Crystal Bay is on the way back to rebuilding. The parking lots are beginning to be reopened, the mud is relatively thin now; stands are almost dry, and thankfully there were no injuries.
Now for how everyone found themselves digging out from the mud at sunrise, we need to rewind a little.
A Beach Day Set to a Cleanup Crew
If one expected turquoise waters and white sandy beaches, upon arriving at Crystal Bay in Nusa Penida, there was a flood of muddy brown water covering everything with sticks, mud and other random items dragged out by the current.
That’s exactly what happened to Crystal Bay in Nusa Penida on December 8 when there was an unexpected thunderstorm creating a large pool of muddy water on top of the beautiful beach.
The water started from the hills of the eastern side of the island and flooded with enough mud, sand, small rocks, and branches to fill a small wood yard.
The flood did not stop at the water’s edge; it moved inland, into the parking lot area, and several of the vendor kiosks as well.
Early Morning After Chaos at The Beach
Around 7:00 am the next day, many travelers were making plans for snorkel trips; however, another group of individuals was preparing to assist three of the police officers and three officers from the local TNI (Indonesian military) and local government officials along with crowds of local citizens all armed with shovels, buckets, and a chainsaw to clean up after this disaster.
The parking lot, meanwhile, had a water level of about 20 cm by this time.
By the time this was completed, kiosk owners were confronted with anywhere from 20 to 40 cm of stagnant water and as much as 10 cm of mud at their locations.
By noon, approximately 75% of the parking area was again available for public use, albeit still sporting a thin layer of brown “mud” in certain locations.
For many, Crystal Bay is the ultimate Bali beach—a place where you’d find the beautiful clear waters, stunning sunsets and turtles swimming through the water. The place is a favourite for travel agents because it is generally a good deal, but in many cases, the real thing is better than what the travel brochures are selling.
Knowing that there was a possibility of having to stop all tourist activities as a result of the flooding was a tough pill to swallow.
However, when all of the mud and water make it unsafe for consumers to access the restaurants and kiosks located along the access road, it was best to stop all tourism-related activities until it is safe to resume.
It all started late on Thursday night, around 11 p.m., when the weather forecast prediction of a rainfall event of four inches came true. Within a few minutes, the surging rain caused the storm water runoffs leading to the Bay of Biscayne to overflow their capacity to contain the excess water, which left the hillside home owners with virtually no way of draining excess water from their properties.
Within a matter of minutes, what was once viewed as a paradise on Instagram had turned into a messy brown waterway.
The only reasonable response to keeping all tourists out of the area and ensuring that no one went skiing in the mud was to close all tourist access to the Bay until further notice.
According to the police chief, all parties involved are working together in order to restore Crystal Bay as soon as possible, thus prioritising to restore Crystal Bay.
In addition, he stated the best news possible: that no one was injured during the storm.
What’s Next?
As of now, all of the roadways connected to Crystal Bay have been cleared of mud and fallen tree limbs, as well as all the kiosks, which were set up throughout the beach.
Although the beach area has been closed for now, clean-up crews are working on that area.
The Crystal Bay beach area will be open once again, very soon; Mother Nature threw the community a curve, and thanks to their teamwork and hard work (and out-of-bed by 5:00 a.m.), the community is bouncing back.
