4.2 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Gracac near Zadar, Felt Throughout Dalmatia
September 20, 2020 – After a few minor earthquakes in the past few days, Croatia was hit by a stronger earthquake, this time in Dalmatia, near Gračac. As Index.hr reports, on Sunday, around 12:55 PM, Gračac was hit by an earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale, and it was felt throughout Dalmatia.
The EMSC's first report was that the earthquake was 4.2 magnitude, then 4.0. However, the Croatian Seismological Service reports that the earthquake was 4.2 magnitude on the Richter scale.
The earthquake was recorded 88 kilometers northwest of Split, 12 kilometers southwest of Gračac, and 51 kilometers east of Zadar. It was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometers.
#potres (#earthquake) 20.09. u 12:55, kod Gračaca, M4.2. Ispričavamo se zbog poteškoća s radom internetske stranice.
— Seizmološka služba HR (@seizmo_hr) September 20, 2020
Felt throughout Dalmatia
One Gračac resident said that the earthquake was short-lived, but was quite noticeable. According to the comments on the EMSC application, the earthquake was felt all over Dalmatia, so the citizens of Zadar, Šibenik, Split, and other towns felt it.
“We felt the earthquake on Pag, it was quite strong,” readers from Pag report.
“Split, in the wider center, 7th floor in a skyscraper, 3 light hits, like banging. There was no shaking. Altogether it went on for 3-4 seconds,” said one reader from Split.
“It was quite well felt in Biograd. It lasted for 10-15 seconds and there was some rocking. In the end, it roared,” said one reader from Biograd.
“The earthquake was felt even in Drniš and it was not pleasant at all,” one reader informed.
Felt #earthquake (#potres) M4.2 strikes 51 km E of #Zadar (#Croatia) 6 min ago. Please report to: https://t.co/v0KHd5M27G pic.twitter.com/yItrXGxEjA
— EMSC (@LastQuake) September 20, 2020
Readers from Kaštela report they felt the earthquake too.
“At 1 PM an earthquake was felt in the area of Split. We felt it in Kaštela. It didn't last long, but it shook us well,” said one reader.
There is no official data on the strength of the earthquake and its epicenter on the website of the Croatian Seismological Service. In addition, it is not known whether there was any material damage.
Strong earthquake, but without material damage
Seismologist Krešimir Kuk said that the earthquake that hit the area around Gračac on Sunday was strong, but there were no reports of material damage. He also stressed that this earthquake should not be associated with earthquakes from the Zagreb epicentral area because they are not directly related.
“The earthquake was moderately strong to strong. Therefore, it was a strong earthquake that manifested itself and was felt significantly in the narrower epicentral area, which caused great concern among the citizens. It was felt in the wider area, all the way to Zadar, Biograd, Knin,” Kuk told N1 television.
He added that the area around Gračac, Knin, and the southern part of the coast is also very seismically active and earthquakes occur there.
"It was a strong earthquake, but not so strong that it should cause material damage, and we hope that it's normal seismic activity," concluded seismologist Krešimir Kuk.
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