At 17:41 on May 23, North Macedonia registered an earthquake of magnitude 3.5 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was about 21 kilometers east of Skopje, in the Morani area. The tremor was felt in Skopje, Kumanovo and the surrounding settlements. No damage.

The quake was initially unconfirmed, then confirmed by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). Residents on social media described it as a "brief but intense tremor." Which is exactly what you'd expect from a quake of that magnitude - you feel it, but it doesn't damage modern buildings.

For the Balkans, and Skopje in particular, every earthquake is a reminder. The city has already been cut in half once - on July 26, 1963 - by an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 moment magnitude (around 6.9 on the Richter scale). Over 1,070 dead, most of the city destroyed. Skopje was rebuilt from scattered rubble, with international aid coordinated by the UN. That's the city's history - it sits on seismically active ground, and nobody forgets it.

The current 3.5-magnitude quake is statistically routine - Skopje registers tremors of that intensity several times a year, and that's normal for this geologically active region. When one hits, the social-media discussion lasts about an hour, then everyone goes back to their day. Still, the moment of shaking is not trivial for older people who lived through 1963 - they look at every tremor as a possible repeat of the city's worst tragedy.

Building standards today are significantly better than mid-20th century. But Skopje still has buildings that don't meet current seismic standards - many old socialist-era blocks, or informally built structures from the last three decades. Today's small quake is a good occasion to ask: do the mayors of Skopje's municipalities have an updated registry of at-risk buildings? And if they do - is it publicly accessible? The answers are short. And they're all "no."