After strong earthquake in Bosnia, seismologist reveals whether people in Serbia have reason to fear

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An M4 earthquake hit Bosnia and Herzegovina around 9:20 this morning, with the epicenter 10 kilometers from Sarajevo. Seismologist Slavica Radovanovic reveals whether people in Serbia should be worried about a possible similar occurrence.

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She said that this kind of earthquake is not unusual for that area.

"We are a country that has earthquakes, we are seismically active, it is known what our strong earthquakes are, and an earthquake like the one in Sarajevo is not unusual for that area, conditionally speaking. South of Sarajevo, there was a very strong earthquake in 1962 with a magnitude of 6.4, so it is not unusual for such quakes to happen," Slavica told Telegraf.rs.

She adds that earthquakes, such as this one with a magnitude of 4.2, should not cause any damage.

"That's why there is no reason to ring the alarm, we should keep in mind what kind of strong earthquakes can happen in a certain area. The worst were south of Sarajevo, this is north of the town. The Sarajevo-Zenica zone has been active for the last eight years for sure. It should be kept in mind that M6 earthquakes can be generated in that zone both south of Sarajevo and north of Sarajevo towards Zenica," the expert said.

She explained that today's earthquake is a surprise because it happened in the relative vicinity of a large city, and there had been no prior tremors nearby to herald it, therefore this one may cause a little more attention, but, Radovanovic adds, we should keep in mind what the strongest earthquakes that can hit a certain area are, and count on it that some day, they will.

"It will happen for sure, it's just a question of when," she says.

However, Radovanovic continued, there is no concern for Serbia. Her message is that we should not be afraid because fear does not help - what does it to have well-built structures and to know how to behave when an earthquake does hit.

The M4 earthquake was registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) around 9:20 am, with the epicenter 10 kilometers from Sarajevo. That epicenter was at a depth of 6 kilometers, and at this time there is no information about any material damage.

(Telegraf.rs)