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Spitak earthquake - catastrophic earthquake magnitude 7.2 (according to the US Geological Survey - magnitude 6.8, with subsequent aftershocks of lower magnitude), which occurred on December 7, 1988 at 10:41 Moscow time (11:41 local time) in the north-west of the Armenian SSR .
Numerius Negidius, CC BY-SA 1.0Powerful aftershocks in half a minute they destroyed almost the entire northern part of the republic, covering an area with a population of about 1 million people.
In the epicenter of the earthquake - Spitak - the force of the tremors reached 11.2 points (on a 12-point scale).
Tremors were felt in Yerevan and Tbilisi. The wave caused by the earthquake went around the Earth and was recorded scientific laboratories in Europe, Asia, America and Australia.
, Public Domain The earthquake disabled about 40% of the industrial potential of the Armenian SSR.
As a result of the earthquake, the city of Spitak and 58 villages were completely destroyed; The cities of Leninakan (now Gyumri), Stepanavan, Kirovakan (now Vanadzor) and more than 300 other settlements were partially destroyed.
C.J. Langer. U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain According to official data, 19 thousand became disabled, at least 25 thousand people died (according to other sources up to 150 thousand), 514 thousand people were left homeless.
IN total, the earthquake affected about 40% of the territory of Armenia. Due to the risk of an accident, the Armenian nuclear power plant was shut down.
General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M. S. Gorbachev, who was at that moment on a visit to the United States, requested humanitarian assistance and interrupted his visit, going to the destroyed areas of Armenia.
Fed Govt, Public Domain All republics of the USSR took part in the restoration of the destroyed areas.
111 countries, including Israel, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Lebanon, Norway, France, Germany and Switzerland, provided assistance to the USSR by providing rescue equipment, specialists, food and medicine. Assistance was also provided for restoration work.
Alexander Makarov, CC BY-SA 3.0 USSR Minister of Health Yevgeny Chazov arrived in the republic. Providing assistance to the population was complicated by the fact that the affected cities were destroyed medical institutions. For example, in the city of Spitak, the wounded were taken to the city stadium “Bazum”, where they received medical care.
While delivering aid, a Yugoslavian and soviet planes. The Soviet plane was an Il-76 from the regiment military transport aviation, stationed in Panevezys (Lithuanian SSR) and flying from Azerbaijan. The cause of the accident was an incorrect pressure setting at the transition level, as a result of which the plane crashed into a mountain.
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I made an appeal on republican television.
A cemetery was built on the hill where earthquake victims are buried.
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Spitak earthquake
Arm. Սպրաշարժ)
also known as Leninakan earthquake
Arm. երկրաշարժ
Ratings and opinions
N. D. Tarakanov, retired major general, head of earthquake relief efforts:
“Spitak turned out to be much worse than Chernobyl! In Chernobyl you grabbed your dose and be healthy, because radiation is an invisible enemy. And here - torn bodies, groans under the ruins... Therefore, our main task It was not only possible to help and pull the living out of the rubble, but also to bury the dead with dignity. We photographed and recorded all unidentified corpses in the headquarters album and buried them under numbers.
When people who suffered from the earthquake returned from hospitals and clinics, they began to look for their dead relatives and turned to us. We provided photographs for identification. Then we removed those identified from their graves and buried them in a human, Christian way. This went on for six months...
At the end of last year, when it was ten years since the tragedy, we visited Spitak and looked at its current wretched state. Armenians understand that with the collapse of the Union they lost more than anyone else. The union program to restore Spitak, Leninakan, and the Akhuryan region, destroyed by the elements, collapsed overnight. Now they are completing what Russia and other republics of the USSR built.”
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic(RSFSR) and Moscow provided significant assistance to hundreds of families who lost their homes. They were placed in empty apartments from the resettlement fund, in hostels and even in luxury hotels.
Memory
- Pour toi Arménie is a song written in 1989 by Charles Aznavour and Georges Garvarentz, and recorded by a group of famous French artists. The song was written and recorded to help those affected by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. The Trema-EMI label sold more than a million records with the single (on the other side was the song “They Fell” in memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide). The song spent 10 weeks at number one on the SNEP (France) singles chart and entered the Guinness Book of Records as it reached number one in its first week. The video for the song was directed by Henri Verneuil.
In 1989, the Soviet Union issued a coin with a face value of 3 rubles, dedicated to the anniversary of the tragedy.
On Wednesday December 7, 1988 at 11:41 local time in northern Armenia, at that time the republic included Soviet Union, happened strong earthquake, known throughout the world as Spitak. The magnitude of the earthquake was 6.8 on the magnitude scale surface waves, and the intensity of the earthquake is characterized by X points on the Medvedev-Karnik scale. The area where the earthquake occurred is considered quite vulnerable to large and destructive earthquakes due to its location in the vast seismic belt, stretching from the Alps to the Himalayas. Seismic activity in this belt is associated with the interaction tectonic plates, the direct source of the earthquake was a thrust north of Spitak.
According to official data, 19 thousand people became disabled, at least 25 thousand people died (but there is information about the number of victims at 150 thousand), more than 500 thousand people were left homeless.
Seismologists carefully studied the effects of the earthquake in Armenia, including the main shock and a series of aftershocks, and were at the site of the disaster until the end of 1988. Experts carefully checked the construction conditions of buildings in the region and concluded that the buildings are not suitable for seismically hazardous areas. Most of the buildings in Spitak were built in the 60-80s of the 20th century. The cities of Spitak, Leninakan (now Gyumri) and Kirovkan (now Vanadzor) were heavily damaged, and a large number of human casualties. A number of small villages located far from large populated areas were also destroyed.
Despite the times Cold War, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev formally addressed the US government with a request for humanitarian assistance a few days after the earthquake, and this happened for the first time since the end of World War II. One hundred and thirteen countries sent required amount humanitarian aid to the USSR in the form of rescue equipment, search teams and medical equipment, but private donations and assistance non-governmental organizations was also significant.
During the rescue operation, two planes crashed - a Soviet one, which was transporting 78 rescuers from Azerbaijan, and a Yugoslav one.
In support of the earthquake victims, artists from different countries held charity concerts and other events, released records, the proceeds from the sale of which were sent to the affected areas of Armenia.
Story. Since the late 80s, the Caucasus has experienced serious political crisis: Huge and almost constant political demonstrations began in Yerevan in February 1988. Fifteen months before the earthquake, hundreds of thousands of protesters representing the Karabakh Committee demanded a transition to democracy and the unification of Armenia with the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which was governed by Azerbaijan SSR, but was 80% populated by ethnic Armenians. The protests and opposition movement began in September 1988 with negotiations between the Karabakh Committee and Mikhail Gorbachev and continued throughout 1988 and 1989. Relations between the USSR authorities and Armenian society deteriorated back in March 1988 and reached their climax by November, when the state of emergency and a curfew was imposed. In addition, approximately 50,000 Armenians fled ethnic violence from Azerbaijan.
Earthquake. The source of the earthquake was 40 kilometers south of the Main Range of the Caucasus, mountain range, which lies on the convergent border between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. This mountain range located in a seismic belt extending from the Alps to Southern Europe to the Himalayas in Asia. Seismicity in this belt is manifested by strong earthquakes in the area from the Aegean Sea through Turkey and Iran to Afghanistan. Although seismic events in Armenia are not very frequent, as in other segments of the belt, rapid deformation rocks here is associated with the activity of faults and volcanic activity. Mount Ararat, with a height of 5137 meters, is an extinct volcano, is located 100 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake in Turkey.
The earthquake occurred along a well-known 60-kilometer-long thrust zone that parallels the Caucasus Range and is oriented north-northeast. UC Berkeley seismologist Bruce Bolt examined this thrust in 1992 and found that vertical mixing was 1 meter along most of the zone, reaching 1.6 meters in the southwestern part. During the earthquake, the northeastern part of Spitak shifted and collided with the southeastern part.
Modeling established that the fault arose at a depth of about 5 kilometers with an epicenter in the Alavar zone on the slopes of the Lesser Caucasus north of Mount Aragats. The main shock ruptured the surface and propagated westward, with a separate strike-slip event occurring south of the epicenter. A total of five separate earthquakes occurred in the first 11 seconds after the strongest shock, the largest of which was a magnitude 5.8 and occurred four and a half minutes after the main shock.
Intensity. The strongest tremors were felt in the Spitak area. Significant tremors were also recorded in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. The intensity of the earthquake was X points on the Medvedev-Karnik scale in Spitak, and IX points in Leninakan, Kirovakan and Stepanavan. The intensity was 7 points in Tabakskuri and Borjomi, 6 points in Bogdanovka, Tbilisi and Yerevan, 5 points in Gori, 4 points in Makhachkala and Grozny, 3 points in Sheki and Shemakha.
Damage. Some of the strongest tremors occurred in industrial areas with developed chemical and food industry, electrical stations and substations. The Metsamor (Armenian) nuclear power plant, located about 75 kilometers from the epicenter, experienced only minor tremors and no damage, but was eventually closed after six years due to the risk of earthquakes. It was reopened in 1995 despite criticism of the plant's design and political instability in the Caucasus. At that time, the Assistant Director General of the International Agency for nuclear energy Morris Rosen said: "You should not have built a station on this site based on what is known at this time."
Many buildings could not withstand the earthquake and it was impossible to survive in the ruins, and the lack of effective medical care and poor planning contributed to the catastrophic consequences of the earthquake. The buildings that were not destroyed had good masonry and were constructed in such a way that the building could withstand seismic waves.
Most bridges, tunnels and other public infrastructure withstood the earthquake, but the same could not be said about local hospitals, most of which were destroyed, and two thirds of doctors were killed, equipment was destroyed and medical service There was a shortage of almost everything.
Soviet means mass media and officials soon began to discuss the causes that had led to the destruction of so many buildings. Mikhail Gorbachev, in a television interview after returning from New York a few weeks after the earthquake, said that the individual blocks used to construct the buildings contained too much sand and too little concrete, and suggested that the concrete had been stolen. Leonid Bibin, deputy chairman of Gosstroy, said that many new houses were destroyed and that he was starting an investigation into this and that several criminal cases would be opened. The official organ of the CPSU, the newspaper Pravda, wrote that poor construction, like other negative phenomena in the USSR, can be associated with the “era of stagnation.”
A team of earthquake experts from the United States spent the period from December 1988 to January 1989 in Armenia. This group, including specialists in safe construction, agreed that deficiencies in construction were the main cause of destruction during an earthquake that was not too strong, although it is obvious that it was too strong Cold winter increased the number of victims. Experts assessing damage to buildings and rescuers dismantling destroyed buildings and pulling people out of the rubble also noted serious deficiencies in the construction. The USSR changed the design of buildings to link construction to seismic risk, but also recognized that many buildings were not designed to withstand an earthquake with a magnitude of about 7. One Soviet expert explained that construction in Armenia is carried out with the intensity of Medvedev-Karnik scale from 7 to 8, but due to the proximity of the outbreak to settlements and its shallow depth was 9-10 points.
Three cities close to the epicenter had different levels damage. The cities of Leninakan and Kirovakan are located approximately the same distance from the epicenter, but in Leninakan the damage was much greater. This can be explained by the 300-400 meter thickness sedimentary rocks, which is located under the city. Comparative analysis damage to these cities showed that in Leninakan 62% of buildings were destroyed, in Kirovokan - 23%. In Spitak, by the way, almost 100% of houses were destroyed.
At the end of December, when the last living person was pulled from the rubble, the rescue operation was curtailed and the cleanup of the cities from the remains of destroyed buildings began. After 35 days, six more people who were in the basement of the nine-story building when the tremors began were unexpectedly found alive. For more than a month, with only minor injuries, they ate fruits, pickles and compotes, surviving in the ruins, unable to reach the surface.
Study of seismic processes. The region where Armenia is located is of interest to seismologists and geologists because of its proximity to the collision boundary, where strong earthquakes can occur and due to partial aftershocks after earthquakes, and the relatively little knowledge of faults. Twelve days after the main shock, Soviet and French seismologists installed a temporary seismic network in the epicentral region to record aftershocks. The initial part of the work included almost a week of setting up and optimizing the seismographs, two full weeks of continuous operation of 26 seismographs over an area of more than 1500 square kilometers. The final stage took place over seven weeks (until the end of February 1989), when monitoring continued at 20 seismographs.
Soil liquefaction. As a result of the earthquake, buildings and other structures, as well as roads and railways, were significantly damaged.
Many earthquake histories show that liquefaction occurs in sandy soils, but it is very rare for rock or gravel soils to liquefy. In some situations, sand with rocks can have the same effect as pure sand. The first well-documented case of liquefaction in gravelly sands was described during the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake in the United States. Several studies have been carried out and have shown that liquefaction in such cases is present in soils with low permeability, as it prevents the pressure in the pore water from decreasing.
Three points between Spitak and the village of Nalband, which were several kilometers from the epicenter, were examined for liquefaction. The first point was at highway, connecting the most affected cities, and adjacent to the tributary of the Pambak River, where groundwater were close to the surface of the earth. The embankment of the road was broken and although the highway was very quickly restored, as a result of the damage, it was impossible to transport cargo and people along the road for several days. Numerous sand emissions were noted in the area northwest of Spitak, including one located 15 meters from the destroyed road.
The second point was located close to the epicenter, also near the Pambak River and had similar soils, but the soils did not experience liquefaction, although there were the same accelerations as in the area of the destroyed road.
Nuclear explosion. Some believed that the earthquake was the result of underground nuclear explosion.
Rescue work. M.S. Gorbachev ordered 5 billion rubles to begin restoration work, saying the cost of restoration would exceed the cost of cleanup after the accident. Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Foreign aid was received after the earthquake for the first time since the end of World War II. This assistance was a by-product of the disaster and provided positive influence on the development of Soviet-American relations. The cost of reconstruction will be a major obstacle to Gorbachev's structural adjustment plan. Soviet economy. Another negative effect of the disaster was that the Armenians were completely disappointed in Gorbachev due to his policy towards Karabakh.
The world quickly responded to the disaster in Leninakan and Spitak, and most of aid arrived from Europe in the form of cargo planes loaded with medical supplies, rescue equipment and trained personnel to assist in the recovery. The fittings were delivered from countries Latin America And Far East. At the time of the earthquake, Gorbachev was in the United States and as soon as the scale of the disaster became known, he quickly left for the USSR to officially ask the United States for help from Moscow. The US responded immediately and sent doctors, medical equipment and rescue teams, and the first American plane arrived in Yerevan on the first weekend.
French rescuers arrived in Armenia in the late evening of December 9 and replaced the exhausted Armenian workers, who then returned to Yerevan. Japan sent cash assistance in the amount of $9 million, Italy supplied prefabricated houses for the victims, Germany offered to send more than a dozen heavy cranes.
Private donations were also significant.
American businessman and philanthropist Armand Hammer, famous in the Soviet Union financial assistance and humanitarian connections, flew to Armenia on his own Boeing 727 plane with a cargo of medicines provided by the American Red Cross.
Hammer, who worked for decades in oil corporation, had a conversation with M.S. Gorbachev to bring about $1 million to Armenia for a relief fund. Half of the funds came from the California organization World Vision International, and the other half was Hammer's personal donation. The head of World Vision and a doctor who worked during the earthquake in Mexico in 1985 also flew to Armenia.
Bureaucratic obstacles clearly prevented the provision of rescue work. The Pravda newspaper pointed out that the lack of cranes meant the loss of precious seconds and hours to save people. It was also stated that there were not enough people for search teams, although there were more than enough advisers. Health Minister Yevgeny Chazov called for the creation of a government body to assist in eliminating the consequences natural Disasters. Baxter International ( American company Healthcare, headquartered in Dilfird, Illinois) designed and delivered to Armenia a flying medical laboratory with a set of 20 dialysis machines that were supposed to be used to treat victims with compartment syndrome, but delays in visas meant that treatment could not begin They couldn't for another four days. Most hospitals were destroyed and their staff had no experience caring for such patients. In the USSR, in general, few places dealt with such injuries, so great difficulties arose in treating the syndrome. In order to prevent death or severe kidney damage, prompt treatment is required, but the victims did not receive adequate treatment and dialysis and, as a result, most died before the first foreign dialysis machines arrived.
Consequences. Musician Pierre Schaeffer worked in the French rescue brigade in Leninakan until all foreign workers were asked to leave the ruins, since there could be no survivors under them and they began to raze the ruins to the ground.
The total number of volunteers in Leninakan was 2,000 people; rescue teams flew in from Austria, Canada, Switzerland, the USA and Yugoslavia.
However, during the rescue operation there were real tragedies - seventy-eight people died when a Soviet Il-76 plane carrying rescuers crashed on approach to Leninakan airport. In foggy conditions near the airport, a helicopter taking off from the airport collided with an aircraft approaching to land. Leninakan airport was too small to handle a large number of flights. In the first days after the earthquake, the airport received up to 180 flights per day, which was a lot for an airport of this class. Therefore, Yerevan Airport, which also did not have personnel capable of managing large traffic flows, became an additional airfield for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The second plane crash occurred the next day in Yerevan, when a Yugoslav transport plane carrying humanitarian supplies crashed at the airport. All seven crew members were killed. The disaster occurred due to a misunderstanding between the pilots and dispatchers at the Yerevan airport in determining the flight altitude.
A group of French musicians with composer and singer Charles Aznavour, who has Armenian roots, released the song “For You, Armenia” in 1989. Aznavour, together with the composer Georg Garvarents, also of Armenian origin, formed a foundation called “Aznavour for Armenia” and, through music, called on the world to help Armenia. It took six weeks to record the disc and the proceeds from the two million copies sold were enough to build 47 schools and three orphanages in the affected areas. In the UK, the Rock Helps Armenia organization was created to raise money to help those affected by the earthquake. In Washington, D.C., the Armenian Earthquake Monument was erected in 1990 as a sign of gratitude Armenian people for assistance in eliminating the consequences of the disaster.
Recovery. In February 1989, one hundred builders were sent to Leninakan to assemble temporary housing for local population, by the beginning of March construction works should have been completed. It was also planned to restore schools and factories. Building codes were updated to prohibit housing higher than four stories in the area and new buildings had to be located away from areas with the highest seismic hazards. There was a proposal to move the city several kilometers to the southwest.
By July 1989, approximately $500 million had been sent in humanitarian aid from 113 countries. Most of these funds went to initial work for assistance and construction of temporary housing. Yuri Mkhitaryan, an official representative of Gosstroy, reported that 342 villages were affected by the earthquake, and 58 were completely destroyed, and 130 factories were destroyed and 170 thousand people were left without work. Officials have acknowledged that the restoration work could take up to five years or more, although M.S. Gorbachev named a different figure (two years).
In Leninakan there was a need to build 18 hospitals, 12 of which could be financed with the help of the USSR republics, but foreign aid will be needed to build six healthcare facilities.
Earlier earthquakes. On October 20, 1827, in the Spitak area there was already a strong earthquake with an intensity of VIII points, the epicenter of which was located 50 kilometers southeast of Spitak, and the earthquake in the Leninakan area on October 22, 1926 had an intensity of VII points.
In 893, an earthquake in the same region of Armenia claimed 20 thousand lives, but records of it were not accurate, so the location of the epicenter cannot be determined. In 1667, the number of earthquake victims was 60 thousand people. Other destructive earthquakes occurred in this region in 1894, 1899, 1914 and 1920.
Today. The region in which Gyumri (formerly Leninakan) is located is the poorest in Armenia, with unemployment here at least 11% of the working population. The city still has dilapidated buildings, although in 1988 they talked about a two-year restoration period. For which, we probably need to “thank” those gentlemen who destroyed the Soviet Union, since in this case, most likely, it would have been possible to restore everything at least in triple time. Until 1994, only 5,628 apartments were built with government subsidies, and in addition, another 20,770 apartments were built with funds from private funds.
Only in 2009, the Armenian government launched new program with nearly $200 million earmarked for construction in the area.
Many of those affected by the 1988 earthquake still do not have their own homes and live in dormitories.
One of the residents of Gyumri, still a young girl at the time of the earthquake, and today a 43-year-old woman with three children, still lives in a temporary house, asks: “Where is it.... Is this the solution? and thinks that she will have to wait until she dies for the housing she was promised back in 1988.
Another slum resident, a 60-year-old woman, says she was promised a permanent place to live long ago, but after 25 years she has not been given an apartment. “We are already losing hope,” she says.
Indeed, it was scary. I remember how shocked the people of the Soviet Union were when they learned about the earthquake in Armenia. At that time, this part of Armenia was the richest of the entire territory of the republic, but an earthquake that occurred in a country that was already falling apart turned the former flourishing region into a real hell, and then into the most backward region of independent Armenia
But even more terrible was what happened in 1995 in Neftegorsk. After all, the entire huge Union and the whole world helped Armenia (especially since ethnic Armenians from all over the Earth responded to the people’s misfortune). And Neftegorsk was left alone with the disaster.
It happens like this: I am sure that certain events have long been forgotten, and suddenly you suddenly begin to remember.
Although 20 years have passed. After the earthquake in the Armenian city of Spitak, I went there as a volunteer rescuer.
Now I remember what happened there. And what didn't happen. I put my memories into two piles, what happened and what didn’t happen.
There were no stoves in the tents, no tents themselves, no bulldozers, no excavators. There were no jacks. There were no respirators. I tried to make them out of gauze, like surgical masks, but I couldn’t work in them, I needed special ones. Dust as such is harmful, and dust mixed with cement, asbestos, etc. is toxic. Did not have.
There were no cranes.
There was water. Of course, there was no need to wash, but there was something to drink. Mineral. Local. You can drink it, but the tea you get is unbearable disgusting.
There were coffins, free of charge. If you need it, come and take it. They appeared immediately, there were no volunteer rescuers, the fires were still burning, and the military coffins were already piled up at the stadium. Such long stacks. Almost on the very first day.
There were no sappers; there was no one to organize targeted explosions for clearing. The military gave us some bags, and one of the rescuers made cords (a hole in the rubble where a charge is placed, and the area around it is filled with sand). I asked him - where did you learn? and he says: what are you talking about! I've been here since childhood! In general, I entered the Technological University and missed half a point. But in general, our collapse wall is not cut that way. I smell it. So if we don’t get screwed now, I’ll definitely apply again.
There were construction safety helmets. A lot of. But this is for clearing the rubble from outside; rescuers do not need them. It’s still impossible to work in the rubble wearing a helmet.
There were many looters. If they don’t cover the dead with a tarpaulin, there’s no strength to look, fingers in different sides stick out at wild angles, the looters removed the rings.
There were no rescue ropes, drags, or emergency hoses. There were no jacks - I already said that. There were no boards to strengthen the galleries, drifts and manholes. The soldiers cut down furniture for this, and collected all sorts of fittings. It turned out badly: there was little furniture that survived, it was immediately taken away for firewood, and if there was any, it was too thin. But there were no boards, nothing to strengthen it with. You crawl, the rubble lives its own life, as if it is breathing. Scary.
There were military men. A lot of. With machine guns at the ready, like in war.
There were no geophones - devices capable of picking up sounds made by people; there were no trained dogs to search under the rubble.
There was alcohol. A lot of.
There was humanitarian aid. A lot, good. It was sold in all city markets. The military were busy protecting it, the authorities were busy distributing it, and the bandits were busy taking it away.
There were no lamps or spotlights. But they also worked at night. I can’t even explain how now. Somehow. Partly because it was cold to sleep: -10 degrees, not everyone had sleeping bags, there was no heating.
There were no diesel generators.
There were Austrian rescuers with specially trained dogs, which they carried over the rubble in their arms. Only once in my life has a man carried me in his arms, like they carry their dogs.
There were pseudo-victims of the earthquake in Yerevan asking for money from all sorts of authorities.
There was no “hour of silence” when they turn off all the equipment and listen - suddenly there are living people under the rubble. Because you need to listen to it with equipment, but there was none. The military had one suitable for these purposes, but already on the third day they were forbidden to give it to them due to secrecy. But sometimes you can hear it that way.
There was an elderly woman, she was knocking on the surviving pipe with a piece of brick, she could be clearly heard on the surface. We sorted it out for 14 hours. When part of it was dismantled, part of it was brought down, a hole was made, and I went down into the rubble to see it, because it was necessary to secure it on a stretcher. I sat there with her for three hours - I felt somehow embarrassed to leave, but when you say to them, “I’ll come back for you,” they don’t believe it, they immediately start howling. There were no jacks, no proper stretchers, no crane, only a homemade winch. It was difficult to drag. That's what she told me: baby! You can’t say such words to a young girl, no one will marry you!
They didn’t give us the plane back either, it didn’t happen. We flew at our own expense, via Krasnodar, God knows how.
I never saw the volunteer rescuers I was there with again. To write, to call each other - this did not happen.
It's good that we were there.
I think so.
On December 1, 2016, the premiere of a new film based on real events. The 1988 earthquake in Armenia lasted only 30 seconds, but caused severe destruction throughout almost the entire country. At the epicenter - Spitak - its power reached 10 on the Richter scale.
“Ten Hiroshimas”
Arm WorldSpecialists involved in the investigation of the disaster found that when Spitak earthquake 1988 in the area of the gap earth's crust released energy equal to an explosion of 10 (!) atomic bombs simultaneously. Echoes of the disaster spread throughout the planet: scientists recorded the wave in laboratories in Asia, Europe, America and even Australia.
In just half a minute, the prosperous republic of the USSR turned into ruins - 40% of the country's industrial potential was destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless.
How it was
They won't understand at home It is impossible to listen to the stories of eyewitnesses of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia without shuddering. It all happened on Monday, the first day working week. The first shock occurred on December 7 at 11:41. Survivors of the terrible disaster say that in the first moment, from the strong movement, high-rise buildings literally jumped into the air, and then collapsed like a house of cards, burying everyone who was inside under their rubble.
TVNZ Those who were caught on the street by the earthquake were a little luckier, but it was almost impossible to stand. People fled in panic to the nearest squares and parks in the hope of not getting caught in the rubble.
After a long 30 seconds, the roar gave way to deafening silence, and a huge cloud of dust hung over the ruins. But the worst thing was just beginning...
Waiting for help
TVNZ Although most often the USSR government kept silent about disasters, in 1988 the earthquake in Armenia was discussed all over the news. Rumors spread quickly - and this is not surprising, because at one moment half of the republic was destroyed.
Mobile phones and the Internet did not exist. The victims tried to recover. Some people rushed home to save loved ones, but it was almost impossible to pull survivors out from under the rubble without professional rescuers.
Routes Unfortunately, help did not come immediately. Everything needed to be prepared. In addition, the infrastructure was practically destroyed. And when the earthquake was reported on television, thousands of people rushed to Armenia to help. Many rescuers simply could not get there, as all the roads were clogged.
The worst thing happened to those who, during the 1988 earthquake, found themselves under the rubble of their own home. The whole world knows the story of Emma Hakobyan and her daughter Mariam. The woman miraculously survived. She and her baby spent 7 whole days under the rubble of the building. At first she breastfed the child, and when the milk ran out, she pricked her finger and gave her own blood. It took rescuers a full 6 hours to rescue Emma and Mariam. However, most stories ended much more tragically - most people never received help.
Rescue work
DeFacto Units were sent to the scene of the incident Armed Forces USSR and Border troops KGB. A team of 98 doctors was urgently formed in Moscow and sent by air of the highest qualifications and field surgeons. The Minister of Health himself, Evgeniy Chazov, took part in the operation.
Having learned about the earthquake in Armenia, he interrupted his official visit to the United States and flew to the scene of the tragedy to personally monitor the progress of rescue work.
Tent cities were built throughout the republic and field kitchens, where the victims could find warmth and food.
Vesti.RU Rescuers had to work in conditions of terrible cold and human panic. In these scary days people were ready to fight for cranes in order to lift heavy slabs and save their relatives. Mountains of bodies accumulated near the ruins of high-rise buildings, and the smell of decay was felt.
More than 100 countries from all continents sent humanitarian aid to Armenia. To revive the infrastructure, more than 45 thousand builders were called from all over the USSR. True, after the collapse of the Union, work stopped.
One grief for all
BlogNews.am Almost every resident of the country in those difficult weeks considered it their duty to at least somehow help Armenia. Without any orders from above, students lined up to donate blood. People emptied their pantries and basements to donate canned goods, cereals and other rainy day items to victims of the 1988 earthquake, even as store shelves were empty.
The scale of the disaster
Routes Spitak is a city that has become the epicenter terrible earthquake 1988 - was almost instantly destroyed, along with 350 thousand inhabitants. Huge destruction befell Leninakan (now Gyumri - Ed.), Kirovakan and Stepanavan. In total, 21 cities and 350 villages were affected by the disaster. According to official data alone, the disaster claimed the lives of more than 25,000 people.
“Blank spots” in the history of the 1988 earthquake
Arhar For modern scientists, the main question remains: why were there so many victims during the earthquake in Armenia on December 7, 1988? After all, a year later, an earthquake occurred in California, almost identical in strength, but 65 people died in the United States - the difference is enormous.
The main reason is that during construction and design the seismic hazard of the region as a whole was underestimated. Many years of violation of building codes and savings on materials and technologies only “added” fuel to the fire.
However, there are still adherents alternative versions- for example, some argue that the 1988 earthquake did not occur naturally, but as a result of a secret underground test hydrogen bombs by the authorities. How it really happened is anyone's guess. You can only bring sincere condolences to those whose lives of parents and loved ones were taken by one of the most large-scale disasters XX century.