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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 30 december 2020
Magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes Croatia; 6 deaths reported

By SASA KAVIC coast village of Ston was
Associated Press destroyed.
PETRINJA, Croatia (AP) — A Regional TV channel N1 re-
strong earthquake hit cen- ported from Petrinja that a
tral Croatia on Tuesday, collapsed building had fall-
destroying buildings and en on a car. The footage
sending panicked people showed firefighters trying to
fleeing into rubble-covered remove the debris. A man
streets in a town southeast and a small boy eventually
of the capital. Authorities were rescued from the car
said at least six people and carried into an ambu-
were killed and dozens lance.
were injured. The Croatian military was
The European Mediterra- deployed in the region to
nean Seismological Cen- help with the rescue opera-
ter said the magnitude 6.3 tion.
quake hit 46 kilometers (28 Croatian seismologist Kresi-
miles) southeast of Zagreb. mir Kuk described the
It caused widespread dam- earthquake as “extremely
age in the hardest-hit town strong,” far stronger than
of Petrinja. The same area another one that hit Za-
was struck by a 5.2 quake greb and nearby areas
on Monday. People walk through the rubble from buildings damaged in an earthquake in Petrinja, Croatia, in the spring. He warned
Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020.
Officials said a 12-year-old Associated Press people to keep out of po-
girl died in Petrinja, a town tentially shaky old buildings
of some 25,000 people. “My town has been com- earthquake. evacuated in army heli- and move to newer areas
Another five people were pletely destroyed. We have “The biggest part of cen- copters and ambulances. of the city because of af-
killed in a nearly destroyed dead children,” Petrinja tral Petrinja is in a red zone, Health officials said a baby tershocks.
village close to the town, Mayor Darinko Dumbovic which means that most of was delivered in a tent in In the capital, people ran
according to the state HRT said in a statement broad- the buildings are not us- front of the hospital in the into the streets in fear.
television. At least 20 peo- cast by HRT. “This is like Hi- able,” Plenkovic said. aftermath of the earth- The earthquake was felt
ple were hospitalized, two roshima - half of the city no He said the army has 500 quake. throughout the country
with serious injuries, officials longer exists.” places ready in barracks European Commission and in neighboring Serbia,
said, adding that many Marica Pavlovic, a resident, to house people, while oth- President Ursula von der Bosnia and Slovenia. It was
more people are unac- said the quake felt “worse ers will be accommodated Leyen said on Twitter that felt as far away as Graz in
counted for. than a war.” in nearby hotels and other she spoke with Plenkovic southern Austria, the Aus-
In Petrinja, cries could be “It was horrible, a shock, places. and instructed an envoy to tria Press Agency reported.
heard from underneath de- you don’t know what to “No one must stay out in travel to Croatia as soon as Authorities in Slovenia said
stroyed houses. One wom- do, whether to run out or the cold tonight,” the prime possible. the Krsko nuclear power
an was found alive some hide somewhere,” she told minister said. As a Mediterranean coun- plant was temporarily shut
four hours after the quake. The Associated Press. Officials also toured a dam- try, Croatia is prone to down following the earth-
Emergency teams used res- Croatian Prime Minister An- aged hospital in the nearby earthquakes, but not big quake. The power plant is
cue dogs while looking for drej Plenkovic and other town of Sisak, which was ones. The last strong quake jointly owned by Slovenia
survivors, while family mem- government ministers ar- also badly hit. Plenkovic struck in the 1990s when and Croatia and located
bers looked on in despair. rived in Petrinja after the said the patients will be the picturesque Adriatic near their border.q

Dutch government under fire for late start with vaccinations

By MIKE CORDER Delaying the start of the ing staff.
Associated Press vaccination program De Jonge declined com-
THE HAGUE, Netherlands means that “the overbur- ment Tuesday on Coutin-
(AP) — A former senior dening of healthcare will ho’s criticism.
health official has called continue for a long time. In another grim measure
the Netherlands’ corona- That means it has an ef- of the pandemic’s impact,
virus vaccination strategy fect not only for people the Dutch government’s
“embarrassing,” as the who have COVID, but also Central Bureau for Statis-
nation waits until Jan. 8 to for others, because they tics reported Tuesday that
begin administering shots cannot be admitted or op- 162,000 people have died
while other nations in Eu- erations have to be post- in the Netherlands this year,
rope and elsewhere al- poned.” 13,000 more than would be
ready have started vacci- The first batch of vaccines expected in a normal year.
nations. made by Pfizer and its Ger- The country has registered
Roel Coutinho, a respect- man partner BioNTech al- more than 10,500 COV-
ed former director of the ready have arrived in the ID-19 fatalities. A nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine to Josepha Delmotte,
Center for Infectious Dis- Netherlands, but will not be “Such a rise in the number 102 years old, center, at La Bonne Maison de Bouzanton care
home in Mons, Belgium, Monday, Dec. 28, 2020.
ease Control at the Nation- administered until Jan. 8. of deaths has not been Associated Press
al Institute for Public Health The government has said seen since World War II,”
and the Environment, told it is still involved in prepa- the agency said. past two weeks from 48.64 on Dec. 28, although re-
Dutch current affairs show rations including getting IT The 7-day rolling average new cases per 100,000 peo- ported new cases declined
Nieuwsuur on Monday systems ready to register all of daily new cases in Neth- ple on Dec. 14 to 58.30 new over the Christmas holi-
night: “Every week counts.” the vaccinations and train- erlands has risen over the cases per 100,000 people days. q