 Bali was hit by three straight days of heavy rain and strong wind. BPBD, the regional disaster agency, counted 76 sites with flooding or fallen trees, 36 of them in Denpasar.
Water 30 to 80 cm deep covered residential areas and major roads, including Jalan Teuku Umar and Jalan Imam Bonjol. Bali BPBD head I Gede Teja said no deaths had been reported.
Evacuations
Thirty people were evacuated from flooded areas. Tourists staying at the Holiday Inn in Kuta were moved to a safer location.
Rescue teams, the military and police took part. Officials kept a close watch on the Tukad Badung river, which runs through Denpasar's market district and had risen to its limit.
According to I Gede Teja, many roads and residential areas were under water and strong winds brought down trees across the island.
Why it keeps happening
This was the second major flood in south Bali in less than six months. In September 2025, 245 mm of rain caused the worst flood in Denpasar's recorded history.
At the time experts and officials linked the problem to construction along river channels, clogged storm drains and forest loss upstream.
According to Mongabay, forest covers only 3% of the Ayung river basin against a 30% standard. Between 2015 and 2024 the basin lost 495 hectares of forest.
After the September flood the governor declared a moratorium on converting productive farmland to commercial use.
For property owners in the south of the island, this means flood risk should be treated as a standing factor rather than a rare event.