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The earthquake, the second in a row, was also felt strongly outside the country’s borders, in Italy, but also in Austria. With 69 earthquakes so far, significantly more earthquakes were felt in Austria in 2020 than normal. The Slovenian Krško nuclear power plant was temporarily closed.
An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale struck not far from Zagreb on Tuesday. The center of the earthquake was at a depth of ten kilometers, Italian media reported. The Central Institute of Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) recorded an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 in the Sisak area at 12:19 pm As it became known at night, there are at least seven deaths.
The earthquake caused serious damage: several houses collapsed in the town of Petrinja, which is about three kilometers from the center of the earthquake. According to media reports, there should be people buried in it. In Petrinja village, helpers pulled a man and a boy out of the rubble after video recordings at station N1.
Other images of the place 50 kilometers from the capital, Zagreb, showed a house with a collapsed roof. Initially, there was no information on injuries. The tremor could also be felt in Zagreb. There, people fled to the streets.
Police have asked residents to leave the building, media reported. All available emergency services were mobilized for Petrinja. There have also been reports of damaged buildings in the town of Sisak, 15 kilometers from Petrinja. There was also damage from the earthquake in the Croatian capital, Zagreb. Power and telephone lines were cut in parts of Croatia.
The center of the earthquake, which was given by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) with a magnitude of 6.3, was about 45 kilometers southwest of Zagreb, near Petrinja. The center of the earthquake on Monday was already there, which had a magnitude of 5.2.
Notable in Austria and Italy
Today’s earthquake, Tuesday, was also strongly felt outside the country’s borders. The APA received reports that the earthquake was felt in Carinthia and Styria. In Graz, for example, the tall buildings not only wobbled for about two minutes, but the undulating movements could also be clearly felt in massive single-story old buildings. Christmas decorations and sliding glass doors wobbled, windows and furniture creaked. The earthquake was much more notable than the one in the spring near Zagreb. Also, the tremors lasted longer. Even in Vienna there were reports that the walls were shaking.
The tremor was also clearly felt in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto and the Adriatic region of Abruzzo. The fire department was bombarded with calls from concerned citizens.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale had already been registered in central Croatia on Monday. The center of the earthquake, which occurred at 6:28 am, was at a depth of ten kilometers, not far from the city of Petrinja.
Significantly more tremors will be felt in 2020
With 69 earthquakes, 70 today, significantly more earthquakes were felt in Austria this year than usual. Of these, 60 were “domestic” and five were from the neighboring countries of Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland and four from Croatia, which were noted in this country. According to the ZAMG balance published on Tuesday, a total of 1,465 earthquakes were located in Austria in 2020.
69 notable tremors are significantly more than average. “In the last ten years there have been an average of 57 notable earthquakes per year in Austria. In the last 20 years there have been an average of 48,” explained seismologist Rita Meurers from the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics. A trend towards more earthquakes cannot be observed. The number varies greatly from year to year. “For example, 2018 and 2019 brought relatively few notable tremors.”
The most notable events of the year were March 22 near Zagreb (Croatia) and the August 8 earthquake near Zams (Tyrol). Thousands of people noticed them, some with vigor. However, only slight damage to the building was reported, such as cracks in the plaster.
Most earthquakes in Tyrol
The number of all instrumentally recorded earthquakes in Austria reached a new record in 2020 with 1,465. “The reason for this is, in addition to the somewhat higher seismic activity this year, the constant expansion and consolidation of the earthquake monitoring network in Austria and increased international cooperation, which means that more very weak and imperceptible earthquakes are being recorded. “said the ZAMG Meurers seismologist.
As has often been the case in the past, this year the most felt earthquakes were in Tyrol, where 27 occurred, or almost half of all domestic earthquakes. With ten notable tremors, Carinthia ranks second and therefore well above the average for previous years. Seven were noticed in Styria. With just five tremors, Lower Austria is below the average for recent years. There were also five in Vorarlberg. It is followed by Upper Austria with four and Salzburg with two palpable earthquakes.
Demand for closure of the Krško nuclear power plant
The Slovenian Krško nuclear power plant was closed after the earthquake for preventive reasons. This is a common procedure for earthquakes of such force, he told the STA news agency from the nuclear power plant. Slovenian Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec emphasized via Twitter that security was not at risk. The first inspection at the nuclear power plant would have shown no effects from the earthquake, he said.
The nuclear power plant, which is jointly operated by Slovenia and Croatia, is located about 80 kilometers as the crow flies from the epicenter of today’s earthquake. According to experts, the nuclear power plant is resistant to strong earthquakes. A safe shutdown is also guaranteed in the event of an earthquake with a force of at least 8, Slovenian nuclear technology expert Leon Cizelj stressed to this year’s “Delo” newspaper in March, when an earthquake with a magnitude of 5, 2 shook the Croatian capital Zagreb.
In Austria, the general purpose of the Krško nuclear power plant in Slovenia was called for. Styrian Green Landtag Club president Sandra Krautwaschl emphasized that the “junk heap” near the border, which is known to be on an earthquake line, “must have no future.” The leader of the state party FPÖ, Mario Kunasek, also called for the closure of the “obsolete system”.
“We have long been in favor of closing the obsolete plant, the frequency of earthquakes should be reason enough to shut down the reactor once and for all,” Kunasek emphasized in a broadcast. Krautwaschl added that the planned extension of the service life – the reactor was actually supposed to be shut down in 2023 – until 2043 was “an unacceptable risk.” “Never before has a nuclear power plant been operated for so long.”
