Strong Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake Hits Croatia

By Admin | 04 January 2021 07:47:56 | 113 | 0
Picture by: The New York Time
Picture by: The New York Time

A strong earthquake in Croatia destroyed buildings and killed at least seven people Tuesday southwest of the capital, displacing scores of area residents or making them afraid to sleep indoors as emergency teams searched for those still missing by nightfall.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Center said the magnitude 6.3 quake hit 28 miles southeast of Zagreb just before 12:20 p.m. local time. It caused widespread damage in the hardest-hit town of Petrinja. The same area was struck by a magnitude 5.2 quake on Monday.

In Petrinja, cries could be heard from underneath destroyed houses. One woman was found alive some four hours after the quake. Emergency teams used rescue dogs in the search for survivors, while family members looked on in despair.

"My town has been completely destroyed. We have dead children," Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic said in a statement broadcast by HRT. "This is like Hiroshima – half of the city no longer exists."

Firefighters worked to remove the debris from a collapsed building that fell on a car. A man and a small boy eventually were rescued from the vehicle and carried into an ambulance.

The town was left without electricity or running water as officials scrambled to set up temporary accommodation for all of the displaced residents in need. Residents fearing another earthquake seemed poised to spend the night outside their homes.

Petrinja resident Marica Pavlovic said the quake felt "worse than a war."

"It was horrible, a shock. You don't know what to do, whether to run out or hide somewhere," she told The Associated Press.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and other government ministers arrived in Petrinja after the earthquake.

"The biggest part of central Petrinja is in a red zone, which means that most of the buildings are not usable," Plenkovic said.

He said the army has 500 places ready in barracks to house people, while others will be accommodated in nearby hotels and other places.

"No one must stay out in the cold tonight," the prime minister said.

Source : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU2iJTAmk-s

Source : https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/29/world/europe/croatia-earthquake.html

TAG