Preliminary Damage and Loss Assessment - Yogyakarta and Central Java Natural Disaster

The May 27, 2006 earthquake struck Yogyakarta and Central Java. Yogyakarta is a center for Javanese traditional arts and culture, the ancient temples of Borobudur and Prambanan, and is home to a royal family whose lineage goes back to the Mataram era in the 16th century. It is also a center of Indonesian higher education. Striking in the early morning hours, the earthquake took over 5,700 lives, injured between 40,000 and 60,000 more, and robbed hundreds of thousands of their homes and livelihoods. As if the devastation of the earthquake were not enough, the disaster may not be over. The increase in Mount Merapi’s volcanic activity, which began in March 2006, is producing lava flows, toxic gases, and clouds of ash, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.

This report presents a preliminary assessment of the damage and losses caused by the earthquake. The assessment used the international standard methodology for measuring disasters, and draws upon some of the best experts in the world. The report provides the Government and the
international community a clearer understanding of the impact of the disaster, and a basis for designing reconstruction and recovery programs. The report was prepared under the leadership of BAPPENAS, supported by a strong team of Indonesian and international specialists.
The analysis finds that the impact from this earthquake is much greater than initially believed. While major infrastructure remains largely intact, the damage and losses to housing and other buildings that were constructed without proper reinforcement (small enterprises, schools, clinics, etc) were staggering. The overall damage and loss of the earthquake, estimated at Rp 29.1 trillion (US$3.1 billion), places this as a more costly disaster than the tsunami impact on Sri Lanka in 2004, and similar in scale to the Gujarat earthquake of 2001 and the recent earthquake in Pakistan.