Croatian earthquake causes massive damage

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake jolted central Croatia on Tuesday, December 29. Reports of significant damage highlight the fragile construction in the area.

Written by: Nenad Bigeli, PhD, EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Svetlana Przev, Ph.D., University of British Columbia, Damir Lazareviكتوراه, Ph.D., University of Zagreb.

Citation: Bijelić, N., Brzev, S., Lazarevi, D., 2020, Croatian Earthquake Causes Great Damage, Temblor, http://doi.org/10.32858/temblor.148

Around noon on December 29, 2020, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake occurred near Petrinja, Croatia. The epicenter was located 29 miles (47 km) southeast of the capital, Zagreb. Several foreboding tremors struck the region the previous day, the largest of which was 5.0 degrees. At the time of writing, the earthquake killed seven people and caused widespread damage in Petringa and neighboring towns. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges to emergency response as well as to evacuation of affected populations.

The earthquake was likely caused by slip in a shallow zipline fault, according to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The agency’s focal mechanism solution – a graphical representation of the direction of slip in an earthquake – indicates a rupture of an almost vertical fissure directed either to the southeast or southwest.

Recent earthquakes in central Croatia, including a magnitude of 5.3 that struck Zagreb in March this year.

Earthquakes are not uncommon here

In an interview with Croatian Radio and Television, Krikashmir Kok, a representative of the Croatian Seismological Survey, said that this earthquake has no direct link to a 5.3 magnitude earthquake that hit Zagreb in March of this year. The agency estimates that the earthquake was of magnitude 6.2, which is lower than other estimates. These earthquakes are a result of pressure in the border region as a small tectonic plate in the Adriatic Sea is being pushed below the Eurasian plate, Ivica Sofic, of the Croatian Earthquake Survey, told HRT. In the aftermath of the Petringa earthquake, he said, there appeared to be no increased activity in the Medvednica fault zone, the fault complex that hosted the Zagreb earthquake.

Damage to buildings at risk

The central part of Croatia is less densely populated than Zagreb – Petringa has a population of about twenty-four thousand – but that does not mean that people there are not at risk of an earthquake. The building stock in this area is particularly vulnerable as it mainly consists of unreinforced building structures. Moreover, the region was severely affected by the war in the early 1990s and neither its economy nor its infrastructure has fully recovered.

The devastation in Petringa is widespread. In addition, a major meat production plant has ceased production. The town of Sisak was also severely damaged. Sisak’s main hospital became unusable and patients were transferred to Zagreb. Reports of damage reached the northernmost part of Croatia, 60 miles (100 km) away, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismic Center.

Damage to buildings in Petringa. Credit: Damir Lazarevich

In Zagreb, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Petringa, government buildings have been damaged. In addition, a children’s hospital has been evacuated and the city’s main maternity clinic, which was damaged after the March earthquake, sustained additional damage. Temporarily, large parts of Zagreb did not have electricity in the aftermath of the earthquake and recurrent shortages persist. There have been reports of damage to chimneys in the far north of Croatia, and a nuclear power plant, Krško, located in the neighboring Republic of Slovenia, has been temporarily stopped as part of the standard operating procedure.

Clear damage

Building on experience gained from the Zagreb earthquake, volunteers began a post-earthquake building assessment effort to classify and classify the damage. The assessment will be used to direct resources and aid during reconstruction. In fact, the assessment began as a result of the major earthquakes the day before, and some volunteers were temporarily trapped in the damaged buildings during the main earthquake of 6.4 magnitude. This effort is a collaboration between the Zagreb College of Civil Engineering, the Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers, the City Office of Emergency Management and the Civil Protection Directorate.

Volunteers inspect the damaged buildings in Petringa. Credit: Damir Lazarevich

Although assessment of losses and damages is still ongoing, it is clear that this earthquake was indeed a disaster with far-reaching consequences. Since similar earthquakes may occur in other European cities that are at risk of moderate earthquakes, experiences from this event have an impact on the seismic resilience of much of Europe as well as for the preservation of our rich cultural heritage. Additionally, given that this earthquake occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will provide invaluable insights into multi-risk risk assessments and emergency management.

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