Source estimates of the May 2006 Java earthquake

Abstract

In the early morning of 27 May 2006, local time, central Java was jolted by strong seismic ground motion. In spite of the moderate size of the earthquake (M_w = 6.4), it caused severe damage nearYogyakarta city. According to a report from the Social Affairs Ministry of Indonesia, more than 5700 people were killed, 38,000 injured, and 423,000 evacuated.

As a result of the shaking, more than 126,000 buildings collapsed, and more than 392,000—including those of the famous Prambanan temple complex, located about 17 kilometers east of Yogyakarta—were severely damaged (Figure 1).