ZAGREB,3 January, 2021 - President Zoran Milanovic said on Sunday that the government should declare a state of catastrophic emergency due to the 29 December devastating earthquake that hit Petrinja and other areas of Sisak-Moslavina County.

"I do not know why a state of catastrophic emergency has not yet been declared. Those are important matters legally," Milanovic said in an interview with the N1 commercial broadcaster on Sunday.

Milanovic explained that the declaration of a state of catastrophic emergency was necessary so as to define the command chain and to know who would disburse the money needed for addressing the aftermath of the earthquake.

The president, who is the supreme commander, praised the engagement o the army in Petrinja and other quake-hit areas.

Milanovic believes that the National Civil Protection Authority could manage the quake aftermath, provided that it was given enough money and responsibilities.

Comparing the situation on Petrinja, hit by the 6.2-magnitude earthquake and in Zagreb after the 22 March earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, Milanovic said that Petrinja was razed to the ground while Zagreb would always have the financial strength for the reconstruction.

He, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs in the capital city, claiming that Zagreb was in a negligent state and he pointed out examples of unkempt city properties.

As for the coronavirus infection, Milanovic again called for inoculation of the population.

He added that since the start of his presidential mandate, he had been fair in the relationship with the government.

On Sunday afternoon the parliamentary party Centar also called on the government to declare  a state of catastrophic emergency and criticised the Plenkovic cabinet for how it was dealing with the aftermath of the quake in Sisak-Moslavina County.

January 3, 2021 – Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivo Zinic visited little Daris, the first-born child in Croatia this year, and his mother Nataša Safić, at the Sisak General Hospital "Dr. Ivo Pedišić".

As Hina reports, Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivo Žinić and Deputy Mayor Roman Rosavec visited on Saturday the first child born in Croatia, accompanied by hospital director Tomislav Dujmenović. They congratulated the young mother on her own, but also on behalf of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

Along with the occasional gifts, Prefect Žinić stated that this was a joyful moment in the whole agony.

"This symbolic birth in the first minute of the year is a symbol that 2021 will move in a better direction and that new development awaits us this year," Žinić told the gathered journalists.

Source: Sisak-Moslavina County

As reported earlier, the first baby born in Croatia in 2021 was Daris Safić from Petrinja. The mother and child are fine but remain at the Sisak hospital until further notice because the family was left homeless in the devastating earthquake. They slept in the car before going to the maternity ward.

As it is known, the city of Supetar on Brač has pledged to build a house for the Safić family, which will be a permanent solution. After the visit, Žinić said he believes that the remaining problems would be located in the coming days.

"The system is now working well, from local communities to the state. We have established a call center where citizens will be able to respond to their needs. Victims need psychological help, and we will send a professional team to the field on Sunday," said Žinić.

He thanked the Government of the Republic of Croatia, which made all its forces available.

Source: Sisak-Moslavina County

"Material help is just the beginning of the remediation, to bring the situation under control and at the same time, repair minor damage. According to initial estimates, we have 8750 damaged housing and a large number of public buildings. The first task is to take care of people, and we do not want anyone to be forgotten. The first estimates are that the damage amounts to around three billion kunas," Žinić said.

For more on the Petrinja earthquake and to see how you can donate money, food, humanitarian, sanitary, and material aid, follow TCN's dedicated section.

January 3, 2021 – Just two days after a devastating earthquake hit Croatia, five Croatian musicians showed their big hearts and released a song of support titled "Svi smo uz vas" (We are all with you), dedicated to all earthquake victims, to whom the copyright proceeds will be donated.

The quake that hit the Croatian towns of Petrinja, Sisak, Glina, and surrounding villages on Tuesday, encouraged many volunteers to help, but also some musicians. Desiring to give their contribution with a song, musicians Ivan Zak, Tiho Orlić, Mario Budiščak, Tomislav Priher, and Denis Ferjanić quickly gathered and recorded a song with the symbolic title Svi smo uz vas "(We are all with you).

"It is not enough to say that 2020 was challenging. We were alternately beaten by illness, earthquake, crisis, and this week's earthquakes in Petrinja, Sisak, Glina, and the surrounding area rounded off the unfortunate summary. They wrapped us in black, but also encouraged unity, kindness, and humanity," Ivan Zak told Večernji list.

However, in addition to their support being expressed through music, all copyright proceeds will go to earthquake victims.

"Along with material help, us musicians give our contribution to a song. I wrote this song to try to convey strength and optimism to people in such horrible moments of life. I sang it together with my colleagues Tiho Orlić, Mario Budiščak, Tomislav Priher, Denis Ferjanić," says Zak.

Domagoj Marijan signs the arrangement of the song, and Hit Records released it. Apart from Ivan Zak, other Croatian musicians have recently joined humanitarian and volunteer actions, helping in the field. Many others also appealed for help on their social networks. Singer Lana Jurčević even created a Facebook support group because, as she says, she received hundreds and hundreds of requests to publish information for help.

For more on the Petrinja earthquake and to see how you can donate money, food, humanitarian, sanitary, and material aid, follow TCN's dedicated section.

ZAGREB, 2 January, 2021 - The Petrinja area has been hit by 374 tremors since 28 December, including 109 over the past two days, the Zagreb Faculty of Science Department of Geophysics said on Saturday.

The first earthquake was registered at 6.28 a.m. on 28 December, measuring 5 on the Richter scale.

The strongest one struck Petrinja, Glina and Sisak at 12.19 p.m. on 29 December, measuring 6.2.

By 31 December, the area was hit by 265 tremors with magnitudes above 1 on the Richter scale.

Sixty-nine tremors were registered on 1 January and another 40 by 2 p.m. today.

ZAGREB, 2 January, 2021 - The Croatian Red Cross executive president said on Friday that this charity had to date collected HRK 36 million in donations for people who were left without their home in the 29 December devastating quake which struck the towns of Petrinja, Sisak, Glina and other parts of Sisak-Moslavina County.

We continue receiving donations, the executive president Robert Markt told the Nova TV commercial broadcaster on Friday evening.

Asked why some people whose houses were damaged had not yet received containers or mobile homes to sleep in, Markt explained that the quake-hit area covered over 1,000 square kilometres and 305 settlements and this dispersion of settlements could be a reason.

He said that currently, there was no need for new volunteers but in the coming days they would need fresh force.

"This is the operation that will last long and I would like all interested to apply in a few days, we will include them in the operation."

"We all can be proud of our Civil Protection services, and our system of Homeland Protection," said Markt in his comment on what has been done in the first 72 hours since the devastating quake.

January 2, 2021 – Shortly after the terrible earthquake that hit the area of Sisak-Moslavina County, the sky above Sisak sent a symbolic message – a beautiful cloud that looks like Croatia on the map appeared above the city!

In the moments of the terrible earthquake that hit Sisak, Petrinja, and surrounding places on Tuesday, which damaged over 2000 houses, an unusual cloud appeared in the sky above Sisak. Few people managed even to notice it, but one child realized – the cloud is in the shape of Croatia on the map. His sister hurriedly captured the moment – she took a photo of the symbolic cloud, which was later shared across social media.

Their mother, Antonija Kmetović, first posted the photo on her Facebook profile. She explained to Jutarnji list how they survived the earthquake and how the significant photo was created.

"We were in the apartment during the earthquake. Everything was breaking, moving, shaking, thundering. The four of us were falling over. We clung to the door frame and begged it to stop. It seemed like an eternity. When it stopped, collapsed closets clogged our hallway. We barely got out, barefoot, hugging, and crying. I left my mobile phone to my children and ran to the apartment to get jackets and shoes. They were standing in front of the building with their neighbors while my husband was removing the closets so that we could walk through the buried hallway," Antonija describes the horror moments they survived in the quake.

"My son saw strange clouds. He is studying geography, so he is interested in maps and longitudes and latitudes. So my daughter immediately photographed the sky. There is no filter or editing. Pure gratitude that we are alive and that we managed to escape outside, that it stopped shaking," says Antonija.

Shortly after the earthquake, she posted a beautiful photo of a cloud in the shape of Croatia on her Facebook profile with the description "God, save Croatia." Their apartment cracked after the devastating earthquake, but she and her family are okay. They are happy that nothing happened to them.

"The apartment cracked, but I think we were fortunate that the building was well built, even though it is over 60 years old. When I see what happened to others, this is happiness to heaven," concludes Antonija.

For more on the Petrinja earthquake, follow our dedicated section.

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ZAGREB, 1 January, 2021 - A 3.6 magnitude quake rocked Croatia around 1.13 p.m. on Friday, with the epicentre four kilometres west-southwest of Sisak, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported.

The quake occurred at a depth of two kilometres and its epicentre was 48 kilometres southeast of Zagreb.

After a moderate tremor 45 minutes later, at 1.40 and 1.44 p.m. two weaker quakes occurred, measuring 2.5 on the Richter scale. One occurred 19 kilometres southwest of Velika Gorica and the other northeast of Zapresic.

The two quakes have not yet been confirmed by the Croatian Seismological Survey.

For more on the Petrinja earthquake, follow our dedicated section.

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January 1, 2021 – In the sea of sad news for one Petrinja family, whose house was demolished in an earthquake, a positive one arrived in the first minute of 2021. They welcomed a new family member – the first baby in 2021 in Croatia, born in Sisak Hospital.

The deputy director of the Sisak Hospital, Marin Repustić, who was on duty last night, shared the happy news on his Facebook account.

"I have to post this. On January 1, 2021, at 00:01, a baby was born in the Sisak Hospital. Our city still lives," wrote Repustić in his statement. He confirmed the news for Index, which quickly shared the happy news.

"Fifteen seconds after midnight, little Daris was born. It is very symbolic that he was born in Sisak. Mother and baby are fine. We are all overjoyed because everything went well. A baby was born in that part of the maternity ward that survived the earthquake," Repustić told Index.

A few days ago, the family was left homeless in the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit Petrinja, Sisak, Glina, and many other places and villages across Sisak-Moslavina County.

"The lady is from Petrinja, this is her second child, and their house was demolished in the terrible earthquake. After the earthquake, she slept with her family in the car," Repustić said.

Numerous Croatian residents enthusiastically commented on social media that this is a good sign for their entire region after the suffering they have been going through in recent days.

"Dear colleague, this status is the best New Year's card/news. Sisak is being born, rising from the ashes. Happy New Year 2021, congratulations to parents, quick recovery to mother," reads one of many comments.

More information will be published soon, and everyone who wants will be able to help this family from Petrinja, which became richer for a new family member by entering 2021.

For more on the Petrinja earthquake, follow our dedicated section.

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December 31, 2020 - Not even last night could pass peacefully in the wider Petrinja area. From 1 am, at least four earthquakes in Petrinja were recorded.

Index.hr reports that the strongest was at 4:36 am with a magnitude 3.8 on the Richter scale, then at 5:30, 3.1 on the Richter scale, and 6.25 also 3.1 on the Richter scale. These figures have yet to be validated by the Croatian Seismological Service.

Unlike Wednesday morning, these are slightly weaker earthquakes. Recall that on Wednesday morning, Croatia was shaken by an earthquake of 4.8 on the Richter scale.

A similar situation is expected in the coming days, and even weeks, seismologists warn.

On Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that 66 earthquakes were felt in central Croatia in the last 58 hours.

Part of the residents in the earthquake-stricken area also spent their second night outside.

"Occasionally we start the cars up, my son and grandson and a neighbor who is alone are with me. We stayed and waited for the containers. The house was demolished. We hope for the help of good people.

One took off his own fur coat and gave it to my grandson, the man was from Samobor, everyone jumped in told help," one woman told HRT this morning almost in tears.

Croatia was rocked by a strong earthquake on Tuesday afternoon. At 12.19 pm, seismologists recorded a devastating earthquake with an epicenter five kilometers southwest of Petrinja at a depth of 11.5 kilometers. The Richter magnitude of the earthquake was 6.2. 

Many weaker earthquakes followed, and all earthquakes had an epicenter near Petrinja and its surroundings.

From 12.23 to 12.58 on Tuesday, the largest number of subsequent earthquakes occurred, as many as 10 - with Richter magnitudes greater than 3.

At least seven people were killed. That is a number that has been confirmed, and it is not excluded that more victims will be discovered later.

Among the dead are a 12-year-old girl in Petrinja, a 20-year-old boy from one house, a grandfather from another, and a father and son from the same house in Majske Poljane near Glina, Glina Deputy Mayor Branka Bakšić Mitić confirmed. It was later confirmed that another male had died in Majske Poljane.

After a seven-hour search, the body of a man killed under the ruins of a church in Žažina was found.

At least six people were seriously injured, and 20 were slightly injured, the Ministry of the Interior announced.

You can read our live updates on the Petrinja earthquake from Tuesday, December 30, 2020, HERE.

December the 31st, 2020 - If you want to help the Petrinja earthquake victims in Petrinja, Glina, Sisak or any of the other surrounding areas which have been affected, Glovo will deliver your package free of charge.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Glovo, a delivery service which has been present and very popular in Croatia for some time now, has joined the action of collecting donations for the earthquake-affected areas and enabled everyone who wants to help Petrinja earthquake victims to do so more easily by picking up donations for free and delivering them to the desired addresses in the affected areas.

If you want to help, all you need to do is prepare the supplies you want to donate, open the Glovo application, select the Express Delivery category and enter the address where the donation should be collected, as well as the address to which you want to send the donation. Donations are then delivered free of charge to the address you entered - whether it is the address of the Red Cross/Crveni kriz collection point or other organisations that organised the fundraiser.

''Sisak, Petrinja, Glina and the surrounding areas affected by the Petrinja earthquake need our help and we believe that we can help if we all join forces. We'd like to invite everyone who is able to do so to donate and help as much as they can, and we will take care of all of the logistics and donations to reach those in need,'' said Teo Sirola, the director of Glovo for Croatia, adding that the goal of this action is to facilitate the donation process and hopefully increase the overall number of donations to the victims of the recent devastating Petrinja earthquake, which sadly took multiple lives.

Donations made via Glovo can be completed in a mere few clicks and are easy and totally free. It is possible to donate groceries, clothes, hygiene and other necessities through the aforementioned app. Activation is available in all eleven Croatian cities where Glovo operates - Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek, Zadar, Sisak, Pula, Karlovac, Velika Gorica, Varazdin and Slavonski Brod and the action will last for as long as necessary.

If you want to donate funds or food, material, sanitary, humanitarian or anti-epidemic items, you can find out how here, with lists of what is most needed provided. If you want to donate via a special donations account set up for Petrinja by HPB, click here. Donations made into the special HPB account are free of any additional charges, even if you don't live in Croatia and are paying from a foreign bank account.