Phantom Earthquake Syndrome - A Pilot Study after Zagreb and Banovina 2020 Earthquake

Impact of earthquake on mental health is well-documented globally. A number of earthquake survivors after Zagreb and Banovina earthquake in the year 2020 reported a phenomenon of phantom earthquake. Telephone pilot study on phantom earthquake symptoms was conducted with semi-structured interview in earthquake survivors. Phantom earthquake is manifested as a false sense of earthquake-motion, accompanied with vegetative and motor symptoms with psychological distress and behavioral change that interfere with expected daily functioning. We propose an operational model for the phantom earthquake syndrome and discuss possible underlying neurobiological mechanisms to be further investigated in studying of the phantom earthquake syndrome.