The city of Dubrovnik is located in the most active area of Croatia in terms of earthquake proneness. For this reason, this area is counted among those with the highest seismic activity in Croatia. This paper deals with one such, strong earthquake, more precisely, the 1979 earthquake with an epicenter in Montenegro that also hit Dubrovnik hard. The paper talks about the situation in the Dubrovnik area, that is, the way in which Dubrovnik and its surroundings deal with this tragedy, and what mechanisms are used to resolve the situation. The emphasis is on the first reactions to the earthquake. For context and in order to see how similar accidents were handled elsewhere, but also to point out similarities and differences, the three biggest earthquakes in the territory of the former Yugoslavia were mentioned: Makarska in 1962, Skopje in 1963 and Banja Luka in 1969, as well as the Zagreb flood. from 1964. From the later Republic of Croatia, the earthquake in Ston in 1996 and those in Zagreb and Petrinja in 2020 are briefly covered. Finally, the paper will briefly say something about the reconstruction of Dubrovnik and the current situation. From the beginning, Dubrovnik was distinguished for its great solidarity and help, especially Herceg Novi and Kotor. A very important factor that facilitated the restoration of Dubrovnik was the entry of the Old Town into the UNESCO list of protected heritage.