Govt to reassess mudflow handling

URABAYA: The Mudflow Disaster Mitigation Agency will assess ways to handle the hot mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, following rising activity believed to be connected to the increasing activity of a number of volcanoes.

“The hot mudflow is believed to have a correlation with the rising volcanic activity of several volcanoes, including Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta and Mount Bromo and Mount Semeru in East Java,” Soffian Hadi, deputy chairman of the agency, said in Surabaya Tuesday.

Soffian said there were 20 mudflow volcanic spots on Java ranging from Bogor, West Java to Bojonegoro and Surabaya, East Java, and they had the potential to erupt like the one in Sidoarjo, East Java.

“The spots are located in a straight line and have a large amount of thick sediment,” he added. — JP