Expanse of Living Mud That Mesmerizes My Eyes!

Usually mud disgusts people just to look at it, let alone touch it. Mud is defined as a unit of soil that has been mixed with water so that it is no longer solid, but liquid and sticky. Mud is commonly found in soil that has been waterlogged or in permanent swamps. Speaking of that, not all mud is disgusting in people's eyes. In East Java Province, Sidoarjo City, there is a mud that is one of the tourist attractions for visitors who can change their views about the ins and outs of mud which actually has various types.

Get to know the Lapindo Mud, the Dark History of Sidoarjo residents

According to the Sidoarjo Mud Control Center, Ministry of PUPR, the Lapindo mud is one of the mud volcano phenomena that is also commonly found in the northern part of Java Island which is formed in the eastern Kendeng Zone. Other mud volcanoes, both active and dead in East Java, include Porong, Karanganyar, Semolowaru, Pulungan and Sedati in Sidoarjo. Mudflow in the early appearance of the volume of the mudflow reaches the range between 100,000 – 120,000 m3/day, with a solid content of 35% with a temperature of up to 100 degrees Celsius, and has physical properties as non-Newtonian material and chemical content such as cement. In the 2017 measurement, it was still 86,270 m3/day, the nature of the burst fluctuates.

                             Lapindo mud from google Maps

The History Behind the Emergence of the Lapindo Mudflow

According to the Sidoarjo Mud Control Center, Ministry of PUPR, the Sidoarjo mud, or better known as the Lapindo mud, first appeared on May 29th, 2006. Until almost 16 years had passed, there was no sign of the eruption causing the Lapindo mud to stop. The center or point of the Sidoarjo mudflow is located in Siring Village, Porong District, Sidoarjo Regency, East Java. This location is about 200 m from the Banjar Panji - 1 gas drilling well belonging to PT Lapindo Brantas in Renokenongo Village, Sidoarjo Regency. The location of the mudflow is a residential area and the surrounding area is one of the main industrial areas in East Java. Geologists estimate the eruption phenomenon will last more than 30 years. This condition is certainly different from other natural disasters which generally last for a short time (floods in a matter of days/weeks, tsunamis in hours, landslides/hurricanes in minutes, earthquakes in seconds).

The Cause of the Lapindo Mud

Lapindo Brantas itself has two theories about the origin of the bursts. First, the mudflow is related to procedural errors in drilling activities. Second, the mudflow happened to coincide with the drilling due to something unknown. The cause of the Lapindo mudflow is also linked to the earthquake in Yogyakarta that occurred two days before the eruption. However, the writing material more defines the cause of the Lapindo mud tilt due to drilling. The cause of the Lapindo mudflow itself was discussed at the AAPG 2008 International Conference and Exhibition held at the Cape Town International Conference Center, South Africa in 2008 ago. In the end, 42 geologists concluded that PT Lapindo Brantas made a drilling procedure error, resulting in the emergence of mud to the surface. Meanwhile, the earthquake in Yogyakarta that occurred two days before the emergence of the mudflow was only supported by three geologists. Other experts do not think or say that the mudflow was triggered by two factors, namely drilling errors and earthquakes.

Impact?

Since its appearance, the area that has been inundated by hot mud from the drilling of PT Lapindo Brantas in Sidoarjo, East Java, has continued to expand. At least, the mud inundated 16 villages in three sub-districts. Around 30 factories that were flooded were forced to stop production activities and lay off thousands of workers. It was recorded that 1,873 workers were affected by this mud. No less than 600 hectares of land are submerged. As many as 1,683 units of houses/dwellings were damaged due to being hit by mud and damaged. The details: 1,810 residences (Siring 142, Jatirejo 480, Renokenongo 428, Kedungbendo 590, Besuki 170), 18 schools (7 public schools), office 2 (Koramil Office and Jatirejo Village), 15 factories, 15 mosques and prayer rooms.

Source : https://id.berita.yahoo.com/penyebab-lumpur-lapindo-di-sidoarjo-101525476.html

Did the Lapindo Mud Presence bring havoc? Or vice versa? Come listen to my experience as a visitor!

As a visitor, there is nothing more beautiful than watching the view of the Lapindo mud

This is a cliché question. Judging from the dark history of the people of Sidoarjo, there have been many tears as a result of the tragedy of the emergence of this mud. Not only property, but life is something valuable and even lost due to the Lapindo mudflow tragedy. But that is the past. Tragedy always creates memories. What I felt when I walked the Lapindo mud location was something else.

                                   Pose For A while 

The feeling I can't describe because the expanse of mud that stretches out in front of my eyes is truly mesmerizing. The landscape resembles a combination of the ocean and flooded rice fields. I've been wanting to see this Lapindo mud for a long time through my own eyes. There have been many articles, journals or publications about this mud on social media but watching it for yourself is a privilege for me. Thank you to the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia for the student exchange scholarship that was given so that I could study at one of the private campuses in Sidoarjo for one semester.

I visited Mud Lapindo on Saturday 2021 with other exchange students from Jambi Province, Sumatra, Kendari, Gorontalo and Manado from Sulawesi. This is definitely an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life. We use the services of an online driver to the Surabaya-Malang highway where the Lapindo mud is located. When we arrived, we were immediately presented with a view of the vast expanse of the mud sea. At the center of the mud, there was a torrent of smoke that kept gushing out non-stop. According to the officer, the bursts would look spectacular during the dry season, but it was the rainy season, so we only saw small bursts.

       My Friends and I at dusk in the arms of the lapindo mud landscape

Residents of Sidoarjo are well aware that the presence of Lapindo mud has become a city icon that cannot be found anywhere else. However, the existence of the Lapindo mud has not been considered in depth by the tourism office of the city of Sidoarjo. The proof has not been found facilities that support visitors such as toilets, places to eat, security fences and welcome monuments. Hopefully in the future, when I have the opportunity to visit again, I want to see the state of the Lapindo mud has become a more spectacular tourist spot with the government as the main holding agent of this place.

hey you readers! you get greetings from me and my friends, thank you for enjoying the story from my experience

Your lifespan will not be enough to be able to explore all the natural beauty of Indonesia