December 28, 2020 – President Zoran Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Sisak and Petrinja after a series of earthquakes hit the area this morning.
This morning, around 6.28 am, the area of Sisak and Petrinja was hit by a 5,2 magnitude earthquake. After a few weaker tremors, just before 8 am, two stronger blows followed, with magnitudes of 4.7 and 4.1 on the Richter scale.
President Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković came to Sisak and Petrinja to support their fellow citizens. Prefect of Sisak-Moslavina County Ivo Žinić and Mayor of Sisak Kristina Ikić Baniček informed them of the situation in Sisak.
They were accompanied by Deputy Prime Ministers and Ministers Davor Božinović and Tomo Medved, as well as Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Darko Horvat and Minister of Health Vili Beroš.
'No house in the villages that are not damaged'
Žinić said there are no casualties.
"No one was injured, there is no damage to industrial plants, but the Gavrilović factory has a large amount of ammonia, and it will have to be checked in detail. The damage is in the center of Sisak on buildings. Plaster has fallen off, bricks have fallen on some buildings. The second earthquake did more damage. The first one seems to have moved some things a bit, and there is no house in the villages that are not damaged. The damage is not even close to the damage that was in Zagreb, but it is the roofs where people live," said Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivo Žinić.
Mayor Ikić Baniček said there had been over 100 firefighter interventions since the morning. They had one situation where they had to place one family in another facility because their apartment was damaged.
Prime Minister Plenković emphasized that all services will be available to the citizens and said that luckily the earthquake did not leave any major damage.
"I am glad that we are here. We came to support our fellow citizens. As the year was, so it ended. Here is the Civil Protection, the Croatian army, and they will help. I also spoke to the Mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandić. We already have experience. We will try to list the damages and help everyone to repair those damages," said the Prime Minister.
'We are here to help'
Milanović and Plenković toured Sisak and Petrinja together.
"The damage is significant in the buildings we visited, but the most important thing is that no one was injured. This was a pretty strong earthquake, and it's good that the aftershocks were less intense," said Plenković after visiting Petrinja.
He promised to create a legal framework to help the affected areas.
"We hope that it will be better next year. The state will react, of course. We are here to help," Plenković said.
President Milanović was not in the mood for statements.
"It was uncomfortable in Zagreb. It is human to be afraid. Fear is the biggest blow to people. And what was destroyed will be rebuilt. It is a smaller problem," Milanović said.
The Mayor of Petrinja, Darinko Dumbović, told them that he expects help from the state in repairing the damage, namely the "millions in his account tomorrow. "
Plenković said they would try to help Sisak, Petrinja, and other municipalities in Sisak-Moslavina County affected by the earthquake with all aid services.
"I hope that it will be better next year. I guess everything that should have happened badly happened in 2020," the Prime Minister concluded and expressed his condolences to all those whose houses were damaged.
Sources: Večernji.hr, Jutarnji.hr, Dnevnik.hr
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