Indonesian 'Mud Volcano' Could Flow For Years
Pastor Dale Morgan
Indonesian 'Mud Volcano' Could Flow For Years*
The affected area in the Sidoarjo district has been given disaster area
status by the INdonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Jakarta (AFP) Dec 04, 2006
It could be years before a massive "mud volcano" which has forced
thousands of people to flee their homes stops flowing, Indonesian
Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said on Monday. A gas well near
Surabaya in East Java operated by Lapindo Brantas Inc. has spewed
steaming mud since May, submerging villages, industries and agricultural
land.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared the area a disaster zone
after the "mud volcano" inundated more than 400 hectares (1,000 acres)
of land in Sidoarjo district and displaced some 13,000 people.
"As I speak, we have not gotten to the stage that we can stop the flow,
so what is assigned to my ministry is to try to prevent further
destruction...," Witoelar told a Jakarta Foreign Correspondents' Club lunch.
"At this moment, if I'm not mistaken, it's close to 200,000 cubic metres
a day, it's beyond any pumps or dykes to be contained," he said of the
mud flow.
"It could take years," before it stops, said, adding the victims had to
be compensated soon.
"Actually no one can say how long it will last, but we can relieve them
from suffering by making efforts for them to start new lives, which is
now being done," he said.
"I hope that it will come to an end. I personally think that those
people who demand this compensation should be given compensation,
whatever the cost."
Lapindo and the government were "in a moral position to compensate for
the grief that has been exerted upon them," he said.
Witoelar said he had recommended that the victims be compensated swiftly.
"Give the best solution, negotiate as fast as possible. Let us not deal,
haggle with people who are suffering, because it is not a commercial
venture so we should have more empathy," the minister said.
Aside from those displaced, 13 people died after an explosion last month
when an underground gas pipeline burst following subsidence blamed on
the mud leaking.
Witoelar said there were plans to create an estuary wetland from the
inundated area, but admitted that was "easier said than done".
Source: Agence France-Presse