Residents gather outside after an earthquake, at a square in downtown Zagreb, Croatia, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. A strong earthquake hit Croatia on Tuesday, with some injuries reported as well as considerable damages to roofs and buildings southeast of the capital.
A strong earthquake hit central Croatia on Tuesday, claiming one life and causing major damage to homes and other buildings in a town southeast of the capital. A girl was reportedly killed in the quake while a man and a boy were rescued from a car buried in debris.
According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Center, the magnitude was measured 6.3 on the Richter Scale and hit 46 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Zagreb.
Initial reports suggested that the earthquake caused wide damage, collapsing roofs, building facades, and even some entire buildings.
The same area was hit by a 5.2-magnitude earthquake on Monday, followed by several smaller aftershocks on Tuesday.
According to Croatian state broadcaster HRT, a girl died in the quake in Petrinja, a town southeast of the capital that was hit hardest. "The center of Petrinja as it used to be no longer exists," HRT said in its report. "One girl died and there are injuries and people inside collapsed buildings."
Croatian seismologist Kresimir Kuk described the earthquake as “extremely strong,” far stronger than another one that hit Zagreb and nearby areas in the spring. He warned people to keep out of potentially shaky, old buildings and to move to the newer areas of the city because of the aftershocks.
