A never-ending disaster

Solihudin pointed to stretches of farmland near his home, just about 100 meters from the eastern side of the mud embankment, where productive rice fields have since turned into empty plots overgrown with wild grass. Some are now used only as grazing land for buffalo.

"It's been more than 10 years since these fields could grow rice or any other crops," he said. "The owner tried to sell it cheaply, but no one wants to buy it, so he's just left it as it is."

According to the Jakarta Post, the mudflow began as a result of drilling activities conducted by Indonesian oil exploration company PT Lapindo Brantas in Sidoarjo on May 29, 2006. The company, however, maintained that the eruption was triggered by an earthquake that occurred two days earlier.

The hot mud eruption, initially releasing around 100 cubic meters per day, eventually submerged 16 villages across the Porong, Jabon and Tanggulangin districts, displacing around 60,000 residents.

It is widely regarded as one of the largest ecological disasters in Indonesian history, burying approximately 10,426 houses, 77 places of worship and vast areas of farmland, as well as public facilities and infrastructure.

Although nearly two decades have passed, the eruption continues at a reduced intensity. To control the mudflow, the government constructed a 640-hectare retention pond and has continuously diverted the mud into the nearby Porong River, with an estimated discharge of around 20 million cubic meters per year.