Pictures: Deadly Mud Volcano to Erupt for 26 More Years

Flooded Houses

Photograph by Sigit Pamungkas, Reuters

Villagers in Jatirejo, East Java, stand by their mud-flooded houses after celebrating the end of Ramadan in October 2006.

The cause of Lusi's 2006 eruption is still disputed: Many blame a company drilling for gas, while others claim an earthquake was the trigger, according to National Geographic magazine.

The same Durham University team released a report in 2007 that said the upwelling began when an exploratory gas well punched through a layer of rock 9,300 feet (2,800 meters) below the surface, allowing hot, high-pressure water to escape.

(See more volcano pictures.)

Published March 4, 2011

Up to His Ears

Photograph by Sigit Pamungkas, Reuters

A resident of Porong, East Java, retrieves valuables at a house flooded by mudflows in May 2009.

As Lusi's mud continues to spew, the area around the volcano has been subsiding—or lowering into Earth's crust, Durham University's Davies said.

A buildup of pressure due to subsidence may cause up to 166 new vents to form in the volcano, which could further damage homes, roads, and railway infrastructure, he said.

(See "'Gooey' New Mud Volcano Erupts From Arabian Sea.")

Published March 4, 2011

Unstoppable?

Photograph by Adek Berry, AFP/Getty Images

Efforts to stop the Lusi mud volcano, pictured in May 2010—including plugging its crater with concrete balls—have so far failed.

Meanwhile, trucks and backhoes work relentlessly to contain the damage, fortifying dikes against the 600,000 barrels of mud that continue to surge out each day, National Geographic magazine reported in 2008.

"Nothing can stop it," Sumitro, a store-owner in Porong District, told the magazine. "Not technology, not the supernatural."

(Explore an interactive of the world's most dangerous volcanoes.)

Published March 4, 2011

Displaced Family

Photograph by John Stanmeyer, National Geographic

A family displaced by the mudflows was forced to move into a market in Sidoarjo, East Java, as seen in 2008.

Since 2006 the volcano has released millions of barrels of heated sludge, blanketing an area twice the size of New York City's Central Park, according to a 2008 article in National Geographic magazine.

(See related pictures: "Merapi Volcano Ash Smothers Indonesian Villages.")

Published March 4, 2011

Mud Volcano Cross-Section

Art by Don Foley, National Geographic

A National Geographic magazine cross-section of the Lusi mud volcano gives an idea of how drilling may have set off the eruption.

For a full time line of what possibly happened, explore the magazine's mud-volcano online interactive.

Published March 4, 2011

Centuries-Long Eruption?

Photograph from AFP/Getty Images

A dyke at the edge of the Lusi mud volcano is seen from the air in May 2008.

Though the worst of the mud eruptions may be over in 26 years, the volcano's mud will likely flow at lower rates for thousands of years, according to the new study.

(See "Volcano Spews Lava, Gas in Indonesia; 11,000 Evacuated.")

Published March 4, 2011

Failed Solution

Photograph by Dimas Ardian, Getty Images

Indonesian workers drop chained concrete balls to help stem Lusi's mudflow—ultimately to no avail—in March 2007.

As of 2008 the catastrophe had cost Indonesia $3.7 billion dollars—nearly one percent of its GDP—according to an International Monetary Fund estimate.

(See pictures: "America's Ten Most Dangerous Volcanoes.")

Published March 4, 2011

Huge Burst

Photograph from Reuters

An engineer examines water shooting out of the ground in a house in Sidoarjo, East Java, in June 2007.

Experts say such bursts—widespread in the region—are caused by underground pressure linked to mud gushing out of a drill site near the Lusi volcano, according to Reuters.

(See pictures: "Volcano's Biggest Blast Yet Scorches Villages.")

Published March 4, 2011

Fleeing the Mud

Photograph by Trisnadi, AP

Residents evacuate their houses after a dam meant to hold back mud breached in Porong, East Java, in February 2008.

Though dams have contained much of Lusi's mudflow, they're not foolproof. In addition to breaches, torrential rains could erode dikes, releasing more mud and displacing more people, according to National Geographic magazine.

(See "Dams Trigger Stronger Storms, Study Suggests.")

Published March 4, 2011

"Only Memories"

Photograph by John Stanmeyer, National Geographic

Mud inundates Sidoarjo, East Java, in 2007.

Many neighborhoods near the volcano lie abandoned, including parts of the Porong District, which store-owner Sumitro once called home.

According to a 2008 National Geographic article, footprints of fleeing residents are baked into the mud of Porong's empty streets. Scavengers have stripped homes of roof tiles and wiring. The stink of sulfur hangs in the air.

"Nothing left now," Sumitro told the magazine. "Only memories."

Published March 4, 2011