ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - A hailstorm hit the north of Croatia on Wednesday afternoon, causing extensive damage on facilities and agricultural land and destroying almost half of the country's flower production.

The hailstorm hit the area along the border with Slovenia in Krapina-Zagorje County, a number of communities and towns in Varaždin County and a part of Međimurje County.

Veliki Bukovec in Varaždin County and Hum na Sutli in Krapina-Zagorje County have suffered the most extensive damage.

Varaždin County head Anđelko Stričak visited the area of Veliki Bukovec, where 40% of Croatia's flower production is located and where not a single greenhouse has remained undamaged.

Stričak said that local residents could not remember a hailstorm as strong as the one that happened on Wednesday and that almost half of the country's flower production had been destroyed.

No casualties were reported.

Krapina-Zagorje County head Željko Kolar told Hina that the hailstorm caused damage to roofs, roof windows and a large number of vehicles while agricultural crops along the Sutla River, on the border with Slovenia, were completely destroyed.

Parts of Međimurje County were hit by the storm as well, and county head Matija Posavec said that in some areas the hail was the size of walnuts.

All three county heads said that damage would be established and that further decisions on declaring a state of natural disaster were being prepared.

Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković is expected to hold a news conference on the situation on Thursday.

ZAGREB, 5 February, 2021 - A tremor measuring 2.7 on the Richter scale was registered near the northern town of Ludbreg on early Friday morning, Croatia's Seismological Survey reported.

The epicentre of the earthquake, which was registered at 0430 hours Friday, was seven kilometres south of Ludbreg.

ZAGREB, Sept 26, 2020 - The 50th edition of the traditional grape harvest feast took place in the northern town of Pregrade on Saturday under the auspices of Croatian President Zoran Milanovic.

Attending the feast in the vineyards of the wine-making cellar Zdolc, President Milanovic commented on the grape harvest rituals in the country, and called on the Croatians "to drink a little, drink well", and in this context, he called for the consumption of local wines produced throughout Croatia.

Representatives of the tourist board recalled that the roots of the traditional grape harvest feast in Pregrada went back to1939, and the first edition of the festival was held in 1971.

Average wine consumption per capita in Croatia 22 liters in 2018

In the 2017/2018 wine-making year in Croatia, the average wine consumption per capita was 22 liters, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) data.

The total production of wine in 2018 was 726,000 hectolitres, and wines with protected designation of origin accounted for the majority of the total production (470,000 hectolitres, 64.8%).

Varietal wines account for 4.1% of the total production, and other wines for 31.1%.

The DZS data show that the total wine export in the 2017/2018 wine-making year was 232,900 hectolitres, while the initial stock was 712,800 hectolitres.

Total domestic wine consumption in the 2017/2018 wine-making year was 984,700 hectolitres, and other wines accounted for the largest part in the total consumption (468,000 hectolitres, 47.6%). The degree of self-sufficiency, that is, the ratio of production and total domestic consumption of wine, was 74%.

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