Earthquakes in Zagreb

Zagreb faces a moderate-to-high seismic risk driven by active faults along the southern flank of Medvednica mountain, where the Adriatic microplate pushes into the Eurasian plate and squeezes the northwestern Dinarides. This slow but persistent compression produces shallow crustal earthquakes directly beneath and around the Croatian capital. Because the historic city centre contains many old masonry buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries, even a moderate shallow quake can cause serious damage, as the region's records over several centuries make clear.

The most recent major event struck on 22 March 2020, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake with an epicentre just north of the city centre near Markuševec. Striking early on a Sunday morning during the COVID-19 lockdown, it killed one person, injured more than two dozen, and damaged thousands of buildings including the neo-Gothic cathedral, whose southern spire was cracked and later dismantled. The 2020 shock echoed the destructive earthquake of 9 November 1880, an event of around magnitude 6.3 that heavily damaged Zagreb and prompted the first systematic seismological studies in Croatia. Together these events underline that the Zagreb area remains seismically active and vulnerable.