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Tropical Cyclone Iggy Wreaks More Havoc in Indonesia
Dofa Fasila & Made Arya Kencana | January 27, 2012

A tourist braving the waves on Kuta Beach in Bali on Thursday. The beach was closed because of extreme weather. (JG Photo/J.P. Christo) A tourist braving the waves on Kuta Beach in Bali on Thursday. The beach was closed because of extreme weather. (JG Photo/J.P. Christo)
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Rain and wind continued to pound coastal areas of Java, Bali and Lombok on Thursday as officials updated the death toll from the previous day to seven, with dozens more injured and about a thousand homes damaged.

Meteorologists on Thursday upgraded Iggy, the system responsible for the destruction, to a category one tropical cyclone.

Tropical Cyclone Iggy is moving slowly across the Indian Ocean between Indonesia and Australia, resulting in driving rains and winds of more than 60 kilometers per hour.

“Those killed were crushed by falling trees,” National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying on Thursday.

Bad weather persisted in Bali, with five-meter waves forcing authorities to halt ferry connections to Lombok and close Kuta Beach, one of Bali’s most popular tourist areas.

“For the time being we have prohibited tourists from any beachside activities including swimming and surfing,” Kuta Beach official I Gusti Ngurah Tresna said. “The ban will be in place until further notice.”

He said that officials had been forced to close the usually busy beach because the waves had become so large they were almost reaching the main road that runs along the shore.

Warnings were sounded over loudspeakers and lifeguards placed red flags with skulls on them along the beach as an additional warning.

Most people were happy to obey the warning, preferring to stay indoors.

“When I arrived at the beach, the lifeguards announced there were large waves. The sea was very turbid and the wind was strong like a storm,” said Sarah Puspita, who is from Bali.

A ferry from which 202 passengers and crew members had to be rescued on Wednesday after its cargo shifted in rough seas nearly enough to tip the boat was kept in port on Thursday.

“We have taken this step after considering the bad weather. Waves have reached five meters high,” said Eko Yulianto, a spokesman for the Padangbai port authority in Bali.

A line of traffic stretching about five kilometers from the closed port was reported.

Meanwhile, news of severe destruction from Wednesday’s storm has been emerging from the Thousand Islands in the waters north of Jakarta. Three schools and 240 homes were reported destroyed on Kelapa and Harapan islands in the North Thousand Islands subdistrict.

The Jakarta administration was continuing to send assistance to the two islands on Thursday in the form of food, cooking supplies and basic medicine.

“This morning we have sent out two packages of medicine, enough to treat 100 people. One of our ships already went out there this morning,” said Dien Emmawati, head of Jakarta’s health office.

“It stopped first at Untung Jawa Island to look after the injured there. When it’s done, it will head to Kelapa Island and Harapan Island,” Dien said.