Indonesia Tried to Stop Mud Volcano

The comment refers to:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/25/AR2007022500190.html

Natural disasters seem repeatedly coming to my home country, Indonesia. After earthquake and Tsunami which beat Aceh, earthquake continuously happened in many parts of Indonesia. Not just that, flood, storm, volcano, even mud volcano have been troubles for Indonesia.

This disaster came when one of the Indonesian oil companies tried to drill for finding the oil source. When the drill had come to certain depth, suddenly it broke the underground pipe of gas. As a result, the gas pushed mud came out to the ground and caused flood of mud in the area of the drilling point.

Mud volcano in Sidoarjo, East Java, has happened since last June and has forced more than 15,000 people to displace to other places. Furthermore, the flood has caused many rice field submerged, and many infrastructures broken. The transportation way, both the road and the railway, to the main city of East Java, Surabaya, can not be crossed anymore. Thus, many financial lost have been caused during this disaster.

Many alternative ways have been tried by Indonesia Government, but all the ways were failed. Before I left Indonesia for Singapore, I heard that a Russian Scientist offered his planned to the committee of mud volcano prevention to help Indonesia stopping the mud volcano. It was very unfortunate that I did not know the continuation because I had already left Indonesia when the result came out.

I just know this latest news when I am going to write this blog. The committee tried to do the concrete balls method. They put some concrete balls to the centre of the mud volcano. They hoped the concrete balls can reduce the volume of mud which goes out.

As an Indonesian, I really hope the disaster will stop soon. There is already a lot of people have become victims. I very regreted that the government could not react fast to help stopping the mud volcano. When the failure in drilling for oil happened, Indonesian government was very slow to take reaction to stop it.

As a result, now the mud volcano produces about 50 swimming pools capacities of mud every day and it will be more difficult to stop. Not just that, in handling of the victims, the government seems to be so slow. They were only given small amount of compensation instead the victims must find new home to live. I feel very pity to hear that the victims which most of them are poor people have to find new home with limited fund.

I hope, with this new way, this disaster will be stopped soon. A lot of people have suffered because of it. A lot of financial lost has also been caused. In fact, the money which has been use to stop the disaster can be alternatively used to pay all Indonesia's loans and build Indonesia to be a better country.