EAST JAVA MUD FLOW UPDATE: MORE DIKES COLLAPSE, GEYSERS

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