Read more about the Sidoarjo mud flow here. Ulet Ifansasti /
Getty Images Residents look through the remains of properties
destroyed by the Sidoarjo mud flow on May 28, in the subdistrict
of Porong in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia. Australian experts
have this month cut the predicted life expectancy of the Lusi
mud volcano, which has been continually spewing mud since May
29, 2006, with new predictions lowered to 28 years, compared to
earlier suggestions as high as 87 years. The eruption is
suspected to be triggered by the drilling activities of
Indonesian oil and gas company Lapindo Brantas, though they
refute the claims, instead blaming a small quake 2 days earlier.
The disaster has so far killed 14 people and displaced 40,000
others, with parent company Bakrie having paid out over $700
million in land acquisitions which it denies are compensation
payments. They expect to pay out a further $120 million by the
end of 2012.