1988 Spitak earthquake
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| Date | December 7, 1988 |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 6.9 Ms 7.2 Ml |
| Depth | 10 km |
| Epicenter location | 40°30′N 44°10′E / 40.50°N 44.16°E |
| Countries/ regions affected |
Leninakan, Spitak,  Armenian SSR |
| Max. intensity | X – Disastrous |
| Casualties | At least 25,000 dead [1] |
The Spitak Earthquake (also called Leninakan Earthquake and Gyumri Earthquake) was a tremor with a magnitude of 6.9,[2] that took place on December 7, 1988 at 11:41 local time (07:41 UTC) in the Spitak region of Armenia, then part of the Soviet Union. The earthquake killed at least 25,000 people;[1] geologists and earthquake engineering experts laid the blame on the poorly built support structures of apartments and other buildings built during the "stagnation" era of Leonid Brezhnev.[3]
Despite the tensions of the Cold War, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev formally asked the United States, within a few days of the earthquake, for humanitarian help, the first such request since World War II.[3] Western Countries, including Great Britain, France, West Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Sweden, and Switzerland, sent a substantial amount of humanitarian aid to the Soviet Union in the form of rescue equipment, search teams and medical supplies.
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[edit] The Earthquake
Local housing infrastructure (particularly schools and hospitals) performed poorly in the earthquake and this resulted in about 25,000 lost lives. It has been estimated that if the earthquake had occurred 5 minutes later, children would have left their schools' unstable buildings. This short time delay could have saved many lives.
It cost over £3 billion to repair the damaged property.
The entire city of Spitak was destroyed, and there was partial damage to the nearby cities of Gyumri and Vanadzor. The tremor also caused damage to many surrounding villages. The Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant was also closed down because of the earthquake.
Since most of the hospitals in the area were destroyed, and because of extremely low winter temperatures, officials at all levels were not ready for a disaster of this scale and the relief effort was therefore not launched properly. The Armenian government let in foreign aid workers to help with the recovery in the earthquake's aftermath, and this was one of the first cases when rescue and relief workers from other countries were allowed to take part in relief works in the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev, on a visit to the United States, cut his trip short and went directly to Armenia to visit the quake-affected areas.
Contributions poured in from around the world to help the earthquake victims through the winter and to rebuild much of the housing. Spitak was totally rebuilt in a location next to the previous town, with many neighborhoods having very distinct architecture reflecting the country which donated or built the homes there. A monument expressing the appreciation of the Armenian people for assistance from the U.S. was erected in Washington D.C. in 1990.
[edit] Causes
The region in which the earthquake occurred is part of a broad seismic area, which stretches from Turkey to the Arabia Sea. Here, the Arabian landmass is slowly colliding with the Eurasian plate. The earthquake occurred along a small thrust fault, directly under Spitak. During the earthquake, the northeast-facing side of the Spitak section rode up and over the southwest-facing side.[4]
Despite the fact the earthquake was only of a moderate size, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, there were various factors contributing to the large scale magnitude and destruction that followed. These included the time of day, freezing winter temperatures, poor soil conditions and inadequate building construction.[4]
[edit] Aftermath
After the seismic disaster, avant-garde musician Pierre Schaeffer led a 498-member rescue team to look for survivors.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Service, Robert (2003). A History of Modern Russia: From Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 468–469. ISBN 067401801X.
- ^ National Geophysical Data Center. Earthquake Damage, the Armenian SSR, December 7, 1988. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
- ^ a b Brand, David. Soviet Union: When the Earth Shook. Time Magazine. December 19, 1988. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
- ^ a b "Armenia Earthquake of 1988" Retrieved 7th February 2008
- ^ The New York Times on Pierre Schaeffer's rescue efforts
[edit] Additional reading
- Najarian, L.M., Goenjian, A. K., Pelcovitz, D., et al. (1996). "Relocation after a disaster: Posttraumatic stress disorder in Armenia after the earthquake." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(3), 374–383.
- Pesola, G., Bayshtok, V., & Kvetan, V. (1989). "American critical care team at foreign disaster: The Armenian experience." Critical Care Medicine, 17(6), 582–585.
- Grigorova, L. F., Gasparian, A. A., & Manukian, L. H. (1990). Armenia, December, 88, Yerevan, Armenia: Hayastan (in Russian).
- Goenjian, A. (1993). A Mental health relief programme in Armenia after the 1988 earthflake
. British Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 230–239.
- Giel, R. (1991). The psychosocial aftermath of two major disasters in the Soviet Union. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 4(3), 381–392.
- Azarian, A. G., Skriptchenko-Gregorian, V. G., Miller, T. W., & Kraus, R. F. (1994). Childhood trauma in victims of the Armenian earthquake. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 24(2), 77–85.
- Allan, R. (1989). The Armenian earthquake – The UK response. Disaster Management, 1(4), 10–17.
- Abrams, J. I. (1989). Detection and extrication in the Armenian earthquake. International workshop on earthquake injury epidemiology for mitigation and response, 435–449. Baltimore, MD
- Verluise, P. (1995). Armenia in crisis: The 1988 earthquake. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press.
- Pynoos, R. S., Goenjian, A., Tashjian, M., et al. (1993). Post-traumatic stress reactions in children after the 1988 Armenian earthquake. British Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 239–247.
