mud volcano expanding activities

Indonesia Mud Flow Causes Living Room Geyser

Huge bursts of water have been shooting out of the ground in homes and
from an abandoned restaurant hundreds of metres away from swathes of
land submerged by a mud volcano on Indonesia's Java island.
Experts say the bursts are caused by underground pressure from
torrents of mud gushing out of a drilling site near the industrial
suburb of Sidoarjo in East Java for more than a year.
The bursts may carry toxic gases such as methane and hydrogen
sulphide," Amin Widodo, a researcher from a local university, told
Reuters.
Residents said the bursts first appeared about two months ago when a
one-metre high geyser of water and gas shot out of the floor of a
resident's living room about 800 metres away from the volcano.
Since then, the eruptions have become higher and more frequent.
Earlier this week, a mixture of hot water and fine sand shot as high
as five metres from the clay-tiled floors of an abandoned coffee shop
next to a railroad.
"I thought it was raining but when I stepped out of my stall I saw
that water was bursting out of the restaurant's kitchen," said Lilik,
who owns a nearby cigarette stand.
Experts have tried several schemes to plug the torrent of mud,
including dropping hundreds of concrete balls into the mouth of the
"mud volcano", but have so far failed to stop the flow that has
submerged entire villages and displaced 15,000 people.
Some experts say the mudflow could continue for decades.
The government requires PT Lapindo Brantas, the operator of the well
from where the mud has been flowing, to pay for stopping and handling
the mudflow as well as compensation for directly affected residents.
The government has agreed to cover costs related to the disaster's
social impact on people living outside swamped areas.
Lapindo had been told by the government to pay 3.8 trillion rupiah
(US$425 million) to victims and for efforts to halt the flow, but
officials say the cost could double that.
Lapindo and PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk, which indirectly controls
Lapindo, dispute the idea the disaster was caused by the drilling and
also whether Lapindo alone should shoulder the cost.
Soffian Hadi, deputy of the agency to handle the mudflow, said
residents had not allowed authorities to examine the water bursts.
"It is caused by gas pressure from under the earth that forces water
and mud through cracks in the surface."
(US$1=8.945 rupiah)