At approximately 6:24 AM CET on the morning of 22 March 2020, an earthquake of magnitude 5.3 Mw, 5.5 ML, hit Zagreb, Croatia, with an epicenter 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the city centre. The maximum felt intensity was VII–VIII on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. The earthquake was followed by numerous aftershocks, the strongest of which with a magnitude of 5.0. It was the strongest earthquake in Zagreb since the 1880 earthquake and caused substantial damage in the historical city center. More than 1,900 buildings were reported to have been damaged to the point of becoming uninhabitable. The earthquake was also felt in Slovenia. One person was killed and 27 others were injured.

Zagreb is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slovenia at an elevation of approximately 158 m (518 ft) above sea level. At the 2021 census, the city itself had a population of 767,131, while the population of Zagreb urban agglomeration is slightly above one million people.