Dozens of tourists evacuated as ‘world’s best destination’ experiences flooding

By AFP  &nbspFebruary 24, 2026 | 05:48 pm PT

People move their belongings through the water on an inundated street amid floods following heavy rain at Legian Kuta near Denpasar on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on Feb. 24, 2026. Photo by AFP

Flooding in parts of Indonesia’s popular resort island of Bali prompted hundreds of people, including dozens of tourists, to seek safety, a local disaster official said on Feb. 24.

Intense rains triggered flooding since late Feb 23 across several Bali districts and the provincial capital city of Denpasar, said local disaster mitigation agency senior official I Gede Agung Teja Bhusana Yadnya.

There were no fatalities, he said.

Bali Island was named the world’s best destination this year as part of Tripadvisor’s 2026 Travelers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best Destinations.

Waters inundated facilities such as cafes and gas station in the Badung District and forced some tourists to be evacuated on rubber boats.

“We are here to visit Bali Zoo… so we were trying to visit the elephants but due to this condition we couldn’t do this,” 28-year-old Mexican national Briana Palacios told AFP.

Dr Gede customs AFP that about 30 foreign tourists were evacuated from the flooding on Feb. 24, noting that some tourists moved to other hotels or later returned to their accommodations.

In total, about 350 people temporarily sought safety amid rising waters on Feb. 24, Dr Gede said, adding that most of the people returned to their homes as waters receded.

Torrential rains also forced two international flights to Bali’s airport to be diverted earlier on Feb. 23, while three other departures from the airport were delayed, an airport spokesman said in a statement.

In September, a flash flood that struck parts of Bali killed at least 18 people and left four missing in what the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said was the island’s worst flood in a decade.


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