2020 please stop!

So sorry to hear, but, glad to hear that you and your family are safe, but, sorry to read that there were deaths. Living in Los Angeles and having experienced more than one earthquake in my lifetime, I completely understand the sense of helplessness and fear as there is still no adequate warning for an earthquake. Croatia... a beautiful country with wonderful architecture and history.

A better year awaits us all... it better.

My thoughts are with everyone in Croatia and hope the emergency services and international support quickly get to wherever needed. It is hard to comprehend the raw power of a major quake without experiencing it. I was in Taipei in 1999 when the devastating 7.3 quake struck the centre of the country and even though the epicentre was a couple of hundred kilometres from the capital and I was staying in a modern hotel designed for quakes, the rocking and rolling made it impossible to stand up, built-in furniture fell down, a wall in the room cracked and tiles popped off.

People thank you so much for your support, it really means a lot to us in this situation.

Our country is not prone to earthquakes, so this is a big shock for all of us. None of the living people remember being hit by one like this. This may be normal in some countries that have adapted architecture accordingly, but such an earthquake would bring down any older city in Europe. The people finally put politics (left vs. right) aside and united to help the affected city.

We filled the boxes with blankets and toys for the kids and later we go shopping for food. I hope the police let us into town given the epidemiological measures.

Thanks again everyone!

Glad to hear you and your family is well, @Zapatta . Living in Germany, I also didn't know Croatia or any of the Balkans were prone to earthquakes... Only one more day of 2020!

Hoping that a healthy and victorious year is dawning for us.

Best from Berlin,

Rudi