Earthquake strikes Croatia

Authorities said at least seven people died and 26 others were injured as buildings toppled southeast of the Croatian capital of Zagreb on Tuesday. The European Mediterranean Seismological Center reported the earthquake was a magnitude 6.3.

How bad is the damage? A large part of the 25,000-person town of Petrinja “is in a red zone, which means that most of the buildings are not usable,” said Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. The army has made space to house 500 people in barracks, along with open rooms in nearby hotels. The government is also evacuating patients from a damaged hospital, Plenkovic said. The central Croatia region recorded multiple aftershocks on Wednesday, including a 4.7-magnitude tremor. The same area suffered a magnitude 5.2 earthquake on Monday.

Dig deeper: Read Jamie Dean’s reflections after a series of earthquakes in the early days of 2020.

Editor's note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.