May 4, 2021 - Croatia has received great recognition. The best restaurant in the world, the Danish NOMA, Renea Redjepija, declared the Banija Chefs team from the Chef Cooks Home Association the heroes of the pandemic after they called on everyone who showed up to help in any way to apply.

Večernji List reports, the Chef Cooks Home Association nominated chef Bojan Kljajić, the chef in Sisak during the chefs' humanitarian work after the earthquake in Petrinja, and the volunteer coordinator, Mirta Livingston.

"We are proud to confirm that NOMA announced yesterday that our team has been declared the heroes of the pandemic and will be the first to visit when the restaurant opens after the lockdown, for which they will cook a special dinner," they wrote on the official Instagram page. More details were revealed by chef Mirta Livingston.

"I fainted from happiness when I saw the mail in the evening that we received the award. We have been very kindly asked to confirm that we accept it by May 6th".

"They give a prize by organizing a "Heroes of Pandemic" dinner, and when I found out, I didn't even think about how many winners there were," says the excited volunteer from Banovina who teamed up with many chefs in the earthquake-stricken area, including famous chef Mato Janković. They prepared more than 20 thousand meals for the citizens of Petrinja and the surrounding area.

The dinner will include heroes of the pandemic from all over the world, about a hundred of them - from Croatia to India. "Considering that they only provide dinner, and we pay the travel and accommodation costs ourselves, I don't know how, say, someone from India will get to Denmark," said Mirta.

"So when you ask me what I hope for, I know that Bojan and I can go at our own expense, and my thinking goes in the direction, given that we do not represent Mirta and Bojan, or even the Association ... we represent Croatia, and they are Croatian volunteers between which there is no difference," claims Livingston, explaining that the final recipient of help does not care if someone from Pleter, the Red Cross or their association cooks for him.

"We prepared more than 20 thousand meals and baked two tons of cakes for 0 kuna and thank God that the whole of Croatia is as it is, with a big heart, so that we had donations with which we could do it."

The Chef Cooks at Home association ”is just a wheel, and Bojan and I are an even smaller wheel," Mirta said and added: “ We are talking about Croatia here. That is the Croatian story. I'm not quite sure if it's okay that Bojan and I pay for the ticket ourselves. That ticket can cost 200 euros, and if we found donations for 20 thousand meals, I believe we will find it for a plane ticket, but that is not the point of the story. The point is that Croatia could show the whole world by our example that Croats are good and organized People!" concludes Mirta.

For more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

ZAGREB, 13 March 2021 - The direct damage of the devastating earthquakes in the Banija region on 28 and 29 December is estimated at a little over €5 billion, which is about 10% of Croatia's GDP, Jutarnji List daily said on Saturday, citing unofficial figures.

If one adds the direct damage caused by the March earthquake in Zagreb and its environs, the total is about €16.6 billion or HRK 124.5 billion, just a few billion kuna less than one annual state budget or 32% of GDP.

The estimates after both earthquakes were done by World Bank consultants in cooperation with the Construction Ministry and the Regional Development and EU Funds Ministry.

Eventually, the damage caused by the December quakes could rise to €5.5 billion. It covers the three counties affected - Sisak-Moslavina, Karlovac, and Zagreb - but it's clear that most of the damage was caused in towns and villages in Banija.

After the Zagreb earthquake in March 2020, the damage was estimated at €11.6 billion, twice as much as the damage estimated after the December tremors in Banija, which makes sense given that the areas affected in Banija are mostly rural, with people living in houses. In Zagreb, tenements were damaged too.

The damage was calculated also by density of locality and type of building as well as property prices, which are much higher in the centre of Zagreb than in Glina, Petrinja or Sisak.

According to the latest information, 37,512 buildings have been reported as damaged in Banija and 31,550 have been inspected, with 4,009 receiving a red label, meaning they are unusable, and 6,918 receiving a yellow label, meaning they are temporarily unusable.

In Zagreb, 38,600 buildings have been inspected, with 4,436 receiving the red and 8,318 the yellow label.

Croatia applied for money from the EU Solidarity after the Zagreb earthquake and an application is being prepared for Banija. The deadline for applying is 23 March, but the government will do so by the end of next week, Jutarnji List said.

For more information about earthquakes in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.