According to seismologists, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 shook the central Croatian region again. Media reports spoke of considerable property damage in the Croatian capital and in the vicinity of the epicenter, which was around 45 kilometers southeast of Zagreb. It was the second quake in a row within 30 hours. Magnitude 5.2 and 5.0 tremors were recorded in the same area on Monday.
Only in March did a 5.4 magnitude earthquake in Zagreb cause major damage. A youth had died and more than two dozen people were injured.
Pictures in Croatian media showed collapsed houses in Petrinja and fire brigades looking for victims. A child was killed by rubble, reported the portal jutarnji.hr. The hospitals in Petrinja and the nearby district capital Sisak were reportedly badly damaged.
In Austria, the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics in Vienna (ZAMG) spoke of a strength of 6.1. The quake was noticeable in many regions of Austria, for example in Carinthia, Styria and the Vienna area.
The earthquake was also felt in some areas of Italy, as the Italian civil protection authority announced. The authority is in contact with their local facilities. Numerous Italian users wrote on Twitter that they had felt the quake.
There are always earthquakes in the region
Slovenia also responded to the earthquake. The neighboring country immediately switched off the Krsko nuclear power plant. It is a precautionary measure, said a spokeswoman for the plant.
The region is highly prone to earthquakes because the African plate is pushed under the Eurasian plate there. The earthquake was also felt in the south of Austria, Slovenia and in the north and east of Croatia.
Probably the most violent earthquake in the region’s recent past occurred further south in Albania. In November 2019, a 6.4 dozen earthquake killed more than 650 people. A few days later, Bosnia-Herzegovina was also hit by an earthquake. The epicenter was 80 kilometers south of Sarajevo. It was about 250 kilometers away from the epicenter of the Albanian quake.