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A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has hit Croatia, with reports of at least one death, many injuries, and cities “demolished”.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Center said the quake occurred 45 kilometers southeast of the capital Zagreb.
A 12-year-old boy in the city of Petrinja, 50 kilometers from Zagreb, was killed, according to the N1 news channel.
Rows of destroyed houses in the city of Petrinja
Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic announced on a local television broadcast that his city had been “completely destroyed”.
“We have dead children,” he said.
“Half the city no longer exists. The city has been demolished, the city is no longer habitable. We need help.”
Tomislav Fabijanic, head of the emergency medical service in Sisak near Petrinja, said there were many injuries in Petrinja and Sisak.
“There are fractures, there are concussions and some had to be operated on,” he said.
At least 20 people went to the hospital with injuries, he said, and two of them were seriously injured.
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Politicians fled when the building shook in the Slovenian capital
“The army is here to help. We will have to transfer some people from Petrinja because it is not safe to be here,” Plenkovic said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter that she spoke with Plenkovic and ordered an envoy to travel urgently to Croatia.
Video footage showed people rescued from the rubble near the epicenter. Other clips showed collapsed houses.
The same area was rocked by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake on Monday, which killed one person and injured 27.
Zagreb hospitals have been forced to evacuate patients and staff
Tuesday’s tremor could be felt in the capital Zagreb, as well as neighboring Bosnia and Serbia, and even
The earthquake was felt throughout the country and in neighboring Serbia, Bosnia and Slovenia, even as far south as Austria.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and other government ministers arrived in Petrinja after the earthquake.
“They are looking through the rubble to see if there is someone else there,” Plenkovic said.
The earthquake followed another tremor in the area on Monday.
“Most of downtown Petrinja is in a red zone, which means that most of the buildings cannot be used.”
Plenkovic said the army has 500 places ready in the barracks to house people, while others will stay in places, including nearby hotels.
“No one should stay outside in the cold tonight,” the prime minister said.
Slovenia’s STA news agency said the country’s only nuclear power plant was shut down as a precaution.
Video footage showed politicians fleeing parliament in the capital city of Ljubljana, as the building shook.
Zagreb residents were seen running from their homes into streets and parks. Many were reportedly leaving the capital, ignoring the travel ban imposed due to the pandemic.
Croatia is prone to earthquakes, but not big ones. The last strong earthquake occurred in the 1990s when the village of Ston, on the Adriatic coast, was destroyed.
Croatian seismologist Kresimir Kuk described Tuesday’s earthquake as “extremely strong”, much stronger than another that hit Zagreb and nearby areas in the spring.
He warned of potentially strong aftershocks throughout the Mediterranean country.
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