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A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake killed at least six people by toppling buildings in central Croatia today, as rescuers combed fallen roofs and debris in the dark.
The tremors were felt as far away as Vienna, while the damage was concentrated in and around Petrinja, a city about 50 kilometers south of the Croatian capital Zagreb.
Rescuers tried to pull people out of the rubble of collapsed buildings, showed television images, and army troops were dispatched to the area to help.
As rescue teams removed bricks and other debris, some elderly residents gathered in a park in central Petrinja, wrapped in blankets and afraid to return home.
“All the tiles in the bathroom are broken, all the dishes fell off,” Marica Pavlovic, a 72-year-old retired meat factory worker, told AFP of the damage to her home.
“Even if we wanted to, we can’t go back in, there’s no electricity.”
The German Research Center for Geosciences GFZ said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km. The epicenter was in the city of Petrinja, 50 km south of the Croatian capital, Zagreb.
Tomislav Fabijanic, head of emergency medical services in nearby Sisak, said that many people were injured in Petrinja and Sisak.
“There are fractures, there are concussions and some had to be operated on,” he said.
Prime Minister Adrej Plenkovic, who rushed to Petrinja, said: “The army is here to help. We will have to transfer some people from Petrinja because it is not safe to be here.”
The N1 news channel showed images of rescuers in Petrinja pulling a man and a boy out of the rubble. They were both alive.
Other images showed a house with a collapsed roof. The reporter said she did not know if anyone was inside.
N1 also said that a kindergarten was destroyed by the earthquake, but that there were no children in it. The situation was “difficult” in the retirement homes in the Petrinja area, he added.
Piles of stones, bricks and tiles littered the streets after the earthquake, and cars parked on the road were also damaged by falling debris. Patients were evacuated from Sisak hospital because buildings were damaged.
Images of the city, which is home to about 20,000 people, showed collapsed roofs and streets littered with bricks and other debris.
The Balkan region is on large faults and is regularly hit by earthquakes.
European Affairs Minister Thomas Byrne offered “full solidarity” to Croatia on Twitter. “We are ready to work with the member states and the EU Commission.”
Our full solidarity with Croatia 🇭🇷 with the devastating earthquakes of yesterday and, in particular, today. I know that the EU crisis management teams are in contact with the Croatian government @CroatiaInEU @IrlEmbCroatia
We are willing to work with member states and @EU_Commission– 🌲🎅Thomas Byrne TD – 🇮🇪🇪🇺 (@ThomasByrneTD) December 29, 2020
The earthquake was felt in several neighboring countries, including Slovenia, and as far away as the Austrian capital, Vienna.
The Krsko nuclear power plant in Slovenia has been shut down as a precautionary measure after the earthquake in neighboring Croatia, the plant’s spokeswoman said.
Krsko is the only nuclear power plant in Slovenia and is located about 100 km east of the capital, Ljubljana.
The current 700 megawatt Westinghouse reactor was built in the former Yugoslavia and entered service in 1983. It is jointly owned by Slovenia and Croatia.
The plant covers about 20% of Slovenia’s electricity needs and 15% of Croatia’s, but environmental activists have previously called for it to be closed due to its age and the risks of seismic activity in the region.
Originally, it was supposed to be shut down in 2023, but Ljubljana and Zagreb decided in 2015 to extend its life by another 20 years.
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