By Thursday, donations worth more than 33 million kuna (€4.4 million) have been paid into the state treasury's relief fund for quake-hit areas, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric told reporters.

Maric made the statement after he and Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Minister Darko Horvat held a meeting with officials of Sisak-Moslavina County, hit by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake.

Some of the donations paid into the State Treasury account come from abroad, some from within the country, the number of donors is large, and apart from citizens, donations have also been made by companies and international institutions, including governments, Maric said, thanking them all.

The minister noted that HRK 100 million of budget reserves had been allocated for Sisak-Moslavina County to help it cope with the consequences of the earthquake.

Focus on EU funds

In the coming days and weeks, Croatia will focus on seeking assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund, as was the case after the March 22 earthquake in Zagreb, Maric said, noting that international financial institutions had also expressed readiness to support the affected areas with loans.

68 container homes from commodity reserves sent to Sisak-Moslavina County, 100 more being procured

Reporters asked Minister Horvat if a solution was being considered to enable as many people as possible whose houses were destroyed by the quake to stay close to their homes so they can care for their cattle, noting that not enough campers and container homes had been delivered and that most of them had been donated.

Horvat said that the state currently had 286 containers available and that all had been distributed for different purposes.

Containers have not only been sent to Sisak-Moslavina County, where there are 68 containers in the areas of Glina, Petrinja and Sisak, because commodity reserves had also been activated for the fight against COVID-19, he said.

“Our resources are limited and all available resources have been engaged,” he said.

He noted that the Commodity Reserves Directorate was in the process of procuring about 100 containers, adding that they would be sent to those in need as soon as they were obtained.

Asked if the areas of Sisak, Petrinja and Glina would be reconstructed under the law on the post-earthquake reconstruction of Zagreb and its environs or a new law would be drafted, Horvat said that the existing law would probably be amended to include the reconstruction of the earthquake-hit towns in Sisak-Moslavina County.