A strong earthquake in Croatia destroyed buildings and killed at least seven people Tuesday in the southwest of the capital, displacing dozens of residents in the area or making them afraid to sleep inside while emergency crews searched the which were still missing at nightfall.
The European Seismological Center of the Mediterranean said the 6.3-magnitude earthquake affected 28 miles southeast of Zagreb shortly before 12:20 pm local time. It caused widespread damage to the most affected city of Petrinja. The same area was hit by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake on Monday.
Officials said a 12-year-old girl died in Petrinja, a town of about 25,000 people. Another six people died in nearly destroyed villages near the city, according to state television HRT. At least 26 people were hospitalized, six with serious injuries, officials said, adding that many more people were missing.
In Petrinja, screams were heard from destroyed houses. A woman was found alive about four hours after the quake. Emergency crews used rescue dogs to search for survivors, while relatives looked desperate.
“My city has been completely destroyed. We have dead children,” Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic said in a statement released by HRT. “This is like Hiroshima: half the city no longer exists.”
Firefighters worked to remove the wreckage of a collapsed building that fell on a car. A man and a small child were finally rescued from the vehicle and taken to an ambulance.
The city was left without electricity or running water while officials rushed to establish temporary accommodation for all displaced residents who needed it. Residents who feared another earthquake seemed willing to spend the night away from home.
Petrinja resident Marica Pavlovic said the quake felt “worse than a war.”
“It was horrible, a shock. You don’t know what to do, whether you’re staying out or hiding somewhere,” he told The Associated Press.
ANTONIO BRONIC / REUTERS
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and other government ministers arrived in Petrinja after the earthquake.
“Most of downtown Petrinja is in a red zone, which means most of the buildings are unusable,” Plenkovic said.
He said the army has 500 places ready in barracks to house people, while others will be housed in hotels and other nearby places.
“No one should stay out of the cold tonight,” the prime minister said.
Officials also toured a damaged hospital in the nearby town of Sisak, which was also badly affected. Plenkovic said patients will be evacuated in army helicopters and ambulances.
Health officials said a baby was delivered to a store in front of the hospital after the quake.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter that she spoke with Plenkovic and commissioned an envoy to travel to Croatia as soon as possible.
As a Mediterranean country, Croatia is prone to earthquakes, but not large ones. The last strong earthquake took place in the 1990s when the picturesque village of Ston on the Adriatic coast was destroyed.
DAMIR SENCAR / AFP through Getty
The Croatian army deployed to the region affected by the earthquake to help with the rescue operation.
Croatian seismologist Kresimir Kuk described the quake as “extremely strong”, much stronger than another that affected Zagreb and areas close to spring. He warned people to stay away from potentially unstable old buildings and move to newer areas of the city due to aftershocks.
In the capital, people ran through the streets in fear.
The quake affected the whole country and neighboring Serbia, Bosnia and Slovenia. It felt as far away as Graz in southern Austria, the Austrian Press Agency reported.
Slovenian authorities said the Krsko nuclear power plant was temporarily shut down after the quake. The plant is jointly owned by Slovenia and Croatia and is located near its border.