Armenia marks Spitak earthquake anniversary
Today marks the 33-rd anniversary of the Spitak earthquake. The 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit on December 7, 1988 at 11:41 local time. The city of Spitak and 58 villages were completely destroyed by the earthquake, Leninakan (Gyumri) as well as Stepanavan, Kirovakan (Vanadzor) were partially destroyed, many buildings were damaged.
The tremors were felt in Yerevan as well. According to official data, the Spitak earthquake killed 25,000 people, about 45,000 were taken out of the rubble, 12,000 of them were hospitalized, 120,000 were evacuated from the disaster zone.
The effects of the earthquake have not been completely eliminated even 33 years after the disaster.