12 22 Teves 5781 // January 6, 2021

TOP OF THE WEEK

EXCLUSIVE: Earthquakes in
Central Croatia; ‘We Will Rebuild’
EYEWITNESS REPORT

GABI ABRAMAC

ZAGREB, Croatia — On Monday,

December 28, at 6:38 a.m., we were
awoken by an earthquake in Zagreb,
the capital of Croatia. The magni-
tude was 5.2 on the Richter scale,
and the epicenter was 30 miles (50
kilometers) away, in the region of
the city of Petrinja. My earthquake
app, installed on my phone after
the Zagreb earthquake of March
22, notified me of the magnitude of
two anticipated aftershocks.
Wounds were still fresh from
another earthquake of 5.3 mag-
nitude that had hit the capital
on March 22, in the midst of the
pandemic lockdown. The quake
claimed one life and left 27 people A view of
wounded. It damaged numerous damaged
buildings and practically the entire buildings
historical city center. My own in Croatia.
house suffered some damage, and
the building of a language insti-
tute I own and run was practically
destroyed and required serious
renovation. Many Jewish com-
munal institutions were also dam-
aged, among them the Jewish com-
munity building, called Bet Israel;
the elementary school Hugo Kon;
the Jewish kindergarten; the Jew-
ish museum; and the Jewish retire-
ment home.
After our experience with the
previous earthquake, we all knew
that the earthquake of Monday
would imminently be followed by
aftershocks. The earth kept trem-
bling and shaking for months after
the March earthquake, so we knew
we had to brace ourselves now.
Aftershocks are usually less
powerful than the initial blast,
but what happened next nobody
expected: a deadly 6.2 magnitude Tomislav Suknaić and his
earthquake on Tuesday, at 12:19 son, from the village of
p.m. The epicenter of the quake Majske Poljane, survived
was near the towns of Petrinja, the earthquake under the
Glina and Sisak, exactly as the day doorpost as the whole house
before. crumbled. Then he went on
I was grocery shopping, and at to save his horse.
the time of the earthquake I was
in a semi-empty parking lot where
there was no risk of crumbling
buildings or tumbling objects. By down as a precaution. pletely destroyed and that it looked tain Rescue Service. Dozens were
the time I arrived home, two build- The mayor of Petrinja, Darinko like Hiroshima. wounded. Tens of thousands of
ings on my block had imploded. Dumbović, was holding a press The earthquake killed five peo- people have been left homeless.
The earthquake was felt across conference at the time the cata- ple in the village of Majske Poljane: Each person, each family, has a
the Balkans, all the way to the strophic earthquake happened. a 12-year-old girl in the town of harrowing story to tell.
Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, The cameras recorded the destruc- Petrinja, and a man in the village In Majske Poljane, a village
Austria and Germany. The Krško tion and panic. In the aftermath of of Žažina. Six people were rescued completely leveled, five villag-
Nuclear Power Plant, co-owned the disastrous quake, Dumbović from the rubble with the help of ers lost their lives. With the help
by Croatia and Slovenia, was shut said that his town had been com- search dogs and Croatia’s Moun- of search dogs, rescuers managed
 22 Teves 5781 // January 6, 2021
to locate an old woman under the
debris. As they were pulling her
out, they saw that she had survived
because her husband had shielded
her with his body. It was too late for
her husband. As the rescuers were
carrying her on the stretcher, there
was a feeble hand reaching out to
them in despair and gratitude.
A father and a son were pulled
from a car buried under debris.
National and international soli-
darity is unprecedented. By the end
of the day on Tuesday, thousands of
self-organized civilians arrived in
Petrinja carrying shovels, ropes,
tools, plastic sheets to cover the
roofs, water, food, blankets and
hygienic supplies. Thousands of
people all over the country offered
to host the survivors; hotels opened
up for them. Some people donated
their cars. Blood donors waited for
over seven hours in lines to donate
blood. Such was the impact of the
tragedy that befell Croatia.
But people do not want to leave
what until a few days ago were their
homes and property. They sleep in
their cars in front of their homes.
Some are gathered around fires
they lit in huge empty tin barrels.
Farmers cannot leave their cattle;
others are afraid that the remnants
of their homes will be robbed. Most
want to stay together with their
neighbors and help each other out.
Tomislav Suknaić and his son
recount how they hugged each
other when the earthquake struck
and stood under the doorframe,
expecting to die together. The
whole house collapsed, but the
doorframe stood firm. When the
earthquake stopped, they ran bare-
foot out to their yard. Noticing that
one of their horses was trapped,
they grabbed a chainsaw and freed
the horse from a collapsed barn.
The reporters ask Suknaić
where he plans to go now. “Not
from this yard,” he replies. “We will
rebuild.”
This man, as many others
affected by this earthquake, will be
rebuilding his home for the second
time in his life.
This area was severely affected
by the Homeland War (1991-1995)
that followed Croatia’s separa-
tion from Yugoslavia. Many peo-
ple were displaced then, leaving
their homes, and had to start from
scratch in 1995 when the war
ended.
In numerous videos of visibly
shaken and distressed residents,
all of them keep repeating that this
experience was worse than war.
“I am ready to start from the
beginning for the second time,” one
of them says through tears. “We
will rebuild our lives back from
rubble again if only dear G-d can
stop these quakes.”
Robert Fajt/CROPIX
Rescuing a father and a
son trapped inside a car.
Robert Fajt/CROPIX
Josip and Leon
Hodak, saved from
the car.
Marin Tironi/Pixsell
The aftermath of the
earthquake in Sisak.
TOP OF THE WEEK 13
I know how they feel, as I was
a refugee myself for four years.
When the earthquake struck in
March and I found myself outside
on a snowy morning in my robe, I
had flashes of our 1991 displace-
ment. This earthquake has trig-
gered PTSD of the war for many.
The footage arriving from the
epicenter of earthquake is surreal.
In some villages, the ground opened
up, leaving massive cracks. Wit-
nesses are describing the scenes of
forests and buildings “dancing“ in
front of their eyes and the ground
under their feet rising and falling
in wave-like motions.
I am writing this on Friday,
January 1. The tremors are con-
tinuing, and there is a new earth-
quake every 20-30 minutes. The
milder ones we do not feel; it is only
the buzzing of the earthquake app
that notifies us about it. Experts
say that the ground is going to be
seismically active for at least a year
because the initial blast was so
strong.
It is hard to be fully functional.
As you sit on your couch, it starts
swaying and rocking like a little
boat, and when you go to bed, the
light above your head starts rat-
tling. Then all of a sudden you
hear the agitated dogs barking and
howling, and you brace yourself for
another one because you know that
animals can sense them coming.
You never know: Are you going
to underestimate it, or perhaps go
paranoid if you start thinking how
lethal it could be?
Worst of all: There is nothing
you can do about it. How can you
be prepared for or shielded from
something like this?
On Tuesday I saw a woman com-
ing to her car to find it covered in
debris. You start thinking — what
would have happened had she not
gotten out of it minutes before the
quake struck? It is all really about
30 seconds difference, being some-
where or not. How can one program
for, plan around or avoid 30-second
aftershocks?
I haven’t gone to my school to
check if it has suffered any dam-
age in the quakes of this week. On
one hand, I am not ready to face
potential damage and a new round
of repairs. On the other hand, I am
aware that even if my language
institute has been damaged a sec-
ond time, I still have many bless-
ings to count compared to the
misery and misfortune I am seeing
these days.
As people around the globe
anticipate that the new year is
going to bring new beginnings and
that the challenges of 2020 will be
left behind, Croatians are entering
2021 with January 2 as a national
day of mourning.