The most destructive earthquake recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina occurred in Banja Luka on October 27, 1969. It was an earthquake measuring 8 degrees on the Mercalli scale, or 6 degrees on the Richter scale.
Previous impact
It began with an unusually strong “foreshock” on the night of October 26 at 2:55 a.m., and ground shaking continued until 8:53 a.m. The earthquake occurred at 16:35, and the epicenter was 20 kilometers below the city.
The 1969 earthquake devastated the town on Vrbas. 15 Banjolu residents died, and 1,117 people were seriously and lightly injured. The material damage was enormous. 86,000 apartments were completely destroyed. Great damage was caused to school (266), cultural (146), health (133), social and public administration and administration facilities (152), it says Radio Sarajevo.
The economy suffered significant losses. In the following period, all companies worked with significantly reduced capacities, and some completely stopped production. Buses took elementary and high school students from Banja Luka, who, having just begun, finished the school year in various parts of the former Yugoslavia. The reconstruction and rehabilitation of devastated buildings soon began, the city’s infrastructure was restored and rapid urbanization began.
The strongest earthquakes
Earthquakes of identical strength were recorded in Ljubinje in 1940 and in Treskavica in 1967.
The strongest earthquakes recorded so far in BiH are:
- 1905, in Petrovac, strength 5.0,
- 1907 in Počitelje, magnitude 5.7,
- 1908. Vlasenica 5.3,
- 1916. Bihać 5.0,
- 1923. Eggs 5.0,
- 1927 Ljubinje, 6.0,
- 1940. Derventa, 5.1,
- 1950. Drugovići / Banja Luka, 5,7,
- 1962 Treskavica 6.0,
- 1967 Srebrenica 5.1,
- 1969 Gacko, 5.0,
- 1981. Banja Luka 5.4,
- 1974. Lukavac 5.0,
- 2022. Chair 5.7…
