Govt to ‘Help’ Lapindo With Mudflow Compensation, Offers to Buy Assets

Jakarta Globe, Ezra Sihite, Dec 08, 2014

Children play on swings on the embankment of the Lapindo mudflow. Victims
 are still waiting for full compensation from the company accused of triggering
the disaster. (JG Photo/Arief Priyono)

Jakarta. Victims of the Lapindo mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, are one step closer to being compensated for losses — eight years after dozens of villages and hundreds of hectares of farmland were swamped.

The government announced on Monday that it would buy assets from the company accused of triggering the disaster, Lapindo Brantas, which could then use the proceeds to pay out Rp 781 billion ($62 million) due to victims this year.

Minister of Public Works Basuki Hadimuljono said the government would buy about 20 percent of the company’s assets, which was mostly land, in affected areas.

The announcement comes just days after President Joko Widodo — through cabinet secretary Andi Widjajanto — ordered Lapindo Brantas to wrap up payments to victims of the mud volcano. On top of the Rp 781 billion owed to residents, the company, which is affiliated with the family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, must pay Rp 500 billion to affected businesses in 2015.

“They still have around Rp 1.4 trillion to pay,” Andi said. “We’re waiting for it.”

The government’s decision to buy assets from Lapindo Brantas is bound to raise questions about why money from the state budget was essentially being used to compensate a mistake made by the company.

The government is already required to pay Rp 300 billion compensation to victims whose land is located outside the map of affected areas. A 2012 judicial review which sought to have the company cover all compensation costs in areas affected by the mudflow was rejected by the Constitutional Court.

Andi said buying the company’s assets was part of the government’s effort to “help” Lapindo Brantas fulfill its responsibilities.

Lapindo Brantas was conducting gas exploration in the Sidoarjo area in 2006 when one of its natural gas wells blew out, causing a mud flow which destroyed hundreds of homes, swamped 720 hectares of land and displaced thousands of people.

Scientists blame drilling activities by the company for triggering the eruption, but the government at the time decreed it a natural disaster.

Related Articles:

Taxpayers Still Footing the Bill For Sidoarjo Mud

Residents hope govt will fulfil Lapindo compensation promise

Boediono Wants Lapindo Disaster Area for 'Nature Recreation'

Lapindo Told to Shell Out For Mudflow Before Drilling Again

Lapindo Disaster Caused By Human Error: Study

Indonesia's mud volcano flows on

Satellite picture received from Ikonos Satellite Image on May 29, 2008 shows

the mud volcano and its surrounding area in Sidoarjo, East Java. (AFP/Ikonos

Satellite Image)

More pictures ....

Taxpayers Still Footing the Bill For Sidoarjo Mud

Jakarta Globe, Markus Junianto Sihaloho, October 24, 2012

A Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS) officer at the mudflow
in 2011. (AFP Photo)

               

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The 2013 State Budget passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday suggests that the government will continue to give money to victims of the 2006 mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, despite claims that it was the responsibility of private company Lapindo Brantas.

It is uncertain what the final figure is but the government earlier proposed that Rp 2.26 trillion ($235 million) from state coffers be earmarked to the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS), an ad hoc agency created to contain the mudflow and handle the victims relocation scheme.

Some of the funds, the government proposal says, will be used to purchase land and buildings outside the areas immediately affected by the mudflow, located in the villages of Besuki, Kedungcangkring and Pejarakan, and nine communities spread around the wards of Siring, Jatirejo and Mindi.

The funds will also be used to relocate residents in 65 community units spread across nine wards and villages, which the government says are all outside of the affected zones.

Money is also earmarked to “rescue the economic and social life” of the community around the impacted area while some funds are directed at efforts to further contain the flow of mud.

The government has already spent Rp 3.26 trillion on the BPLS and this year earmarked another Rp 1.6 trillion.

While refusing to acknowledge that the mudflow was a direct result of its gas drilling activities, Lapindo has agreed to compensate and acquire the land immediately impacted by the disaster.

But Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said in June that Lapindo, a resources company owned by the family of businessman and presidential hopeful Aburizal Bakrie, has only paid Rp 2.9 trillion in compensation out of the Rp 3.8 trillion it was ordered to pay.

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Anis Matta, who led the plenary session at which the House approved next year’s state budget, refused to comment on why the state is earmarking more money to the disaster.

“Try asking related House commission leaders,” he said.

Opinions are split on the cause of the incident. Many say it was caused by the drilling activities of Lapindo. But the company blamed an earthquake in Yogyakarta, hundreds of kilometers to the east.

On Aug. 15, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) made three recommendations linked to the mud volcano.

Komnas HAM recommended the company complete the purchase of land and buildings now covered by the mudflow; the police find out where responsibility for the incident lies; and the government assist victims through revised regulations.

The incident destroyed hundreds of homes, swamped 720 hectares of land and displaced thousands of people.

Delays in compensation payments have damaged public support for Aburizal, who on July 1 announced his bid for presidency under the Golkar Party banner.

Lalu Mara Satriawangsa, a Bakrie family spokesman, said the Bakries had set aside a large sum of money for compensation. There is speculation that Aburizal will wait until just before the 2014 election to pay, in an effort to boost his electoral prospects.

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Lapindo Told to Shell Out For Mudflow Before Drilling Again

Lapindo Disaster Caused By Human Error: Study

Indonesia's mud volcano flows on

Satellite picture received from Ikonos Satellite Image on May 29, 2008 shows

the mud volcano and its surrounding area in Sidoarjo, East Java. (AFP/Ikonos

Satellite Image)

More pictures ....

Threat Level at Lapindo Mudlow Site Increases

Jakarta Globe, Arientha Primanita & Antara, September 22, 2011

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Authorities in East Java have raised the alert level for the mudflow spewing from an underground volcano in Sidoarjo after nearby dikes nearly failed.

The mudflow has destroyed hundreds of homes, swamped 720 hectares of land and displaced more than 11,000 people since it began erupting in late May 2006.

“The situation is alarming,” said Achmad Khusaeri, a spokesman for the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS), adding that the underground volcano had begun to erupt again after lying virtually dormant for years.

The mudflow had fallen from an average of 100,000 cubic meters per day in 2009 to 13,000 cubic meters per day last year.

Achmad said the authorities had added another meter to the height of the dikes as well as reinforcing them with rocks held together by chicken wire. BPLS officers are also monitoring the dikes 24 hours a day.

Dwi Arisanto, an official at state railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia, said tracks along the disaster-hit area were being reinforced.

“We are also limiting train speeds to no more than 20 kilometers per hour,” he said.

East Java Governor Sukarwo said the surge was happening in eastern Sidoarjo, while in the west the mudflow had receded.

The provincial government, he said, was channeling the surging mud to the area’s less-populated south.

Sukarwo added that rain could also worsen the surging mudflow and cause the dikes to weaken.

The governor visited the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, urging the central government to push Minarak Lapindo Jaya, the holding company of the gas drilling operation that is widely blamed for the mudflow, to expedite its compensation scheme.

Under the scheme, residential land was valued at Rp 1 million ($113) per square meter, while farmland was valued at Rp 120,000 per square meter. However, Sukarwo said Lapindo had only paid compensation for 72 percent of the inundated lands, adding that he urged the company to pay for at least 80 percent by the end of the year.

“I will let the president, vice president and the ministers push for the compensation and I will try to calm down the people,” the governor said.

Sukarwo said Lapindo should disburse all of its compensation by April next year. Three villages are now completely submerged by the mudflow.

Separately, Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was expanding the area deemed to be devastated by the disaster.

The minister said that on Monday, there would be nine neighborhoods that would be added to the compensation scheme, costing an additional Rp 1 trillion to Rp 2 trillion.

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Indonesia's mud volcano flows on

Satellite picture received from Ikonos Satellite Image on May 29, 2008 shows the mud volcano and its surrounding area in Sidoarjo, East Java. (AFP/Ikonos Satellite Image)

More pictures ....

Lapindo Told to Shell Out For Mudflow Before Drilling Again

Jakarta Globe, Amir Tejo, May 21, 2011

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Surabaya. East Java Governor Soekarwo said on Friday that Lapindo Brantas, blamed for triggering a devastating mudflow in Sidoarjo, could only resume drilling operations there if it paid outstanding damages to residents.

“There are some overdue payments and this has to be paid if they want to drill again. This is in line with a sense of justice,” Soekarwo said.

He said the oil and gas drilling firm, which is part of the Bakrie Group, still owed victims of the 2006 disaster Rp 452 billion ($52.9 million) in compensation after the May 15 deadline set by the company to settle all payments lapsed.

Though the government had set a later deadline — by the end of 2012 — for indemnities, Soekarwo said the company should “accelerate the payments.”

“And even then, it would still depend on whether the local community would allow them [to drill for oil and gas],” he said.

But company spokesman Diaz Raichan said the drilling project in Kalidawir village, Tanggulangin subdistrict — an area close to Porong subdistrict, where the mudflow occurred — had to push through.

“What is clear is that the city gas program should continue to run because this is a project of the central government,” he said.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources launched the gas program last year for Surabaya and surrounding areas.

Under the program, Lapindo will provide gas to the area from one of the its wells in Kalidawir.

“All will be taken from the Kalidawir well. We deem it enough to meet the gas demand for Surabaya,” Diaz said. “There are five wells in Kalidawir, although only two are in operation.”

Diaz added that only upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas had the authority to allow or restrict the company from pushing through with the project.

He said BPMigas had issued a permit for drilling operations until 2020 in Sidoarjo, where Lapindo operates several wells.

However, officials in Tanggulangin had refused to approve the permit, saying the company had to consult with villagers first.

“The authority lays with BPMigas but we will continue to work together with the regional administration because the location [of the drilling project] is close to settlements,” Diaz said.

He added that the company would be able to complete payments this year to residents in 12 villages of Porong subdistrict, which had been swamped in mud following a blowout of one of Lapindo’s natural gas wells in May 2006. Mud is expected to continue gushing until at least 2037.

The company formed by the union of Bumi Resources and Berau
Coal Energy is looking to acquire coal mines around the world and
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Satellite picture received from Ikonos Satellite Image on May 29, 2008 shows the mud volcano and its surrounding area in Sidoarjo, East Java. (AFP/Ikonos Satellite Image)

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Sections of Lapindo dike in danger of collapsing again

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tue, 05/03/2011

Sections of the dike built to contain the Lapindo mud flow in Sidoardjo, East Java, are in danger of collapsing due to land subsidence of the entire mud containment area.

“All points are prone to subsidence,” Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS) spokesman Achmad Khusairi said on Tuesday, adding that the condition of the dikes endangered the safety of workers.

He said one solution was to build a new mud catchment on the north side of the dike because the old catchment had reached overcapacity.

Four areas of the dike have collapsed in the past five months. In December, part of the dike situated in Glagaharum village crumbled, resulting in mud and water washing into rice fields and houses in Gempolsari village.

Residents living in Gempolsari village said the incident traumatized them.

“Our houses were flooded and we were forced to evacuate,” a Gempolsari resident, Nurul Khasanah, said as reported by tempointeraktif.com.

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Sidoarjo Mudflow Erupting at Slower Rate, but No End in Sight, Govt Says

Mud Volcano Set to Erupt for Quarter Century, Scientists

Jakarta Globe, February 24, 2011

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A mud volcano that has displaced more than 13,000 Indonesian families will erupt for at least a quarter of century, emitting belches of flammable gas through a deepening lake of sludge, scientists reported on Thursday.

A general view shows a village is covered by mud flow
from mount Merapi in Yogyakarta on Jan. 10, 2011.
Indonesia's most active volcano, Mount Merapi in central
Java, has killed more than 350 people in a series of
violent eruptions which started in late October. (AFP Photo)

Underground pressure means the volcano "Lusi," in Sidoarjo, East Java, is likely to gush grey mud until 2037, when volumes will become negligible, according to their computer model.

But gas will continue to percolate through it for decades and possibly centuries to come.

"Our estimate is that it will take 26 years for the eruption to drop to a manageable level and for Lusi to turn into a slow bubbling volcano," said team leader Richard Davies, a professor of Earth sciences at Durham University, in northeast England.

Thirteen people were killed after Lusi erupted on May 29 2006.

At its height, the volcano gushed 40 Olympic-sized pools of mud each day, a rate that has now slowed to four per day, Davies said by phone.

Its lake of mud has now smothered 12 villages to a depth of up to 15 metres (nearly 50 feet) and forced around 42,000 people from their homes.

The computer simulation is based on data from two existing commercial gas wells in the same region and on seismic reflection data that gives a picture of Lusi's geological structure.

"In the middle of the lake, or the volcano, is a vent that is 50 metres (164 feet) wide but there are 166 other vents that have popped up over the last four-plus years," said Davies.

"These have popped up in factories, in roads, in people's houses. Some of them have ignited, there have been examples of people being hurt by flames that have been formed due to the ignition."

Lusi's staying power means it will be a long-term but gradually less dramatic menace, he warned.

"You can't return to the area. In fact, ultimately, probably the impact of the volcano will increase," Davies declared.

"I think we've seen the most dramatic destruction. But it's not the end of the story. These vents are still forming."

The area is also slowly subsiding, and by 2037 could have formed a depression 95-475 metres (312-1558 feet) deep.

The Indonesian government blames the eruption on an earthquake that struck days before, about 280 kilometres (174 miles) away from Lusi.

But foreign experts accuse a gas drilling company, Lapindo Brantas, of failing to place a protective casing around a section of its well.

As a result, the well hole was exposed to a "kick" from pressurized water and gas that lie beneath the layer of mud, thus driving the grey, concrete-like fluid to the surface.

The study is released in the London-based Journal of the Geological Society.

AFP

Lapindo mud volcano retaining wall section sinks

The Jakarta Post, Thu, 02/10/2011

A 50-meter section of a retaining wall built to stem the flow of mud from the ongoing Lapindo mud volcano disaster in Siring village, Porong district in Sidoarjo, East Java, started to sink on Thursday.

The wall, located behind the nearby mud flow monitoring post, is situated in an area listed as unsuitable for building, said a spokesman of the Sidoarjo Mudflow Management Agency, Akhmad Kusairi, as quoted by Kompas.com.

He said the agency was taking action to prevent further damage to the wall. He said his agency would also work with state railway company PT KAI to ensure the nearby railway would not be affected by the situation.

The damaged wall caused traffic jams on nearby roads.

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RI hit by 644 disasters in 2010 : BNPB

Antara News, Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia was hit by 644 natural disasters in 2010, National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Chief Syamsul Maarif said.

"Indonesia has been hit by 644 disasters during 2010 while 81.5 percent of them was hydro-meteorological type of disasters such as floods, landslides and flash floods," he said here on Tuesday at a meeting with several cabinet ministers at the Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare office in Jakarta.

He said though floods and landslides dominated disasters in Indonesia, it was earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that had caused the most casualties and material losses to the country. There were 1,711 people who died with over a million people injured due to natural disasters in 2010.

Syamsul said BNPB in 2011 had allocated Rp228 billion for disaster mitigation activities such as the mapping of disaster-prone areas in Indonesia, training for government officials and local people to raise their awareness about natural disasters and certification of around 10,000 volunteers.

Earlier, presidential aide for disaster and social affairs Andi Arief said from a study and observation seven provinces and 13 districts/municipalities in Sumatra and Java had been identified as deserving priority in implementing the government`s earthquake and tsunami mitigation programs.

However, Andi did not name the provinces and districts which were prioritized for the earthquake and tsunami mitigation program.

"The priority for the seven provinces and the 13 districts/municipalities is because they are prone to earthquake and tsunami that can claim considerable amount of lives and material damage," he said.

But he added that almost all of 33 provinces across the country were potential to have ecological disaster such as landslide, flash flood, and whirlwind.

According to Andi disaster mitigation program was necessary to be carried out as a starting point for disaster management to reduce the number of fatalities and material damage.

"Thus pre-disaster mitigation is necessary for the people and all parties so that they know what to do when a real disaster does occur," Andi said.

Volcano Flows Force Hundreds in Indonesia to Flee

Jakarta Globe, November 30, 2010

Yogyakarta. Hundreds of people in Indonesia have fled their homes to escape fast-moving mudflows streaming down the slopes of the country's most volatile volcano.

Mud flows streaming down the slopes of the country's
most  volatile volcano force hundreds of people to flee
their homes in Yogyakarta. (Antara Photo)  

Disaster official Slamet Sugiono says those affected live along the banks of the Code River, which flows from Mount Merapi into the heart of Yogyakarta, a bustling city 20 miles (30 kilometers) away.

He says hours of incessant rains Monday triggered the flows, which raced down the slopes at speeds of up to 60 mph (100 kph) and inundated homes in knee-high black sludge.

Sugiono said Tuesday that some 400 people had fled.

At least 341 people have been killed in a series of eruptions at Merapi since Oct. 26.

Indonesia has more active volcanoes than any other country in the world.

Associated Press

21 Volcanoes Across Country Ready to Erupt

Jakarta Globe, Candra Malik | October 01, 2010

In this file photo, Mount Sinabung, one of the 21 volcanoes
being monitored for signs of danger. (JG Photo)

Bandung. Twenty-one volcanoes across Indonesia could erupt at any time, leading to natural disasters, officials have warned.

An official from the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) told the Jakarta Globe on Friday that the alert for 18 volcanoes had been raised from Level 1, or “normal,” to Level 2, or “beware.”

Hendrasto, the head of the PVMBG’s Volcano Observation Unit, said that three other volcanoes were on Level 3, or “standby,” just one step below full alert, or Level 4.

One of those three is Mount Sinabung in Karo district, North Sumatra, which began erupting on Aug. 29 after lying dormant for 400 years. Its last major eruption, on Sept. 7, spewed volcanic ash more than 5,000 meters into the atmosphere.

“We downgraded Sinabung from Level 4 to Level 3 on September 23,” Hendrasto said. “However, we still urge the public to remain alert for any danger.”

Most of the villagers who were evacuated after the initial eruption have since been allowed to return to their homes.

The two other volcanoes on Level 3 alert are Mount Karangetang on Siau Island in North Sulawesi and Mount Ibu on Halmahera Island in North Maluku. Karangetang is considered the most active volcano in the archipelago, with 41 major eruptions since 1675. Its last eruption, on Aug. 6, is believed to have killed four people.

Ibu, meanwhile, has experienced ongoing eruptions since April 5, 2008, feeding a lava flow down one side of the mountain.

The 18 volcanoes on Level 2 alert include Papandayan in West Java, Slamet in Yogyakarta, Merapi in Central Java and Semeru and Bromo in East Java.

“Semeru and Slamet are the highest peaks in their provinces, while Bromo is a popular tourist destination,” Hendrasto said. “Because of their popularity, we are urging the regional administrations to issue a warning advising the public of the raised alert status.”

Other volcanoes on Level 2 alert include Talang in West Sumatra, Kaba in Bengkulu, Kerinci in Jambi and Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait, between Sumatra and Java.

Anak Krakatau is the remnant of Krakatau, whose violent eruption in August 1883 killed an estimated 40,000 people and was heard up to 5,000 kilometers away.

The eruption caused tsunamis as far away as South Africa, and resulted in global temperatures dropping by more than 1 degree Celsius.

Kerinci, at 3,800 meters, is the highest peak in Sumatra and the highest volcano in the country. It is a popular destination with hikers and wildlife enthusiasts because it lies inside the Bukit Barisan National Park.

In the east of the country, the Level 2 volcanoes are Batur in Bali, Sangeang Api and Rinjani in West Nusa Tenggara, Egon and Rokatenda in East Nusa Tenggara, Soputan and Lokon in North Sulawesi, and Dukono and Gamalama in North Maluku.

“Our officials will keep monitoring these volcanoes around the clock and provide real-time updates,” Hendrasto said.

All 21 volcanoes highlighted have erupted sometime this year, and are among 59 active volcanoes across the country.

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Two Injured in Gas Blast Near Lapindo Mud Volcano

Jakarta Globe, Amir Tejo | September 08, 2010

Sidoarjo, East Java. A mother and son are fighting for their lives after a natural gas explosion at their home near the Lapindo mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Tuesday night.

The victims were identified by police as Purwaningsih and her 22-year-old son, Debi Purbianto, who both suffered burns to 80 percent of their bodies.

The pair were reportedly at home in West Siring village when the blast happened at about 11 p.m. The resulting fire destroyed their home and two others across the street. Five fire trucks were called to the scene, but the fire was so big it took them until 3 a.m. to put it out.

Sidoarjo’s district police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Mohammad Iqbal, said the explosion was believed to have been due to a build-up of methane gas underneath one of the houses.

The Sidoarjo mud volcano, the largest of its kind in the world, has been spewing hot mud and highly flammable methane gas since May 2006.

Although widely blamed on the gas drilling activities of contractor Lapindo Brantas, which is part of the Bakrie Group owned by the family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, the company has blamed the disaster on a distant earthquake.

The Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS) is also investigating the explosion.

BPLS spokesman Ahmad Kusairi said on Wednesday that the agency suspected the blast was sparked by firecrackers being lit close to a methane leak.

“Purwaningsih’s husband said he’d heard firecrackers going off near the house shortly before the fire,” he said, adding that no one in the house at the time had been smoking or using the stove, thus ruling out any possibility that the fire was ignited from inside the house.

Purwaningsih, meanwhile, said the explosion happened quickly. “I was peeling shallots, then all of a sudden I felt this excruciating heat all over my body,” she said from hospital.

The BPLS also said it had data indicating the methane that caught fire may have been trapped in a fissure beneath one of the houses across from Purwaningsih’s.

Kusairi said seismic readings from 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday showed there had been a slight subsidence of the land beneath the house, which he said could have trapped the methane there.

He also said that the house in question had in 2009 experienced a similar fire, although much smaller.

Mount Sinabung Unleashes Violent Eruption

Jakarta Globe, Binsar Bakkara | September 07, 2010

Tanah Karo, North Sumatra. An Indonesian volcano shot black ash 5,000 meters into the air early Tuesday — its most powerful eruption since springing back to life after four centuries of dormancy.

Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra spewing clouds
of hot ash late last month. The volcano sprung violently
into life again early Tuesday morning in its biggest
eruption in 400 years. (EPA Photo/Ade Sahputra)

The force of Mount Sinabung’s explosion could be felt eight kilometers away.

“This one was really terrifying,” said Anissa Siregar, 30, as she and her two sleepy children arrived by truck at an emergency shelter near the base, adding that the whole mountain shook violently for at least three minutes. “It just keeps getting worse.”

The volcano in North Sumatra province erupted last week for the first time since 1600, catching many scientists off guard. With more than 129 active volcanoes to watch, local vulcanologists had failed to monitor it for rising magma, slight uplifts in land and other signs of seismic activity.

There are fears that current activity could foreshadow a much more destructive explosion in the next few weeks or months, though it is possible, too, that the mountain will go back to sleep after letting off steam.

More than 30,000 people living along the volcano’s fertile slopes have been relocated to cramped refugee camps, mosques and churches in nearby villages.

But some — like Siregar, the mother who fled with her children — have insisted on returning to the danger zone to check on their homes and their dust covered crops.

The government sent trucks to the mountain before Tuesday’s eruption to help carry them back to safety.

Surono, who heads the nation’s volcano alert center, said intensity at the mountain is clearly increasing.

There were more than 80 volcanic earthquakes in the 24-hour lead up to the blast, compared to 50 on Friday, when ash and debris shot nearly 3,000 meters into the air.

The eruption early Tuesday occurred just after midnight during a torrential downpour. Witnesses said volcanic ash and mud oozed down the mountain’s slopes, flooding into abandoned homes.

Indonesia is a seismically charged region because of its location on the so-called “Ring of Fire” — a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

It has recorded some of the largest eruptions in history.

The 1815 explosion of Mount Tambora buried the inhabitants of Sumbawa Island under searing ash, gas and rock, killing an estimated 88,000 people.

The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa could be heard 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away and blackened skies region-wide for months. At least 36,000 people were killed in the blast and the tsunami that followed.

Associated Press

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