Earthquake in Spitak in 1988

More than twenty-six years ago (December 7, 1988) Armenia was shocked by the strongest earthquake in the city of Spitak, which was completely destroyed in half an hour, and along with it 58 surrounding villages. The villages of Gyumri, Vanadzor and Stepanavan were affected. Shallow destruction affected 20 cities and more than 200 villages, located at some distance from the epicenter.

The strength of the earthquake

At the same place and earlier earthquakes occurred - in 1679, 1840 and 1931, but they did not reach 4 points. And in 1988 in the summer seismographs recorded fluctuations in the Spitak area and its environs in 3.5 points on the Richter scale.

The very same earthquake in Spitak, which occurred on December 7, had 10 points in the epicenter (the highest point is 12 points). Most of the republic was subject to jolts of up to 6 points. Echoes of earthquakes were felt in Yerevan and Tbilisi.

Experts who estimated the scale of the disaster, reported that the amount of energy released from the earth's crust, is equal to ten atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima. It is noteworthy that the blast wave, which bypassed the Earth, was recorded on several continents. Data in the report "Earthquake, Spitak, 1988" Reported that the total rupture of the surface was 37 kilometers, and the amplitude of its displacement was almost 170 cm. The rupture occurred at the site of the split of tectonic plates, not at that time classified as seismically dangerous.

Scale of the disaster

What are the official data characterizing this earthquake? Spitak-1988 - it's almost 30 thousand dead and more than 140 thousand disabled. The damage to industry and infrastructure is also disappointing. Among them there are 600 km of highways, 230 industrial enterprises, 410 medical institutions. The work of the Armenian nuclear power plant was stopped .

The earthquake in Spitak caused great damage. Financiers of the world estimated it at almost $ 15 billion, and the number of victims exceeded all the world average figures affected by natural disasters. At that time, the Armenian authorities were not able to eliminate the consequences of the tragedy on their own, and all the republics of the USSR and many foreign countries joined immediately to work.

Elimination of consequences: friendship of peoples and political motives

On December 7 surgeons who could work in the field of war and rescuers from Russia flew to the crash site. In addition to them, doctors from the United States, Britain, Switzerland and France worked at the site of the disaster. Blood of donors and medicines were supplied by China, Japan and Italy, humanitarian aid came from more than 100 countries.

December 10, the head of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev flew to the place of the tragedy (now it was ruins instead of a prosperous city). For the sake of helping people and monitoring the process of carrying out rescue work, he interrupted his visit to the United States.

Two days before Gorbachev's arrival, on December 8, humanitarian aid from Sochi was received. The helicopter was carrying everything necessary to save the lives of the victims and ... coffins. The last was not enough.

Stadiums of Spitak schools became heliports, hospitals, evacuation points and morgues at the same time.

The causes of the tragedy and the way out

Experts who have caused large-scale destruction due to a phenomenon such as the earthquake in Spitak, experts call untimely and incomplete assessment of seismic fluctuations in the region, drawbacks in drawing up regulatory documents and poor quality of construction and medical care.

What is noteworthy, the Union threw all its forces, money and labor, to help those affected by the disaster in Spitak: more than 45,000 volunteers came from the republics alone. Tens of thousands of parcels from all over the Soviet Union came to the city and surrounding communities as humanitarian aid.

But even more interesting is the fact that in 1987-1988, Azerbaijanis, Russians and Muslims were expelled from the Armenian lands literally under the barrels of firearms. People were cut off by their heads, they were pressured with machines, beaten to death and walled in chimneys, while not regretting either women or children. In the book of the writer Sanubar Sarala "Stolen History. Genocide "are stories of eyewitnesses of those events. The writer says that the Armenians themselves call the tragedy in Spitak God's punishment for their misdeeds.

The residents of Azerbaijan also participated in the elimination of the consequences of the disaster, supplying gasoline, equipment and medicines to Spitak and the surrounding cities. However, their assistance was refused by Armenia.

Spitak, an earthquake in which became an indicator of international relations of that time, in fact confirmed the fraternal friendship of the peoples of the USSR.

A look after 1988

The earthquake in Spitak gave the first impetus to the creation of an organization for forecasting, prevention and liquidation of emergencies of natural origin. So, in twelve months, in 1989, officially announced the beginning of the work of the Commission of the state scale for emergency situations, known since 1991 as the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation.

Spitak after the earthquake is a contradictory and at the same time a painful phenomenon for the country. It's been almost 27 years since the tragedy, but even decades later Armenia is still recovering. For 2005, there were almost 9,000 families who lived in barracks without amenities.

In memory of the victims

Date December 7 - Day of mourning for those killed in the crash, announced by the government. For Armenia, this is a black day. In December 1989, the Union Mint issued a three-ruble coin in memory of the Spitak earthquake. In 20 years, in 2008, in the small town of Gyumri, a monument was erected, erected by the public. It was named "Victims of the Innocent, Merciful Hearts" and was dedicated to all the victims who were injured in Spitak on 07.12.1988.