Major earthquake hits Croatia’s meteorological service

The headquarters of Croatia’s Meteorological and Hydrological Service (DMHZ) were severely damaged by a major earthquake which hit the capital Zagbreb on 22 March.

Staff are working to continue essential forecast and warning services. But there was disruption to other services given the extent of the damage to the seventeenth century building, including the main computer room, and electricity outages.

The earthquake, at 5.5 on the Richter scale, was the strongest in decades and caused a number of casualties. It exacerbated the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID19 pandemic. Meteorological and hydrological services are part of the network of essential services supporting government authorities during the pandemic.

Croatia's Meteorological and Hydrological Service is an active WMO Member and its at the heart of many activities which support disaster risk reduction and resilience in Southeast Europe and the Balkans. The importance of its work goes well beyond national frontiers.