Croatia has entered a zone where the risk of severe weather becomes a strategic threat to business, and the latest storm that hit Zagreb is not an isolated incident, but yet another in a series of events confirming the pattern that damages are becoming increasingly frequent, complex, and costly. This was assessed by Jasminka Horvat Martinović, director of Marsh Croatia, while commenting on the consequences of the latest storm that struck the capital of Croatia.
From Marsh, it was summarized that in the last 24 hours, around 1,000 calls from citizens were recorded, more than 650 incidents, including 246 fallen trees, 122 damaged buildings, and 43 damaged vehicles, with traffic infrastructure also affected, causing certain parts of the city to be temporarily blocked.
– What we see today in Zagreb is a reflection of a new pattern. The intensity is increasing, and the cost of unpreparedness is unsustainable. Croatia has entered a zone where the risk of severe weather becomes a strategic threat to business – said Jasminka Horvat Martinović.
Continuity of Damages: From the Storm of 2023 to Today
However, Marsh warned that the biggest problem is continuity, as damages to infrastructure, public and private properties have become a Zagreb pattern, having escalated into an extreme scenario during the major storm of 2023 when there were fatalities, and a construction crane approximately 30 meters high was also destroyed. This storm caused estimated damages in Zagreb of around 25 million euros. In such events, Marsh explained, the problem is that visible damage is often not the final damage. Namely, primary damages from direct impacts are often followed by secondary ones, such as water intrusion, electrical surges, and structural damages to buildings, leading to temporary work stoppages, delays, or closures of facilities.
