THE thought sprang to mind as Syahraz Maghribi and Imam Hartoko watched Sidoarjo, Central Java being engulfed more and more by mud. “The mudflow ought to be localized,” said Syahraz.

The scientists, graduates of Diponegoro University Civil Engineering, Semarang, and Gajah Mada University Civil Engineering, Yogyakarta, right away designed a mud reservoir with dams arranged to form a structure resembling Candi Borobudur (the Borobudur Buddhist