A month after the most powerful earthquake in Croatian history – an M6.4 in Petrinja on December 29, 2020 – large craters continue to appear near the epicenter.
Although the swarm continues there, watchers.news reports that craters began to form in the village of Mechenchani, about 25 km (15 miles) from the epicenter, immediately after the earthquake.
At first, one appeared, which was logically linked to the deformations of the soil and the collapse of some of the underground caves, but then there were two, three, and so on. To date, there are more than fifty sinkholes:
Some of the pits are several meters wide, the largest are up to 30 meters or more. The largest pit is about 15 m deep, but most are filled with water, making it difficult to estimate the depth. Existing gaps continue to grow, displacing residents, and new ones are opening in the area every day. Some of the sinkholes are so close to buildings that there is a fear of collapse.
According to local residents, sinkholes began to appear 2 days before the main quake, but on December 29, their number increased sharply.
10 days after the earthquake, there were 15 holes in the village, and at least 15 more nearby. No one would have thought whether there are such holes in the surrounding fields and plantings, in winter everyone sits indoors and does not wander far away if its not necessary.