United Nations ready to respond to Indonesia earthquake

(New York, 27 May 2006): The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has put its Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) teams on alert in response to an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale that hit Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia at 5:54 a.m. local time today. OCHA's Regional Disaster Response Advisor (RDRA)-Kobe is in Yogyakarta, where he is liasing with the Governor and other authorities. The UN official was in the region in response to the Mount Merapi volcano.
"The earthquake struck so early in the morning found most people still inside their homes. We are very concerned that this may result in increasing numbers of casualties and injured people," said Jan Egeland, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. Preliminary reports suggest that up to 2,900 people have perished in the earthquake. The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Indian Ocean some 25 kilometres (15 miles) south-southwest of Yogyakarta at a depth of 17 kilometres (11 miles).

The most affected districts are Bantul and Kulonprogo to the south of Yogyakarta. In Bantul 70-80% of the houses have completely collapsed, as have various large buildings, including the public hospital. Old houses have fared the worst in the quake. In Prambanan, 10 kilometres east of Yogyakarta, the railway station collapsed and the railroad was damaged, disrupting the railway service from Jakarta to Surabaya. The Yogyakarta international airport was also damaged, and flights are being redirected to Surakarta or Semarang. Part of Yogyakarta palace was also damaged.

While the Government of Indonesia has not requested international assistance, the United Nations stands ready to lend assistance to efforts to respond to humanitarian needs created by the disaster and to mobilize international support for that response as required. According to the Office of the UN Recovery Coordinator for Aceh and Nias, a UN plane is on stand-by. A number of NGOs based in Aceh are mobilizing medical teams.

Yogyakarta is in the heartland of Indonesia's main island of Java near Mount Merapi, a volcano that has been on top alert for a major eruption this month.