1988 On December 7, at 11:41 local time, Armenia was shaken by a devastating earthquake in Spitak. The earthquake covered about 40% of the territory of Armenia, where 1 million people lived. man
In a matter of seconds, the cities of Spitak, Leninakan, Kirovakan, Stepanavan, more than a hundred villages and settlements of Spitak, Akhuryan, Gugark, Aragats, Kalinino, Stepanavan regions were completely or partially destroyed.
The area of the damage zone was 10,000 square kilometers, 11 cities and 58 villages were destroyed, the number of affected cities was 342 Almost nothing was left of the manuscript, historical buildings and the color of Gyumrva 60 percent of the city's 230,000 inhabitants died as a result of the earthquake.
The number of victims was in Spitak, where 4,000 people lost their lives. Since the epicenter was in the village of Nalband, the earthquake's losses were truly irreversible for Armenia made 50 thousand people. More than 500 thousand people became homeless in one day. The number of homeless families in Gyumri alone exceeded 22 thousand. It was at that time that the city was filled with so-called shacks, which Gyumri has not completely gotten rid of until now.
The World Bank estimated direct material losses at $15-20 billion in 2017, a huge number even for Armenia today.The earthquake also virtually eliminated or significantly damaged economic potential, destroying 157 industrial enterprises employing 82,000 people.
Due to the earthquake, 17 percent of the population of Armenia was damaged. In the first days of the earthquake, the situation was out of control and was similar to the footage of apocalyptic movies. People tried to save or at least find the bodies of their relatives. A situation was created when finding a relative's body was considered a success : The white earthquake shook the whole world without exaggeration.
The residents of the surrounding areas were the first to reach the disaster zone. Thousands of people were trying to get the survivors out of the rubble for many days. With the efforts of the people and the rescuers, more than 45,000 people were rescued from the rubble. even if the apartment buildings were not damaged by the earthquake, residents were afraid to enter the building, preferring to spend the night in the open air.
Even a country with such potential as the Soviet Union was not prepared for the consequences of an earthquake.For the first time since the end of the Second World War, the head of the USSR officially turned to the United States for humanitarian aid.
Governments, organizations and individuals of 113 countries, as well as many international organizations, have helped Armenia. Those who have provided the most significant help to Armenia have been awarded a special commemorative medal for magnanimity and kindness.
The population of the disaster zone and the Armenian people had many friends in a short period of time, perhaps four of whom represented the symbol of the compassionate world: His Holiness Pope Vazgen the First, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Nikolay Rizhkov, Mother Teresa and the French-Armenian singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour.
Many streets, schools, and hospitals in Armenia were named after them.
