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Viewing cable 08SURABAYA18, EAST JAVA MUD FLOW UPDATE: MORE DIKES COLLAPSE, GEYSERS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08SURABAYA18 2008-02-11 11:23 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Surabaya
VZCZCXRO4688
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0018 0421123
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111123Z FEB 08
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0154
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0076
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 0013
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0141
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 0022
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0159
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0074
UNCLAS SURABAYA 000018 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, EB/ESC/IEC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EPET ENRG PGOV ASEC ID
SUBJECT: EAST JAVA MUD FLOW UPDATE: MORE DIKES COLLAPSE, GEYSERS 
PROLIFERATE, WHILE DEMONSTRATIONS MAR RELOCATION 
 
REF: A. SURABAYA 17 (GEYSERS) 
 
     B. SURABAYA 01 (DAM COLLAPSE) 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
1. (SBU)  Geysers caused by ongoing subsidence, rainy season 
flooding and demonstrations fueled by popular discontent are 
taxing the ability of the Sidoarjo Mud Management Agency to cope 
with the continuing disaster.  Two earthen dikes collapsed on 
February 10, flooding two villages with mud and water. 
Additional geysers and flammable hydrogen sulfide gas have 
emerged in several villages surrounding the mud epicenter. 
Protests by some 3,000 residents over a resettlement scheme show 
that dissatisfaction over handling of the mudflow disaster has 
not abated anymore than the mud flow itself. 
 
Dams Collapse 
------------------- 
 
2. (SBU)  BPLS Engineer Mr. Handoko Teguh corroborated to ConGen 
Surabaya local media reports that Dikes 40 and 41 in Besuki 
village collapsed on February 10 following heavy rains, leaving 
a breach 15 meters wide.  Muddy water reached one meter high and 
rushed into the village, flooding 100 houses.  Roughly 1,000 
people fled Besuki to seek temporary shelter.  Most went to the 
Porong Market and Police Station while still others sought 
shelter under an overpass once used by the now defunct toll 
road.  Teguh said that BPLS has already fixed Dike 40, 
preventing further flooding, and repairs continue on Dike 41. 
Teguh said that BPLS is "on alert 24 hours a day and we 
anticipate possibly heavy rains in the area in the coming days. 
Frankly speaking we are worried about the impact of heavy 
rains."  Seasonal heavy rains have been hitting Sidoarjo and 
Porong for the past week. 
 
Geysers and Gas Threaten Infrastructure Relocation, Protests 
Continue 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
------------- 
 
3. (U)  Local media reported some 50 new geysers in Porong. 
Following this discovery, there are indications that efforts to 
relocate threatened transportation infrastructure will be 
delayed.  Some residents in West Siring are being exposed to 
flammable hydrogen sulfide gas, which is now seeping out of 
cracks in the floors of their homes.   The Department of Energy 
and Mineral resources reportedly will send 10 geologists to 
study the impact of subsidence in Bringin and Siring villages. 
In nearby Sidoarjo, 3,000 displaced residents who refuse to 
accept the current compensation, demonstrated in front of a new 
housing development complex.  The demonstrators initially 
stopped traffic in Sidoarjo but turned violent when police tried 
to prevent them from stopping the opening of the Kahuripan 
Housing complex.  Kahuripan was created to house residents 
displaced by the mud. Protestors threw stones, injuring one 
police officer. 
 
MCCLELLAND