Armenian Earthquake Memorial Day

On December 7, 1988, an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 on the Richter scale struck in north-west Armenia, causing catastrophic damage to the entire country's infrastructure, virtually destroying the cities of Spitak, Leninakan (now Gyumri), Kirovakan (now Vanadzor), and Stepanavan. Hundreds of small villages were completely obliterated by the earthquake. At its epicenter, the earthquake was estimated to have the destructive force of 10 atomic bombs the size of those dropped on Hiroshima during World War II. The earthquake and its aftershocks killed over 25,000 people, injured another 140,000, and left more than one million Armenians homeless, all in a disaster zone that measured about 30,000 square kilometers.

December 7^th is now remembered each year as a national holiday in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. It's marked across the country with prayer, memorial services, and moments of silence. In 2006, Armenian president Robert Kocharyan and other government officials laid a wreath of flowers at the memorial to the earthquake victims in front of St. Savior Church in Gyumri and attended an open-air religious service.