More than twenty-six years ago (December 7, 1988) Armenia was shocked by a strong earthquake in the city of Spitak, which was completely destroyed in half an hour, and with it 58 surrounding villages. The settlements of Gyumri, Vanadzor, Stepanavan suffered. Minor damage affected 20 cities and over 200 villages located at some distance from the epicenter.
Earthquake strength
Earthquakes have happened in the same place before - in 1679, 1840 and 1931, but they did not even reach 4 points. And in 1988, already in the summer, seismographs recorded fluctuations in the Spitak region and its environs at 3.5 points on the Richter scale.
The very same earthquake in Spitak, which occurred on December 7, had a strength of 10 points at the epicenter (the highest mark of 12 points). Most of the republic was subject to shocks with a power of up to 6 points. Echoes of tremors were felt in Yerevan and Tbilisi.
Specialists who assessed the scale of the disaster report that the amount of energy released from the earth's crust,equal to ten atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima. It is noteworthy that the blast wave that bypassed the Earth was recorded on several continents. Data in the report "Earthquake. Spitak, 1988" report that the total surface rupture was 37 kilometers, and its displacement amplitudes were almost 170 cm.
The scale of the disaster
What are the official data characterizing this earthquake? Spitak-1988 is almost 30 thousand dead and more than 140 thousand disabled. The destruction that has affected industry and infrastructure is also disappointing. Among them there are 600 km of roads, 230 industrial enterprises, 410 medical institutions. The work of the Armenian NPP was stopped.
Earthquake in Spitak caused huge damage. The financiers of the world estimated it at almost 15 billion dollars, and the number of victims exceeded all the average global indicators of those affected by natural disasters. The Armenian authorities at that time were not able to independently eliminate the consequences of the tragedy, and all the republics of the USSR and many foreign states immediately got involved in the work.
Elimination of the consequences: friendship of peoples and political motives
On December 7, surgeons who could work in military field conditions and rescuers from Russia flew to the crash site. In addition to them, doctors from the USA, Great Britain,Switzerland and France. Donor blood and medicines were supplied by China, Japan and Italy, humanitarian aid came from more than 100 countries.
On December 10, the head of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, flew to the site of the tragedy (now it was ruins instead of a prosperous city). In order to help people and control the rescue process, he interrupted his visit to the United States.
Two days before Gorbachev's arrival, on December 8, humanitarian aid arrived from Sochi. The helicopter carried everything necessary to save the lives of the victims and … coffins. The last ones were missing.
Spitak school stadiums became heliports, hospitals, evacuation points and mortuaries at the same time.
Causes of the tragedy and ways out
Experts cite the untimely and incomplete assessment of seismic vibrations in the region, shortcomings in the preparation of regulatory documents and the poor quality of construction work and medical care as the reasons that caused large-scale destruction due to such a phenomenon as the earthquake in Spitak.
Remarkably, the Union threw all its strength, money and labor, to help the victims of 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 arrived in the city and surrounding settlements as humanitarian aid.
But even more interesting is the fact that in 1987-1988, Azerbaijanis, Russians and Muslims were expelled from Armenian lands literally at gunpoint. People were cut off their heads, they were crushed by cars,beaten to death and walled up in chimneys, sparing neither women nor children. In the book of the writer Sanubar Saralla “The Stolen History. Genocide” provides eyewitness accounts of those events. The writer says that the Armenians themselves call the tragedy in Spitak God's punishment for their misdeeds.
Residents of Azerbaijan also participated in the elimination of the consequences of the disaster, supplying gasoline, equipment and medicine to Spitak and the surrounding cities. However, Armenia refused their help.
Spitak, the 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 Spitak earthquake gave the first impetus to the creation of an organization for the forecasting, prevention and elimination of natural disasters. So, twelve months later, in 1989, the start of the work of the State Commission for Emergency Situations, known since 1991 as the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, was officially announced.
Spitak after the earthquake is a controversial and at the same time painful phenomenon for the country. Almost 27 years have passed since the tragedy, but decades later, Armenia is still recovering. In 2005, there were almost 9 thousand families who lived in barracks without amenities.
In memory of the dead
Date December 7 is the day of mourning for the victims of the disaster, declared by the government. For Armenia, this is a black day. DecemberIn 1989, the Mint of the Union issued a three-ruble coin in memory of the Spitak earthquake. After 20 years, in 2008, a monument erected by the public was unveiled in the small town of Gyumri. It was called "Innocent victims, merciful hearts" and was dedicated to all the victims who suffered in Spitak 07.12.1988.
