A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck southern Dalmatia near Dubrovnik, causing intensity VIII damage around Slano and the Pelješac peninsula town of Ston.
Key Facts
- Moment Magnitude
- 6.0 Mw
- Date and Time (UTC)
- 5 September 1996, 20:44
- Epicentre
- Near Slano, ~15 km NW of Dubrovnik
- Peak Intensity (MSK scale)
- VIII
- Secondary Damage Zone
- Ston, ~25 km NW of epicentre
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Southern Dalmatia lies within a seismically active zone along the Adriatic coast, where tectonic stresses along the Dinaric fault system periodically produce significant earthquakes. These geological conditions make the region prone to moderate-to-strong seismic events.
On 5 September 1996 at 22:44 local time, a moment magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck southern Dalmatia, Croatia, with its epicentre near the village of Slano on the Adriatic coastline, approximately 15 kilometres northwest of Dubrovnik. Peak shaking reached intensity VIII on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale.
The most severe damage was concentrated in the epicentral area around Slano and also at the isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula near the historic town of Ston, some 25 kilometres northwest of the epicentre, where intensity VIII shaking caused structural damage to buildings and infrastructure in the affected communities.