__NOTOC__ On 5 September 1996 at 22:44 local time (

CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...

, 20:44 UTC), southern

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, was hit by a strong earthquake of

moment magnitude The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...

6.0. The epicentre was near the coastline of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

, close to the village of

Slano Slano is a village in southern Croatia with a small harbour in the bay of the same name. It is located 27 km northwest of Dubrovnik. History The area of Slano was already populated in the prehistoric period (ruins of a hill-fort and tumuli ...

, roughly northwest of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

. The worst damage was of intensity VIII on the

Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale The Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale, also known as the MSK or MSK-64, is a macroseismic intensity scale used to evaluate the severity of ground shaking on the basis of observed effects in an area where an earthquake transpires. The scale was f ...

, occurring in the epicentral area, but also another northwest, at the isthmus of the

Pelješac Pelješac (; Chakavian: ; it, Sabbioncello) is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia. From the isthmus that begins at Ston, to the top o ...

peninsula, around the old town of

Ston Ston () is a settlement and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. History Because of its geopolitical and strategic position, Ston has had a rich history since ant ...

Damage

Three villages were completely destroyed, and there was damage in much of southern Dalmatia, up to

Zagvozd Zagvozd is a village and a seat of Zagvozd municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. In 2011 it had a population of 767. Municipality Zagvozd is a seat of the Municipalities of Croatia, municipality of the same name. It includes the ...

and Grabovac. About 1,400 buildings were damaged and 474 rendered uninhabitable in the epicentral area. Cracks of up to in width appeared in the

Walls of Ston The Walls of Ston ( hr, Stonske zidine) are a series of defensive stone walls, originally more than long, that surrounded and protected the city of Ston, in Dalmatia, part of the Republic of Ragusa, in what is now southern Croatia. Their constru ...

. Some of the destroyed buildings had been weakened by a 4.7 earthquake off

Mljet Mljet (; la, Melita, it, Meleda) is the southernmost and easternmost of the larger Adriatic islands of the Dalmatia region of Croatia. The National Park includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea be ...

in July 1995. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. However, several people were injured, and more than 2,000 were displaced according to the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

. According to the

Croatian Radiotelevision ''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' (abbr. HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is Croatia's public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into thr ...

, there were no injuries. Landslides and collapsed structures blocked the roads to the villages of Mravinca, Trnova and Podimoć. One of the aftershocks temporarily blocked the

Adriatic Highway The Adriatic Highway ( hr, Jadranska magistrala) is a road that stretches along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and is part of the European route E65. The road passes through Croatia, with smaller stretches through Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

, the principal thoroughfare of the Dubrovnik region. Massive boulders were dislodged and rolled down the mountain, in one case colliding with a house. The earthquake reduced groundwater levels, and created a submarine spring between Ston and Doli, where the emitted soil and mud temporarily turned the sea red. The town of Ston took about a decade to recover from the effects of the earthquake.

Earthquake

This was the largest earthquake with an epicentre in the Dubrovnik area since the violent

1667 Dubrovnik earthquake The 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake was one of the three most devastating earthquakes to hit what is now modern Croatia in the last 2,400 years, since records began. The entire city was almost destroyed and around 3,000 to 5,000 people were killed. The ...

, and the peak horizontal acceleration (PGA) of 0.643 ''g'' measured at the Ston saltworks remains the highest observed in Croatia. The significant degree of soil amplification in Ston caused high PGA values of up to 0.313 ''g'' in some of the aftershocks as well. The rupture began on the

reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...

Slano Fault or possibly on the Pelješac Fault, beginning from Slano and continuing for about northwestwards to Ston, where the ground displacement reached . Multiple faults were activated during the earthquake. The shock was felt up to away from the epicentre, and was followed by more than 1,800 aftershocks over the course of a year.

Aftershocks

References

Sources

* * *

External links