Croatia earthquake: aftermath and failings in disaster relief

31 December 2020 · 2 min read published

John van der Velden
Independent Researcher

Observation

Images are finally appearing in the media from the edges of small villages. The damage is immense: entire houses and farms razed to the ground. My neighbour was on site with the caravan convoy. There is nothing left: no electricity, no food, not even a roof over their heads.

Context

The earthquakes continue. Aftershocks follow every hour, ranging from light tremors to clear shocks. Buildings that had not yet collapsed are giving way. The Kupa River is on the verge of overflowing. People may soon benefit more from a boat than from a caravan.

Standing caravans and portable cabins are arriving from everywhere. Even the Ministry of Tourism is helping, along with major recreation organisations. The €88.6 million in aid disbursed by the EU in September 2020 must be accounted for somewhere. Private initiative delivers enormous effort: more than 700 calls from strangers begging for a caravan because they no longer have a roof over their heads as elderly people or young families.

Reading

The dark side of the relief effort is misconduct in the larger towns. People who stay with their damaged or collapsed houses are being robbed in the dark. People bringing food and emergency supplies are being stopped and robbed. The perpetrators form an as yet unknown group — presumably people from surrounding villages where no help has yet arrived: no fire brigade, no Red Cross, no army.

Transports are now escorted by the MUP (police), who inventory what is on board and where it is most urgently needed. This explains why a large pile of food and goods sits in Petrinja uncollected. Cross-collections were transported from Petrinja to Zagreb without clear accountability.

Notes

The collection is proceeding well, but the logistical chain shows structural weaknesses. Direct delivery to the people who need it is more effective than central depot distribution, but requires coordination that the government is not providing. Civic initiatives fill this gap, but the scale is insufficient.