Indonesia spawns one cyclone after another

As the wind direction over Bali changed, so the ash plume from Bali’s volcano was driven away from Denpasar airport and flights could resume.

Coincidentally, and influencing the wind shift, yet another tropical cyclone started its development just to the south of Java.

National Disaster officials in Indonesia said that 19 people died in flooding and landslides in East Java province earlier this week.

Indonesia’s meteorological agency, Badan Meteorologi Klimatologi dan Geofisika (BMKG), reported that 383 mm of rain fell in Pacitan.

The flooding and landslides were a result of the gathering thunderstorms that were coming together to make tropical cyclone Cempaka.

This tropical circulation also brought strong winds of 65km/h and high waves onto the southern Javanese coast.

Around 13 villages were affected in Pacitan regency, with thousands of homes thought to be damaged and over 4,000 people evacuated. Water was chest deep in some places.

In Yogyakarta, further west in southern Java, tropical cyclone Cempaka caused damage to houses, vehicles, power lines and public facilities. Landslides were also reported, and 1,550 residents were forced to evacuate the area.

This is an active area of weather development at the moment. Tropical cyclone Dahlia has just formed, also a little south of Java, but is predicted to head south. It will be the first cyclone of the season to hit Australia.

Additional information from Floodlist.com