Cars were crushed by debris that fell from a building in Zagreb, Croatia (Image: REUTERS)
Shocking images show the damaged Zagreb cathedral, where a spire partially collapsed, as well as buildings that crumbled, sending debris on top of cars and filling streets with rubble.
Experts said the quake struck at a depth of six miles just north of Zagreb and had an initial reading of 6.0, which was later downgraded to 5.3.
A child was injured when a roof collapsed on top of them and firefighters were “overwhelmed” as they received a huge number of calls for help, Sata reported.
It said more than a dozen people were injured and the quake had damaged a number of key buildings, including a children’s hospital.
Debris from a building fell into a road in Zagreb when the earthquake hit (Image: REUTERS)
The quake had an initial reading of 6.0 but was later downgraded to 5.3
(Image: REUTERS) A witness said: “It lasted over 10 seconds. By far the strongest I have ever felt. ”
” It felt like a train was coming through my apartment, in all my time in the city I have never felt anything like that before, ”a local resident told the (Dubrovnik Times.
A Zagreb resident wrote on the Volcano Discovery website: “I was in bed with my partner. This morning. We felt the earth move. We ran outside, half naked and my new BMW had been crushed! “
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The tremor was felt in Austria, where a resident of Graz wrote: “I thought at first it was a strong wind, because windows were shaking. Than I felt the entire house shaking. “
Croatia’s seismologist Ines Ivancic said the tremor was strong and the internet was down in some areas.
A Reuters reporter on the scene saw a church bell tower damaged and people taking to the streets.
Debris from a building blocks a street and a tram line in Zagreb
(Image: REUTERS)
Residents were told to stick to coronavirus social distancing guidelines in the aftermath
(Image: REUTERS) Croatia’s Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic appealed via his (Twitter account to people in the streets to keep social distance between themselves as the country struggles to the contain coronavirus spread.
So far, the country has reported 400 cases of coronavirus and one death.
The US Geological Survey said the quake measured 5.4, while European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) also reported 5.3 magnitude, followed by another 5.1 magnitude earthquake.
The earthquake hit just before 6. am local time, jolting many residents from their sleep.
A powerful aftershock measuring 5.0 hit Zagreb about (minutes later as people assessed the damage.
Residents who left their home to view the damage were told to stay at least one meter apart from each other to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The earthquake was also felt in Bosnia and Herzegovina, H ungary, Slovenia, and Austria.
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