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Viewing cable 08SURABAYA1, EAST JAVA MUDFLOW UPDATE: DAM COLLAPSE INUNDATES HIGHWAY,

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08SURABAYA1 2008-01-04 09:53 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Surabaya
VZCZCXRO4562
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0001 0040953
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040953Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0134
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0062
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0120
RHHMUNA/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0060
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0137
UNCLAS SURABAYA 000001 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INR/EAP,EB/ESC/IEC 
DOE FOR CUTLER/PI-32 AND NAKANO/PI-42 
COMMERCE FOR USDOC 4430 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EPET ENRG PGOV ASEC ID
SUBJECT: EAST JAVA MUDFLOW UPDATE: DAM COLLAPSE INUNDATES HIGHWAY, 
DISPUTE STALLS REPAIRS 
 
REF: SURABAYA 87 AND PREVIOUS 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
        1.  (SBU) Fears that a system of levees and dams 
containing the mud flow at Sidoarjo could fail during the rainy 
season were confirmed last night as heavy rains caused the 
collapse of Dam 64.  Local media report that water levels remain 
nearly one meter high on the Porong Road bordering the mud 
containment and motorists can expect delays of five or more 
hours.  A geologist from the Sidoarjo Mud Management Agency 
(BPLS) told Congen Surabaya that the collapsed dam held back 
only water, not mud, and the main mud containment was not 
breached.  However, repairs have yet to begin due to a blockade 
staged by local workers demanding compensation for damages 
sustained in the original 2006 mud flow disaster.  BPLS 
estimates that the toll road could be blocked sporadically into 
next week if repairs are not made.  . 
 
        2.  (SBU)  On January 3, at 10:15 PM water breached an 
earthen dam near Ketapang village northwest of the mud flow 
epicenter.  A mix of water and mud flowed rapidly into an 
already abandoned village and spread to the nearby Porong Road. 
Handoko, a BPLS geologist told Congen Surabaya that existing 
drainage systems were overburdened and flooding along the toll 
road trapped dozens of vehicles for hours last night.  The water 
and mud mix flowing out of the breach is not part of the 
volcanic mud flow but rather a combination of surface soil and 
water, according to Handoko.  However, when knee-high water also 
crept into an inhabited village west of the toll road late last 
night, hundreds of residents fled their homes fearing an 
imminent dam collapse. 
 
        3.  (SBU)  Demands for compensation are hampering efforts 
to repair the breach.  According to Handoko, dozens of former 
workers from PT. Osaka continue to block BPLS heavy equipment 
from access to Dam 64.  PT Osaka is a defunct rattan factory 
once located close to the mud flow epicenter.  PT Osaka has yet 
to receive compensation for damages sustained during the initial 
disaster in 2006 and hope their blockade will force payment. 
Handoko learned that the Regent of Sidoarjo Win Hendrarso and 
PT. Lapindo will try to persuade PT Osaka representatives to 
call off their blockade. 
 
        4.  (U)  The mud flow disaster continues to serve as a 
backdrop for national political theater.  East Java Governor 
Imam Utomo visited the flooded section of the Porong Road early 
January 4.  Appearing to point a finger at those responsible, he 
phoned Nirwan Bakrie, President-Director of Bakrie Group while 
standing in front of journalists at the flood site.  Within 
earshot of the media, the Governor then asked that Bakrie send a 
water pump to the site immediately.  Nirwan is a brother of 
Aburizal Bakrie, now Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare. 
 Before divesting itself, the Bakrie Group once held a 
controlling interest in Lapindo Brantas, a company widely 
thought culpable for the mud flow disaster.  Governor Utomo also 
instructed the Chairman of BPLS and the Head of the Sidoarjo 
Water and Public Works Department to clear the Porong Road of 
water by Friday, January 4.  Additional high level attention 
might help flood relief efforts as the Minister of Energy and 
Mineral Resources, Purnomo Yusgiantoro inspects the site on the 
morning of January 5. 
 
MCCLELLAND