share The year 2020 will be remembered as a good year by few, but Croatia had a particularly rough ride. On 22 March 2020, the capital city Zagreb was struck by an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 5.5, which was followed by a series of other strong and weaker tremors. This was the strongest earthquake in the region for more than a century. It caused significant damage to Zagreb’s historic centre. One teenager died, 27 people were reported injured and many people lost their homes.
Just at the moment when we were looking to the new year with renewed hope, a stronger earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.4 hit close to the town of Petrinja in central Croatia. The tremors caused further damage in Zagreb, and were felt at a distance of hundreds of kilometres. Early estimates report that 70% of the buildings in Petrinja’s centre were rendered unusable. Almost all of its harmonious, historical buildings suffered extensive damage. Outlying villages closer to the