KEY POINTS

  • Croatia was rocked by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake Tuesday
  • It’s the second tremor in the Balkans in as many days
  • The event was felt across much of central Europe

Media outlets in Croatia captured the start and the aftermath of a powerful earthquake that struck the Balkan nation on Tuesday.

TV N1 Zagreb was going live during an interview at the moment the quake struck the town of Petrinja, about 30 miles outside the capital Zagreb. Watch by clicking in the tweet below.

Euronews broadcast live coverage from the epicenter as responders worked to clear out the rubble.

Turkish broadcaster TRT News, meanwhile, showed the aftermath of the quake in the Croatian capital.

The quake struck about mid-day local time. From his Twitter account, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said he was on his way to survey the damage.

“We mobilized all available services to help people and clear the destroyed parts,” he said. “The most important thing now is to save human lives. ”

European Council President Charles Michel added that bloc leaders were monitoring events in Croatia closely, noting the European Union was offering its full support and assistance to the country.

The magnitude 6.4 quake was followed about an hour later by a magnitude 4.4 tremor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A geological survey in Slovenia measured Tuesday's quake at a magnitude 6.6.

The tremors were felt as far away as Vienna and prompted authorities to shut down a 700-megawatt nuclear power facility in neighboring Slovenia.

"I can confirm the preventive shutdown," the plant’s spokeswoman Ida Novak told the AFP news service.

The facility is co-owned by Slovenia and Croatia.

This is the second major quake to strike the Balkans so far this week. A magnitude 5.2 quake struck the same area on Monday.

The BBC reported a 12-year-old girl as the lone fatality so far from Tuesday’s earthquake. Only minor damaged resulted from Monday’s tremor.

Map locating an earthquake which struck Croatia on Tuesday.
Map locating an earthquake which struck Croatia on Tuesday. AFP / Tupac POINTU