Heavy rainfall caused a huge chunk of a road in Gianyar regency to collapse earlier this week, with local authorities imploring road users to avoid the giant sinkhole for the time being.
“We have closed [the road] temporarily, people taking this route can use other alternative routes, there are a lot of them,” IGN Dibya Presasta, an official from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) in Gianyar, said.
According to the official, the collapse occurred at noon on Monday, when heavy rain fell around Pejeng Village and its surroundings. The road, which is located on Pejeng, was newly paved — explaining how the remaining pavement surrounding the sinkhole still looks impeccably smooth — yet a huge chunk of it collapsed about 35 meters into the ground.
Initial reports suggest that the road was built on backfilled ground and may have been affected by the amount of rainfall that day, indicating that the foundation was not sturdy enough.
There were no casualties in the incident, and the Public Works and Housing Agency is set to work on fixing the road soon. The agency did not give an estimate as to when the work will be completed.
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