Earthquake hits Serbia, two killed

**~~Radojica~~** · 11-03-2010, 06:28 AM

AN earthquake struck Serbia early today, killing two people, wounding dozens and inflicting substantial damage on the city of Kraljevo where electricity and other services were cut, reports said.

The 5.6-magnitude quake hit at 1.56am (1156 AEDT) with its epicentre 10 kilometres north of Kraljevo in the centre of the country, the Serbian seismological institute said.
"Two people lost their lives at Grdica, close to Kraljevo, in the earthquake during the night,'' Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said, quoted by the Tanjug news agency.
B92 television reported that emergency services in Kraljevo treated dozens of wounded.
The city was badly damaged, Tanjug said. It was plunged into darkness as power was cut while phone lines and water supply were also severed.
The quake was felt across the country, including the capital Belgrade about 150km north of Kraljevo.

The US Geological Survey measured it with a magnitude of 5.3 at a relatively shallow depth of 10km.
It was followed by four less powerful aftershocks, the Serbian institute said.

**Gamera** · 11-03-2010, 06:35 AM

5.6-magnitude is really not that big at all, if with that sort of earthquake you have considerable damage and even a few deaths, you should really take action about that to prevent that sort of consequences in the future! Earthquakes are very unpredictable.

**~~Radojica~~** · 11-03-2010, 06:38 AM

Originally Posted by Gamera

5.6-magnitude is really not that big at all, if with that sort of earthquake you have considerable damage and even a few deaths, you should really take action about that to prevent that sort of consequences in the future! Earthquakes are very unpredictable.

Strongest earthquakes which can hit Serbia are of 6 magnitude on Richter scale, so this is one of the hardest in this part of Europe in the last 12 years.

I just know that I am some 200 km away from Kraljevo and that I got woken up without idea what's going on. My first thought was earthquake, but I just turned around and continue with my sleeping.

**Gamera** · 11-03-2010, 06:43 AM

Originally Posted by Mr. Nobody

Strongest earthquakes which can hit Serbia are of 6 magnitude on Richter scale, so this is one of the hardest in this part of Europe in the last 12 years.

I just know that I am some 200 km away from Kraljevo and that I got woken up without idea what's going on. My first thought was earthquake, but I just turned around and continue with my sleeping.

Oh, I see. Well, we get the 5 - 6 magnitude earthquakes quite often here in Lima, they never cause deaths or considerable damage. It's probably because in Serbia you are not used to them, then. The only ones that cause deaths are the 7.5 - 8.0 magnitude ones, and those are scary as well.

**~~Radojica~~** · 11-03-2010, 06:47 AM

Originally Posted by Gamera

Oh, I see. Well, we get the 5 - 6 magnitude earthquakes quite often here in Lima, they never cause deaths or considerable damage. It's probably because in Serbia you are not used to them, then. The only ones that cause deaths are the 7.5 - 8.0 magnitude ones, and those are scary as well.

Exactly. There's a term called "polymorphism" which is saying that an earthquake (for example) of the same magnitude can cause different damage in different parts of the world, which is depending on many reasons. This earthquake would probably cause hundreds of deaths in India, or Indonesia, for example, while that was not the case in Serbia.

**~~Radojica~~** · 11-03-2010, 11:25 AM

[YOUTUBE]wuxKzT6cDWk[/YOUTUBE]

**~~Treffie~~** · 11-03-2010, 11:41 AM

^Did you feel anything? We sometimes get 5.5 even though we don't have any major faultlines.

The Richter Scale is no longer used these days, it's the MMS.

**~~Radojica~~** · 11-03-2010, 12:27 PM

Yes I did. It woke me up, but since nothing started to fall apart, i continued with my sleeping

**~~Radojica~~** · 11-10-2010, 10:11 PM

An official says that the damage from last week's earthquake in central Serbia has been estimated at more than (EURO)100 million ($139 million).

Ljubisa Simovic, the mayor of the central town of Kraljevo, said Wednesday that more than 1,000 houses are no longer usable, while additional 5,000 must be repaired.
Kraljevo was the hardest hit by the 5.3 magnitude earthquake last Wednesday, which killed two people and wounded dozens.
Authorities say that minor temblors have been continuously felt in the area since last week, while a landslide apparently caused by the earthquake kept a key road blocked for nearly a day earlier this week.