To our overseas friends: Please find the following are some brief facts with regard to the earthquake that hit Yogyakarta on Saturday, 27th May 2006.The rate of the tremor was 5.9 on Richter Scale and its epicentre was at 38 km south of Yogyakarta with 33 depth of Indian Ocean.

The most affected area is Bantul, indicated by the casualties rates due to home collapses. To date, there have been no report on hotel collapse, but some minor damage happened such as wall cracking and tiles. Further, there has been no injured or overseas tourists nor casualties. Yogyakarta airport, which part of building was slightly affected, is expected to resume normal operation on Sunday, 28th afternoon. Once open, the airport will be used primarily for transporting relief-related goods and personnel. All Yogyakarta linked flights are redirected to Solo and Semarang, the closest airport locations from Yogyakarta. Number of reported casualties is 3098, with about 80% were origins of Bantul District.

Indonesians all over the country expressed the deepest condolence for the victims and their families. We appreciate some countries which have made pledges to support Indonesia in such a difficult situation. Among them are Japan, France, Malaysia and Singapore. We would certainly welcome any aids from other countries and agencies to help ease the pains felt by the affected ones.

Thank you very much for your great assistance in advance, and we will update the necessary information.

Sincerely Yours,

Thamrin B. Bachri
Director General for Marketing
Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia

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