VIVAnews - The inhabitants of Poto Village, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) are concerned about the outflow of cold mud in various spots.
Moreover, the government has yet to take concrete measures to stop the mudflow.
Chief of Kupang Environmental Impact Supervisory Agency, Viktoria Kana Hebi, said a coordination has been maintained with the Bandung Center of Geology to further probe into the issue. 'Each spot has hole diameter of around 0.5 to 1.5 meters," he told reporters today, June 24.
In addition, the materials surfaced to the ground take the form of black muddy water. "The mud smells like sulfur. In fact, several locations have turned into mud lakes whose mudflow heights reach around two meters," he said.
The mudflow affects the land routes on the northernmost Timor Island which links Kupang and Oecusi District (Timor Leste).
The locals have tried to block the mudflow by using rocks. However, the pressure from the earth was too high causing the mud to outpour all the time.
Emergency canals are built to divert the flow away from people's dwellings.
As reported earlier, mudflow once took place in Napan, North Timor Tengah Regency, which has now resulted in two hills of more than seven meters in height.
In 2009, mudflow also occurred in Mataloko, Golewa subdistrict, Ngada Regency, nearby a geothermal drilling well which caused thousands of people to suffer from respiratory infections.
The surveying team said the heavy precipitation has been mostly the cause of the mudflow.
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Coverage by: Jemris Fointuna | Kupang
Translated by: Bonardo Maulana W
