A massive earthquake hit central Croatia and wreaked havoc and caused at least one death in a city southeast of the capital
ZAGREB, Croatia – A massive earthquake hit central Croatia on Tuesday, causing extensive damage to homes and other buildings in a city southeast of the capital. A girl was killed in the earthquake and a man and a boy were taken alive from a car buried in the rubble and sent to a hospital.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Center said a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred 46 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Zagreb. According to initial reports, the earthquake caused extensive damage, collapsing roofs, building facades and even some entire buildings.
The same area was hit by a 5.2 earthquake on Monday, and several smaller aftershocks were felt on Tuesday.
Croatian state broadcaster HRT said a girl died in the earthquake in Petrinja, a city southeast of the capital that was most affected by the earthquake. Other Croatian media also reported the death, quoting the city’s mayor. The child’s age or other details were not immediately available.
“The center of Petrinja as it used to be no longer exists,” HRT said in its report. “A girl died and there are injuries and people in collapsed buildings.”
“My town is completely destroyed, we have dead children,” said Mayor of Petrinja Darinko Dumbovic in a statement from HRT TV. “This is like Hiroshima – half the city no longer exists.”
“The city has been demolished, the city is no longer livable,” he said. “We need help.”
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and other ministers arrived in Petrinja after the earthquake.
The regional TV channel N1 reported live from the city on Tuesday that a collapsed building had fallen on a car. The footage showed firefighters trying to remove the debris to reach the car buried underneath. A man and a small boy were eventually rescued from the car and carried to an ambulance.
Fallen bricks and dust lay on the street and many houses were completely destroyed. The Croatian army was deployed in Petrinja to assist in the rescue operation.
Croatian media said people had been injured in the earthquake, but initially couldn’t say how many people were amid the confusion and the failure of telephone lines.
Croatian seismologist Kresimir Kuk described the earthquake as “extremely strong,” much stronger than another that hit Zagreb and nearby areas in the spring. He warned people to stay out of potentially shaky old buildings and move to the newer parts of the city because of the aftershocks.
In the capital, people ran into the streets and parks in fear. Many reportedly left Zagreb ignoring a travel ban imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The earthquake was felt across the country and in the neighboring countries of Serbia, Bosnia and Slovenia. It was felt even as far away as Graz in southern Austria, the Austrian news agency reported.
Authorities in Slovenia said the Krsko nuclear power plant was temporarily shut down after the earthquake. The power plant is jointly owned by Slovenia and Croatia and is located near their border.