President Milanović Visits Earthquake-Afflicted Cities of Sisak and Petrinja

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović visited on Monday morning the cities of Sisak and Petrinja, together with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković, following a strong earthquake that hit Sisak-Moslavina County.

The President spoke with the mayor of Sisak Kristina Ikić Baniček, the mayor of Petrinja Darinko Dumbović and with the residents of the two cities. After touring the Petrinja city centre, President Milanović gave a statement to the media. “An earthquake causes fear and makes people uneasy. It is human to be afraid; fear is the biggest blow for people. But what was destroyed and damaged will be refurbished,” said President Milanović, adding that the earthquake was strongly felt in Zagreb.

Answering reporters’ questions on how the city of Petrinja has been developing since the wartime aggression until today, President Milanović said that life is steadily but slowly returning. “The city was quite damaged, in terms of both human and physical costs. This used to be an area where there was a lot of industry, quality industry – some of it has now returned and some of it has not,” the President said. He added that, at this moment, it would be too early and frivolous to give a damage estimate from the earthquake in Petrinja and its surroundings. The President’s Adviser for Defense and National Security Dragan Lozančić also toured the earthquake-afflicted areas in Sisak and Petrinja alongside President Milanović.  

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas