On 28 December 2020, seismic activity in the wider Petrinja area strongly intensified after a period of relative seismological quiescence that had lasted more than 100 years (since the well-known M5.8 Kupa Valley earthquake of 1909, which is known based on the discovery of the Mohorovičić discontinuity). The day after the M5 foreshock, a destructive M6.2 mainshock occurred. Outcomes of preliminary seismological, geological and SAR image analyses indicate that the foreshocks, mainshock and aftershocks were generated due to the (re)activation of a complex fault system—the intersection of longitudinal NW–SE right-lateral and transverse NE–SW left-lateral faults along the transitional contact zone of the Dinarides and the Pannonian Basin. According to a survey of damage to buildings, approximately 15% of buildings were very heavily damaged or collapsed. Buildings of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance mostly collapsed or became unserviceable. A preliminary analysis of the earthquake ground motion showed that in the epicentral area, the estimated peak ground acceleration PGA values for the bedrock ranged from 0.29 to 0.44 g. In the close Petrinja epicentral area that is characterized by the superficial deposits, significant ground failures were reported within local site effects. Based on that finding and building damage, we assume that the resulting peak ground acceleration (PGAsite) values were likely between 0.4 and 0.6 g depending on the local site characteristics and the distance from the epicentre.
The city of Ivanec is located between valley of the Bednja River and Mt. Ivanščica and this area can be prone to significant seismic site amplification due to local site characteristics. This study presents the first assessment of seismic site amplification for the city of Ivanec by the microtremor horizontal-to-vertical-spectral-ratio (HVSR) method and the equivalent-linear (EQL) site response analysis. Based on microtremor measurements and HVSR analysis, fundamental soil frequency and HVSR peak amplitude maps indicate potentially seismic danger zones. The 1-D EQL site response analysis was performed using multiple suites of earthquake ground motions scaled to the 95-and 475-year return periods of peak ground accelerations. Site amplification maps at the predominant peak frequency and ground surface indicate two microzones, one with high amplification in the central part of the city due to soft soil characteristics, and the other with small amplification in the transitional zone from alluvial basin towards the foothills of Mt. Ivanščica. HVSR peak amplitudes and site response peak amplifications showed similar spatial distributions with similar predominant peak frequencies but with different amplitude levels. Site amplification maps provided significant information about potential resonance effects for structures of certain heights that can be correlated with the local ground shaking characteristics.
In the morning of 22 March 2020 at 5:24 (UTC) a damaging earthquake struck Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. This shallow local magnitude 5,5 earthquake was the strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake in the NW part of Croatia since 1908 when the first seismological station was installed in Zagreb. The strongest aftershock of local magnitude 4,9 happened at 6:01 (UTC) on the same day. Both events were recorded by two strong motion stations in the City of Zagreb, located close to the epicentres (10 km).
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