According to the Federal Hydrometeorological Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FHMZ BiH), the earthquake had a magnitude of ML 5.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) and occurred near Stolac.[1] The USGS rated the earthquake at magnitude Mw 5.7. They reported that it occurred 14 km north-northeast of Ljubinje at a depth of 10 km.[7] According to the Croatian Seismological Service, the epicentre was near Ljubinje, the magnitude was 6.1 on the Richter scale, and the intensity was VIII (Heavily Damaging) on the European macroseismic scale (EMS-98).[2][8]
Outside the epicentral area, the earthquake was felt strongly in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital, Sarajevo, Montenegro's capital, Podgorica, and the Croatian region of Dalmatia. It was felt in much of southern Croatia, Montenegro, and also parts of Slovenia, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Italy and northern Greece.[9][10]
A 28-year-old woman was fatally injured after a boulder rolled down a hill and crashed through the roof of a house in Stolac, and died in hospital during attempted resuscitation. Her parents were hospitalised with light injuries.[11][12] An official day of mourning was declared in Stolac for 24 April.[13] Eight other people were injured, several while panicking due to the earthquake.[5][14] As of 29 April, 300 households in Stolac have reported damage. The town school was among the damaged buildings.[15]
The Municipality of Berkovići, where the epicentre lies, briefly lost power due to the earthquake. Herzegovina-Neretva Canton civil defence reported rockfalls on roads from Stolac to Mostar, Neum, Ljubinje and Berkovići. Numerous streets in Stolac and one in Mostar were blocked by fallen bricks, roof tiles and plaster. In Čapljina, several parked cars were damaged by debris falling from buildings. Four people were injured in Čapljina.[10]
Several miners in a coal mine near Sarajevo sustained light injuries, four requiring medical attention.[16] In Croatia, damage was caused to eleven buildings, including the Franciscan Church and a school in Dubrovnik. Small landslides also occurred on the Adriatic Highway in Župa dubrovačka and near Slivno.[5][17][4][18] In Montenegro, traffic on the Belgrade–Bar railway was interrupted.[10]
An aftershock measuring Mw 4.8 struck on 24 April with an intensity of VI (Strong) on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale,[1][3] causing further damage to buildings, including a 19th-century Austro-Hungarian military barracks building.[19]
"Razoran potres kod Ljubinja u BiH" [Devastating earthquake near Ljubinje, B&H] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Croatian Seismological Service. 22 April 2022. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.