Significant 5.1 quake hits near Petrinja, Grad Petrinja, Sisak-Moslavina, Croatia

An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 occurred only 17 minutes ago 9 km northwest of Petrinja, Croatia, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported.
The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter near Petrinja, Grad Petrinja, Sisak-Moslavina, Croatia, early morning on Monday 28 December 2020 at 6:28 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 5.1 earthquake as well.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage.
Moderate shaking probably occurred in Petrinja (pop. 13,900) located 9 km from the epicenter.
In Sisak (pop. 35,700) located 15 km from the epicenter, Velika Gorica (pop. 35,100) 27 km away, Brezovica (pop. 10,900) 35 km away, Sesvete (pop. 52,400) 39 km away, Donji grad (pop. 37,000) 41 km away, Zagreb (pop. 699,000) 41 km away, and Stenjevec (pop. 41,300) 44 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.

Weak shaking might have been felt in Karlovac (pop. 46,800) located 50 km from the epicenter.
This is the second damaging earthquake in Croatia this year. On 22 March 2020, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake hit near Zagreb, causing one death and injuring 27 people.
The earthquakes in the region are result of the ongoing collision between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, and resulting tectonic stress in the complex Balkan region.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

The central part of Croatia was hit by two strong earthquake this morning, first a magnitude 5.2 at 5:28 local time 15 km from Sisak town, followed by a strong aftershock of magnitude 4.8-5.0 an hour and half later, at 06:49 in the same area.
According to first information from local press, there are no reports of injuries or fatalities, but there is moderate, in some cases substantial damage at buildings and structures in Sisak town and other places near the epicenter.
Croatia's Civil Protection asks citizens to comply with the measures against Coronavirus in force to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection if they are forced to leave their homes due to the earthquake.


Index.hr is publishing a live blog about the quake (in Croatian).

Pictures on social media and local press show that Petrinja suffered significant damage at numerous buildings. It is also the closest town to the epicenter.
Croatia's Prime Minister Plenković is meeting with Ines Ivančić, head of the Seismological Service, and planning to visit the hardest-hit towns of Sisak and Petrinja soon.
The mayor of Petrinja, Darinko Dumbović, that the citizens of Petrinja are in panic and many of them are outside on the streets.
Some buildings are reported to have suffered severe damage, to the degree that it would be dangerous to stay inside. Bricks and tiles have fallen from the church and many houses. Videos from surveillance cameras show strong shaking in supermarkets etc, where most items fell off the shelves.
Earthquake data:
Data & ora: Mon, 28 Dec 05:28 UTC
Magnitudine: 5.2
Prof.: 10.0 km
Epicentro latitudine / longitudine: 45.41°N / 16.23°E
Fonte dati primaria: EMSC