10/05/2006
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Fifty thousand cubic metres of steam and mud violently erupted from the hauling
shaft in a construction site owned by extraction company Lapido Brantas Inc. in
the Sidoarjo district of eastern Java on May 28, crashing into a squad of workers.
Since then, and in spite of the many attempts to embank the continuous flow of
mud and debris, the shaft has continued to discharge thousands of cubic metres
of clay, steam and coal every day. More than 10,000 people have been forced to
leaves their houses and the economy is risking collapse since the daily eruptions
have by now buried all of the area's rice fields, the chief source of income for
the island's families.
Human responsibility or natural calamity? The causes of the eruption, unanimously defined as ‘unprecedented’, are however
not very clear. A large number of environmentalist organisations ascribe responsibility
for the disaster to the drillings of Lapindo Brantas Inc. that, according to a
Greenpeace spokesperson, allegedly brought on the eruption due to drilling too
deep. On the other hand, many members of the scientific community say that the
explosion would be a consequence of the earthquake that took place in Yogyakarta,
in the Sidoarjo district, the day before the eruption. The same scientists also
state that if the natural origin of the disaster were to be confirmed, it would
be really hard to embank the phenomenon, which can be entirely put on a par with
a volcanic eruption and therefore something man can not stop.
Humanitarian emergency. So while investigations are still under way, Indonesia has to reckon with the
emergency. Sidoarjo authorities have requested and obtained the status of natural
calamity from the government, and soon the 3000 homeless families will be able
to settle down in a camp set up with Lapino Brantas contributions. In the meantime,
the extraction company has said it will invest US$ 164 million, equivalent to
almost Euro 129 million, in the construction of dams and mud drainage operations.
These operations are however strongly criticised by many members of the Indonesian
scientific community, including Eko Teguh Paripurno, head of the University of
Yogyakarta disaster research centre, who fear very serious consequences for the
ecosystem.
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Since May, a geyser of mud and steam has been spilling over the villages of the Sidoarjo area
Written by
Giulia Lambertini
Giulia Lambertini
Fifty thousand cubic metres of steam and mud violently erupted from the hauling
shaft in a construction site owned by extraction company Lapido Brantas Inc. in
the Sidoarjo district of eastern Java on May 28, crashing into a squad of workers.
Since then, and in spite of the many attempts to embank the continuous flow of
mud and debris, the shaft has continued to discharge thousands of cubic metres
of clay, steam and coal every day. More than 10,000 people have been forced to
leaves their houses and the economy is risking collapse since the daily eruptions
have by now buried all of the area's rice fields, the chief source of income for
the island's families.
Human responsibility or natural calamity? The causes of the eruption, unanimously defined as ‘unprecedented’, are however
not very clear. A large number of environmentalist organisations ascribe responsibility
for the disaster to the drillings of Lapindo Brantas Inc. that, according to a
Greenpeace spokesperson, allegedly brought on the eruption due to drilling too
deep. On the other hand, many members of the scientific community say that the
explosion would be a consequence of the earthquake that took place in Yogyakarta,
in the Sidoarjo district, the day before the eruption. The same scientists also
state that if the natural origin of the disaster were to be confirmed, it would
be really hard to embank the phenomenon, which can be entirely put on a par with
a volcanic eruption and therefore something man can not stop.
Humanitarian emergency. So while investigations are still under way, Indonesia has to reckon with the
emergency. Sidoarjo authorities have requested and obtained the status of natural
calamity from the government, and soon the 3000 homeless families will be able
to settle down in a camp set up with Lapino Brantas contributions. In the meantime,
the extraction company has said it will invest US$ 164 million, equivalent to
almost Euro 129 million, in the construction of dams and mud drainage operations.
These operations are however strongly criticised by many members of the Indonesian
scientific community, including Eko Teguh Paripurno, head of the University of
Yogyakarta disaster research centre, who fear very serious consequences for the
ecosystem. 
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