The following are the tangible impacts of the hot, toxic mud that has flooded part of the East Java town of Sidoarjo since the end of May: nearly 8,000 people have been displaced, more than 190 hectares of farmland have been flooded, at least 15 factories have been shut down and a section of the Surabaya-Gempol turnpike has been closed.

The multiplier effects of the disaster are even more damaging – over 1,700 workers have been laid off, state freeway operator PT Jasa Marga has lost billions of rupiah in revenue and Sidoarjo's economy has been crippled because the mud has shut down one of East Java's industrial hubs.

State railway company PT KAI is the latest operation to be affected after mud flooded the railway line Thursday, forcing the firm to close the Sidoarjo-Pasuruan route indefinitely. Train passengers traveling to the eastern part of East Java now have to stop at Sidoarjo station, while those heading west must get off at Bangil station near Pasuruan.

With government scientists confirming that the mud contains dangerous levels of toxic substances like benzene, toluene and xylene, and that the air has been contaminated with high levels of ammonia and sulfur dioxide, more disasters are within sight.

The quality of the environment in the area has been permanently fouled and it is likely to be extremely difficult and costly to rehabilitate. If they are not evacuated, nearby residents are likely to face health problems for many years ahead because of the contamination.

But a more devastating catastrophe is lurking at the beginning of the rainy season in October. If more levees holding the mud collapse, over 20 million cubic meters of the muck could flood even more villages in the regency than the four already affected. The local authorities have asked residents of the villages to ready themselves for an evacuation.

With a team of international experts at a loss how to stop the hot mudflow, it is anyone's guess how long the makeshift defenses can last.

Environment group Greenomics has estimated the total damage caused by the mudflow amounts to a whopping Rp 33 trillion (US$3.6 billion), an amount that would certainly bankrupt the company being held responsible for the disaster, PT Lapindo Brantas Inc.

This company, partly owned by the family of Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, has yet to be prosecuted under any environmental laws, although a criminal investigation is underway.

And strangely, Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan, thinks further legal action is unnecessary. Currently, Lapindo is being allowed to set the level of compensation it pays to the thousands of affected people.

But even if Lapindo is prosecuted – and there certainly seems to be enough evidence to do so – whatever damages the company will have to pay won't be enough to offset the losses the local people have had to bear since the disaster struck.

It was a clear signal of the villagers' fear when people in Siring hamlet scrambled to help construction workers prevent mud from spilling over the dam, which had kept their area safe. Some of the villagers, many of whom are factory workers, took a day off work for the effort.

Given the imminent danger and that scientists have no solutions to stemming the continuing mudflow, it looks likely the state will have to follow environment group Walhi's advice. They have called for the government to prosecute Lapindo and, if necessary, the other companies involved in the natural gas drilling that is blamed for causing the disaster.

More immediately, it is also perhaps worth considering channeling the mud to the sea, as an expert on an independent team tasked with handling the mudflow has suggested. However, his would likely cause an even larger ecological disaster and Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar has already expressed his opposition to the proposal.

But as long as the mud continues to gush from the Lapindo well site, something must be done – and done fast.