## 2 Geotectonic Setting of Study Area  
Croatia lies on a seismically active area spreading over five geotectonic units, four of which are on the coastal area from the Eastern Alps and Dinarides to the Adriatic micro plate, and one in the continent: a Pannonian Basin. Most seismic events mainly occur on the coastal extent of Croatia, keeping the continental part rather still. However, recently, the Pannonian Basin activated and some of the most hazardous earthquakes in Croatian history occurred there. The Pannonian Basin, also known as the Carpathian Basin, is a significant geological and geotectonic feature located in Central Europe. It encompasses parts of several countries, including Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, and Romania, as shown in Figure 1a. The Pannonian Basin's geotectonic setting is the result of complex interactions between multiple tectonic plates, including compressional and extensional forces, which have led to the formation of a large, subsiding sedimentary basin with a rich geological history. The Pannonian Basin is a large sedimentary basin that formed during the late stages of the Alpine orogen, a period of mountain-building that shaped the European continent. It is considered to be a foreland basin, which means it formed on the front side of the rising Carpathian Mountains as a result of compressional tectonic forces. It is primarily a pull-apart basin formed by the extensional tectonics associated with the convergence of the European and African plates. The basin is a result of the complex interplay of various tectonic processes, including extension, compression, and strike-slip faulting. The Pannonian Basin is characterized by ongoing tectonic activity. The extensional tectonics have led to the formation of numerous faults, grabens, and horsts within the  
Figure 1: Geodynamic setting of study area (**a**) and seismicity across Croatia (**b**). (**a**) The geodynamic setting of the surrounding area related to the earthquake location and Pannonian Basin (geotectonic background is modified from [12]); the inset figure shows the geolocation of Croatia within the European continent. (**b**) Seismicity map showing seismic events with magnitude M > 3 that happened over period of 2010–2023 in the Croatian territory. basin. The region experiences seismic activity, and earthquakes are associated with the tectonic processes. In recent years, the European Database of Seismogenic Faults (EDSF) has been systematically assembled, encompassing fault sources deemed capable of instigating earthquakes with a magnitude equal to or exceeding 5.5. The faults delineated in the EDSF model [29] have been incorporated across the study area, as depicted in Figure 2, wherein the conspicuous alignment of the epicenter is observed to coincide with the delineated fault area. Over the past decade, Croatia has been marked by a noteworthy frequency of seismic events, with more than 250 occurrences registering magnitudes greater than 3 on the Richter scale, as shown in Figure 1b. This heightened seismic activity in Croatia is intricately linked to its complex tectonic setting, where the Adriatic microplate interacts with the Eurasian plate. The collision and convergence of these tectonic plates create a dynamic geological environment. The earthquake occurred at a Pannonian fault, a historically famous seismological area on which [PERSON] [30] discovered discontinuity between the crust and the mantle. However, with the first foreshock of M = 5.0 at the 28 December 2020 in the NW of Croatia, the day after, Croatia was hit with one of the most damaging earthquakes in her recent history, located in the small place known as Strasnik, near Petrinja (45.4002\({}^{\circ}\) N 16.2187\({}^{\circ}\) E) in NW Croatia. The mainshock was followed by hundreds of smaller earthquakes in the weeks after. The earthquake was declared to be VIII-IX on the Mercalli scale, leaving behind collapsed houses, damaged buildings, and a severely abandoned wider inhabitant area. Overall, the earthquake was felt even within a radius of 400 km.