Today, it is the 29th anniversary of the tragic Spitak earthquake. The earthquake happened in Armenia's Spitak on December 7th 1988.
Powerful tremors in nearly half a minute destroyed the whole northern part of Armenia, covering a territory with a population of about 1 million people. The earthquake's center was in Spitak. It had a power of 10 points on a 12-point scale. The tremors were felt in Yerevan and Tbilisi.
Official information says 25,000 people died and 19,000 were injured.
The earthquake destroyed the city of Spitak, as well as 350 villages and 80% of the housing, social and productive assets of Armenia's second city Leninakan (now Gyumri). Great destruction took place in the country’s third city Kirovakan (now Vanadzor).
