Understanding of Earthquake Damage Pattern through Geomorphological Approach: A Case Study of 2006 Earthquake in Bantul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The last major earthquake in Bantul causing severe damage occurred on May 27th, 2006. The damages in the flat area of Bantul had a certain pattern. The damages pattern controlled the subsurface characteristic below the flat area. Understanding earthquake damage pattern through geo-morphological approach is important for earthquake hazard analysis. The techniques of remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems were applied to analyze earthquake damage pattern and geomorphological characteristics. Gravity analysis was used to identify the subsurface structure and the basement depth while geoelectric analysis was used to identify sediment depth. Moreover, spatial correlation analysis was used to identify the relationship between the earthquake damage, geomorphological characteristics, and subsurface characteristics. The results show that fluvial, marine, and aeolian landforms have low rock density value based on gravity analysis. These indicate that they were composed by thick unconsolidated material of quaternary alluvium. While denudational, structural, and solutional landforms composed by material of tertiary rocks have high rock density value. The severe damage occurred in the area that has a lower value of local gravity and deeper basement. In contrast, the slight damage occurred in the area that has higher values of local gravity and shallower basement. Moreover, the severe damage occurred in areas of thicker sediment that consist of unconsolidated material. Consequently, the area of unconsolidated material that has deeper basement and thicker sediment is prone to earthquake. They were located on fluvial, marine, and aeolian landforms.