No. 30/MC.TDBM/11/2010

PRESS RELEASE

No.   30/MC.TDBM/11/2010

Eruption Sand Become Blessing and Protector

Yogyakarta, 15/11/2010 (Media Center Kominfo, 14:00) - People around the slopes of Mount Merapi should be thankful with the arrival of the Merapi eruption materials flowing into the downstream rivers.

This because, the price of such sand is expensive The price can also be a bumper (protector) to the large rocks that fall down or downstream of the river due to eruption of Merapi.

"Actually, It was a blessing. If there were no sand, large rocks could have been damage slopes even worse, " said Head of Central Region-Opak Serayu River, the Directorate General of Water Resources Ministry of Public Works (PU), Bambang Hargono, at the Media Center Disaster Emergency Response Merapi in Jalan Kenari No. 14A Yogyakarta, Monday (15/11).

However, Bambang still urged people around the slopes of Merapi to stay alert and be careful because the advent of natural disasters can not be expected. Especially when it was raining heavily.

Further Bambang described, Ministry of Public Works has been very familiar with the behavior of Merapi. Since 1970 they have learned to cope with Merapi’s lava so as not to be a disaster for the surrounding community.

Since 1970 the Ministry of Public Works in cooperation with the Japanese government has built a lava control system called sabo dams or sediment control structures (BPS).

Given the Mount Merapi volcano is a very active mountain, so around the slopes of Merapi then created a masterplan to control the lava in the form of sabo made of concrete that lay across the river around Merapi.

The 2001 Masterplan was planned to built 279 sabo. But until now only 244 units successfully constructed. The construction is now being halted due to the eruption of Merapi.

According to Bambang, the 2001 Master plan was designed to withstand lava volume of 8 million cubic meters. But unexpectedly, the amount of volcanic material which currently came out from the mouth of Merapi is very huge. It reached 140 million cubic meters.

For that,  it would reevaluate the 2001 Masterplan which is designed only to withstand 8 million cubic meters of volcanic material.

Since 1980s, the 244 constructions have been able to avoid the cities/districts which located around the slopes from the lava tantrums.

So far, Sabo is still functioning properly. Sabo around Merapi cliffs has been fulfilled with volcano material which contains water mixed with mud sand, tree debris and rocks.

Although sabo has been fulfilled with volcano material but such occasion has formed flat ramp so lava sediments also formed a flat slope.

With 140 million cubic material which spewed by Merapi is likely to form a new topography, where the river flows changes and form a new river. Changes in the flow of the river is something that not to worry about because even though the flow is new, but it will return into the main river.

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