The Red Cross Croatia has so far paid 80% of the HRK 51 million raised as earthquake relief to 31,835 households whose properties were damaged.

HCK executive president Robert Markt told a news conference in Petrinja on Friday that the Red Cross had started distributing aid to the owners of damaged properties in Sisak-Moslavina, Karlovac and Zagreb counties.

Over the past three weeks, 34,580 claims for financial aid have been submitted and another 354 are being checked for compliance with the set requirements, he said.

Single-person households to receive HRK 900, others HRK 1,900

Markt went on to say that 10,039 claims for aid had been submitted by single-person households, which would each receive HRK 900 (€119), while 21,796 had been submitted by households with more than one member, and they would each be given HRK 1,900 (€251).

“We had expected that we would be able to help every household more significantly, but the unexpectedly large number of claims has determined the final value of grants,” said Markt.

He added that 80% of the funds raised had already been paid into the earthquake victims’ bank accounts and that Croatian Post would deliver the remaining ones to earthquake victims in the next few days.

“That way we have done everything we have announced and promised,” he said.

He noted that the amount of grants was not conditional on the degree of property damage, announcing that the funds to be collected subsequently would be distributed in line with the same model or would be donated for the renovation of kindergartens, depending on the amount raised.

Markt thanked all citizens and companies in the country and abroad for helping the Red Cross raise more than HRK 51 million.

Of that amount, 1.7 million was donated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and national Red Cross organisations.

Markt stressed that the Red Cross toll-free phone line would be open until March 28 and that more donations were expected.