This is a collection of photographs of the Sidoarjo (or Lapindo) mud flow, near Surabaya on the island of Java in Indonesia. The flow started in May 2006 near an oil exploration drill site. While nobody can say for certain how the flow started, it seems likely that it was caused by the drilling and in particular by the lack of steel casing which is normally used in such drilling. In other words - "human error". The mud is expected to continue to flow for 30 or more years and is currently coming to the surface at a rate of up to 150,000 m3/day. So far it has displaced over 10,000 people and that is likely to be just the start. As the mud comes up, the land subsides, which makes the strategy of building earth dams to contain the mud unlikely to succeed in long run. This is a tragedy on a vast scale, but the people there try to get on with their lives as best they can and work to rebuild what they have lost.
Original size: 900px x 600px |
Current: 400px x 267px |