Croatia amends post-earthquake reconstruction law as anger mounts

People on the street in front of buildings badly damaged by the earthquake in Petringa, December 29, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE / ANTONIO BAT.

More than a month after the powerful earthquake hit central Croatia, lawmakers will vote Friday on amendments to the Post-Quake Reconstruction Act – amid complaints that the basic needs of many people in the affected areas are not being met.

“I think something might take two weeks [now] “It will take two months,” the deputy mayor of Glina in central Croatia, Branca Paksic Mitik, told BIRN.

A series of earthquakes struck central Croatia at the end of last year. The strongest, on December 29, at 6.4 on the Richter scale, had demolished many buildings in the towns of Petringa, Jalina, Sisak and neighboring villages, killing seven people.

“It is difficult for people to wait more than a month to have a roof over their heads,” said Paksic Mitik, adding that according to her estimates, in the Glena region, 55 calls for containers or mobile homes were not met.

Many homes still have red stickers, which means the building is unusable and requires demolition or a complete renovation.

Sisak-Moslavina County authorities said Thursday that 34,056 reports of damage were submitted, of which 23,513 were examined; 3,136 checked buildings were marked as unusable and 5,230 temporarily unusable.

“The problem is that there is a shortage of structural engineers … in many homes, the structural engineers didn’t come at all,” said Paksek Mitik.

According to her, due to new aftershocks and difficult weather, such as heavy snow and wet conditions, the condition of the damaged buildings could worsen. “Lots of homes have an orange sticker [temporarily unusable] It will now definitely have a red color. “

Paksik Mitek also said aftershocks were causing another kind of damage in the area – sinkholes, many of which were located near the family’s homes. According to the media, there are now more than 80 sink holes and they are still growing.

A sinkhole in the village of Misinkane appeared after the earthquake. Photo: N1.

Regarding the forthcoming amendments to the law, the deputy mayor of Glena said that due to the many problems she is dealing with on the ground, the procedures were not followed closely, but she wanted the changes to be passed as quickly as possible.

The law was originally intended for the city of Zagreb and the surrounding area after it was struck by an earthquake in March of last year, but its provisions will now be extended to include post-earthquake reconstruction in the provinces that struck in December.

According to the government, the reconstruction of buildings destroyed in the December 29 earthquake in Sisak Muslavina and Karlovac districts will be fully funded by the state as the region was “in a difficult economic, social and demographic situation even before the earthquake.”

On the other hand, the state will only cover 60 percent of the cost of rebuilding damaged buildings in Zagreb, while local authorities will have to cover another 20 percent. The owner of every other property must cover 20 percent.

However, metropolitan property owners who earn only the minimum wage and do not have significant assets will be exempt from their 20 percent share of the cost.

On March 22nd of last year, a major earthquake struck Zagreb and the surrounding area. A total of 25,000 buildings were damaged and over 6,000 buildings rendered completely or temporarily unusable. Most of the affected buildings, 98.5 percent, are privately owned.

However, the reconstruction has not yet begun. More than ten months later, many of those whose homes have been damaged still do not know when they will be rebuilt and are spending money on apartments, hostels, or even rented containers.

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