Mount Ararat, a 5,137 m (16,854 ft) dormant volcano, lies 100 km (62 mi) to the south of the quake's epicenter in Turkey. The soviet geophysicists detonated 100 kilograms of TNT in a hole drilled near the mainshock epicenter and the resulting shock waves were detected and used to help pinpoint a more accurate crustal velocity value of 5.3 to 5.4 km/s. At 11.41 am on December 7th 1988 an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale struck the Soviet Republic of Armenia. The Spitak earthquake shattered the peace of Armenia 32 years ago. Beginning with late 1987 the Caucasus region was experiencing a surge in political turmoil with large and near constant demonstrations being held in the capital of Yerevan beginning in February 1988. It took six weeks from the creation of the song to completion of the disc and with almost two million copies sold, the foundation was able to build 47 schools and three orphanages for the victims of the disaster. Twelve days after the mainshock a French-Soviet team installed a temporary seismic network in the epicentral area to record aftershock activity (a separate expedition from the United States also visited the site). The group, including a structural engineer who specialized in seismic-resistant designs, agreed that building inadequacies were the primary reason why the strong (but not huge) earthquake was so damaging, although the freezing temperatures also played a role in the unusually high death toll. Better epidemiological knowledge of the causes of death and the type of injuries and illnesses caused by earthquakes is clearly es- sential for determining appropriate relief supplies, equipment, and person- nel.l-4 On December 7, 1988, an earthquake registering 6.9 on the Richter scale hit the northern part of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the most seismically active regions of the Soviet … They supposedly sustained themselves on the food supplies—fruit salad, pickles, and smoked ham—that were available in the basement for 35 days before their rescue in January, but this turned out to be a hoax. In all, 111 countries, 7 international organizations, and 53 national chapters of the Red Cross provided help to Armenia. The Spitak earthquake, as it became known, devastated the towns and villages of the north west of Armenia. Latest earthquakes in or near Armenia past 30 days. The Soviets and an American group of architects each devised separate outlines for rebuilding the town of Spitak. Hammer, known for his decades of work with the Occidental Petroleum Corporation, had spoken with Gorbachev prior to leaving and was carrying with him $1 million in relief funds. The study attempts to identify predictors of injuries among persons who were hospitalized following the Armenian earthquake of 7 December 1988. This year we commemorate our thousands of compatriots, […] Eight of the selected sites were equipped with a vertical component velocity transducer along with an FM telemetry link to transfer data back to a central station where a three-component unit was stationed. Spitak, Leninakan, Kirovakan, Stepanavan towns, over hundreds of villages and settlements of Spitak, Akhuryan, Gugark, Aragats, Kalinino, Stepanavan were fully or … “Despite the fact that all necessary measures are being taken … Mikhail Gorbachev believes that when … The three cities closest to the fault rupture experienced different levels of damage. Aftershocks Private donations from the United States were also significant. Six friends were in the basement of a nine-story building relocating barrels when it came down around them on December 7. INTRODUCTION During the past 20 years, earthquakes have caused more than a million deaths worldwide. The instrumentation included ten smoked paper analog seismometers that were configured to allow for 48 hours of continuous single-component data recording. Preface A list of these patients, collected from discharge data from all the hospitals in Armenia, was available from the Ministry ofHealth, in Yerevan. [37], Red tape inevitably held up some of the rescue efforts and criticism of the perceived flawed processes soon followed. Half of those funds were from World Vision International, a California-based relief and development umbrella organization, and the other half were his own personal donation. Editor’s note: Aleksandr Lebed was a legendary Russian soldier and general who at one point in the 1990s looked like a shoe-in to unseat Yeltsin. Earthquake In Armenia 1988 by ArmenianEducation. The limits of the data used and the density of the grid are dictated by the data, and have no influence on the results. Approximately two hundred aftershocks were recorded each day for the first several days of the expedition and at the end of the recording period in February the equipment was still picking up around 100 shocks per day. ", "Deaths and Injuries due to the Earthquake in Armenia – A Cohort Approach", "Lessons and questions emerge from Armenian quake", "Armenia's Metsamor NPP, Built Near Fault Line, Gets 10 Year Life Extension", "Armenia's Nuclear Risk; Antiquated Power Station to Be Reopened Despite Wide Concerns About Safety", "USGS Earthquake Hazards Program: Earthquake Facts and Statistics Graphs", "Earthquake Hazards Program: Largest and Deadliest Earthquakes by Year", "All the deadliest and strongest earthquakes since 1900, including coordinates", "6 Found Alive in Armenia 35 Days After Quake", "Fake News, Soviet-Style: The Armenian Earthquake Rescue That Was Too Good To Be True", "Russia 'Concerned' About Armenian Protests Of Foreign-Language Schools", "Soviet Relief Plane Crashes, Killing 78", "Yugoslav Pilots Blamed in Crash of Quake Relief Plane", "Story of Charles Aznavour's "For you Armenia, "Soviet Union: When the Earth Shook – A killer quake devastates Armenia, and the West responds with unprecedented aid", "Faucets, Not Hospitals : Armenia Aid Gets Back to the Basics", "In Armenia, Revival the American Way; U.S. Architects Plan an Earthquake-Resistant Spitak", "Out of Earthquake's Rubble Rises Soviet-U.S. Teamwork", "The Spitak (Armenia) earthquake of 7 December 1988: field observations, seismology and tectonics", "Geometry, segmentation and stress regime of the Spitak (Armenia) earthquake from the analysis of the aftershock sequence", "Earthquake of 7 December 1988, Spitak, Armenia report of the NZNSEE team visit of 1989", Earthquake Damage, the Armenian SSR, December 7, 1988, On this day – 1988: Death toll rises in Armenian earthquake, Rescue efforts underway after earthquake strikes the Soviet republic of Armenia. ( Log Out /  The new plan would deviate from Soviet styles that were found to be rigid and outdated, and would mirror characteristics of the local culture. The earthquake Long Term Mortality and Morbidity Related to Degree of Damage Following the 1988 Earthquake in Armenia January 1999 American Journal of Epidemiology 148(11):1077-84 The 1988 M s ≈ 6.8 earthquake in Armenia resulted in more than 40,000 human casualties and massive destruction of the northwestern region of Armenia. Another adverse effect of the disaster was that the Armenians were already distrustful of Gorbachev’s dismissal of their claims to the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which the Armenians had been contesting with neighboring Azerbaijan. Nine crew and 69 military personnel were on board the plane that struck a helicopter in foggy conditions at the small airport that was overrun with rescue flights. the extent of human damage that was sus­ tained. [38], In February 1989 one hundred construction workers were assembling temporary housing for themselves in Leninakan with a plan to start on the local population's housing by the end of the month, though schools and factories were also on the list of facilities to be rebuilt. The earthquake occurred along a known 60 km (37 mi) thrust fault striking parallel to the Caucasus range and dipping to the north-northeast. The paper also stated that too many Soviet personnel were giving advice and not enough people were actually searching. Although not the strongest, this was the largest earthquake to hit Armenia. Up to 45,000 people have died and a further 500,000 are homeless after the devastating earthquake which ripped through Armenia, official figures revealed today. Armradio – Armenian President Armen Sarkissian says we have no right to despair even in these challenging times. STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: At 11:41 on that day, the northern regions of the Armenian … For many years following World War II the Soviets practiced a methodical top-down approach to urban planning and building, constructing a large number of uniformly built row style apartment units, and the Soviets plan for rebuilding Spitak did not diverge from that approach. One hundred and thirteen countries sent substantial amounts of humanitarian aid to the Soviet Union in the form of rescue equipment, search teams and medical supplies. The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake (Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ Spitaki yerkrašarž), occurred on December 7 at 11:41 local time with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (Devastating). The earthquake that devastated Armenia in 1988 On 7 December 1988 a colossal earthquake hit Armenia, leading to the deaths of 20,000 people. The shock occurred in the northern region of Armenia (then part of the Soviet Union) which is vulnerable to large and destructive earthquakes and is part of a larger active seismic belt that stretches from the Alps to the Himalayas. In Armenia, MSF launched its first functional rehabilitation and limb-reconstruction projects (following the devastating wounds caused by the 1988 earthquake), it carried out advanced surgery and vital research on multi-drug resistant TB and hepatitis C. Deputy chairman of a city building and architecture council said that updated building codes like those in the United States were being drafted (along with a strict requirement that the new protocols be respected) and that the new buildings would be no taller than four stories and would be located away from areas with the highest seismic risk. [30] Nikolai Ryzhkov, the then Chairman of the Council of Ministers, was awarded the National Hero of Armenia for his work in rebuilding the city following the earthquake. Liquefaction Half of those funds were from World Vision International, a California-based relief and development umbrella organization, and the other half were his own personal donation. The 1988 M s ≈ 6.8 earthquake in Armenia resulted in more than 40,000 human casualties and massive destruction of the northwestern region of Armenia. A number of the smaller outlying villages away from the larger population centers were also severely affected. For the fifteen months prior to the earthquake and at times up to hundreds of thousands of protesters, represented by the Karabakh Committee, were demanding both democracy and the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh (administered by Soviet Azerbaijan but disputed autonomous territory with an 80% Armenian majority and the Azerbaijani minority) in the mountains of the Karabakh region. The shock occurred in the northern region of Armenia (then part of the Soviet Union) which is vulnerable to large and destructive earthquakes and is part of a larger active seismic belt that stretches from the Alps to the Himalayas. [9] With the hospitals destroyed, and their limited knowledge of the care requirements, the Soviets were not well-equipped to deal with the cases of crush syndrome (trauma associated with building collapses). Leninakan as a result of the earthquake of 7 December 1988. Buildings and other structures were extensively damaged during the earthquake, but roadways and railways also experienced disturbances. [14], The earthquake occurred along a known 60 km (37 mi) thrust fault striking parallel to the Caucasus range and dipping to the north-northeast. The Armenian earthquake of 1988: a milestone in the evolution of nephrology. Nikolai Ryzhkov, the then Chairman of the Council of Ministers, was awarded the National Hero of Armenia for his work in rebuilding the city following the earthquake. The first well-documented case of liquefaction in gravelly sands was in regard to the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake in the United States. Bush in New York on the day of the earthquake Leninakan earthquake in the Armenian region of Spitak 1988 by DiFilm. [9], American businessman and philanthropist Armand Hammer, well known to the Soviet Union for his financial pursuits and humanitarian ties, left Los Angeles for Armenia on board a Boeing 727 loaded with 1,000 kg (2,300 lb) of medical supplies that were provided by the American Red Cross. The total number of volunteer rescue personnel in Leninakan totalled 2,000, with teams from Austria, Canada, Switzerland, the United States, Poland and Yugoslavia. In an attempt to offset a six-year-old energy crisis caused by blockades by Azerbaijan and Turkey, the Armenian government in mid-1995 reactivated a nuclear power plant at Metsamor, close since 1988. after the catastrophic earthquake in northern Armenia. A total of 189 such individuals were identified through neighbourhood polyclinics in the city of Leninakan and 159 noninjured controls were selected from the same neighbourhoods. Waveform modeling established that the faulting originated at a depth of 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) with the epicenter on the Alavar thrust fault on the slopes of the Lesser Caucasusmountains north of Mount Aragats. The final stage concluded with seven weeks (through the end of February 1989) of continued monitoring with a reduced capacity of twenty units. Biggest quake: 2.9 quake 18 km south of Karanlukh, Gegharkunik, Armenia, 4 December 2020 15:35 UTC Also, the 1988 Spitak earthquake occurred in a region where three major faults meet in a triple junction, and where diffuse seismic activity attests to the complexity of the tectonic setting. According to the book, Armenia in Crisis: The 1988 Earthquake, the man answered: “What do my hands matter, everything I cherish is under there – my son, my daughter, my wife and my mother.” For those fortunate enough to be pulled from the rubble, kidney failure was an immediate concern. The Soviets and an American group of architects each devised separate outlines for rebuilding the town of Spitak. Mkhitarian said that 130 factories were destroyed and 170,000 people were out of work. The total number of volunteer rescue personnel in Leninakan totalled 2,000, with teams from Austria, Switzerland, the United States and Yugoslavia. [27], Buildings and other structures were extensively damaged during the earthquake, but roadways and railways also experienced disturbances. Six digital recorders built by the Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg were also used to record signals from three-component seismometers. Many buildings across the region sustained heavy damage or collapsed. Moving westward closer to the central segments though, a transition of the fault type was becoming apparent, where an almost equal distribution of reverse fault mechanisms were observed as the strike-slip type. ( Log Out /  Rebuilding ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONearthquake;injury, preventionThe 1988 Earthquake in Soviet Armenia:A Case StudyA major earthquake devastated the Armenian Republic of the Soviet Eric K Noji, MD, MPH, FACEP*Union on December 7, 1988, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries. Washington immediately responded with offers of doctors, medical equipment, and rescue teams, and by the first weekend the first US plane arrived in Yerevan with search and rescue teams and detection dogs. Though the recurrence of seismic events in Armenia does not reach the high frequency that is seen in other segments of this zone, rapid crustal deformation there is associated with activethrust faulting and volcanic activity. Armenian Earthquake Memorial at the Red Cross Bldg in Washington, D.C. Their injuries were minor, but one person did suffer a broken arm. Earthquake in Spitak in 1988 More than twenty-six years ago (December 7, 1988)Armenia was shocked by the strongest earthquake in the city of Spitak, which was completely destroyed in half an hour, and along with it, 58 surrounding villages. Author and professor of geopolitics Pierre Verluise detailed in his 1995 book Armenia in Crisis: The 1988 Earthquake, how a French doctor and director of a Leninakan hospital described that he had seen one hundred victims suffering from the syndrome each day during the first three days. Most of those funds went into the initial relief work and medical care plus the beginning portion of the rebuilding phase. A director, a doctor, a rescuer - stories of three people who survived the terrible earthquake in Armenia in 1988 and rebuilt their lives Many case histories pertaining to liquefaction in sandy soil exist, but few exist with respect to gravel and gravelly sands. Gorbachev set aside 5 billion rubles (about US$8 billion) in funds for a start on what would likely be a recovery cost that would exceed the cleanup bill for the 1986 nuclear and radiation accident in Ukraine. Both Leninakan and Kirovakan were roughly equidistant from the shock, yet Leninakan had greater damage. Numerous sand boils were seen in the region northwest of Spitak including within 15 m (49 ft) of the failed embankment. Oganesian3 The studyattempts to identifypredictors ofinjuries amongpersons who were hospitalized following the Armenian earthquake of 7 December 1988. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Response According to the book, Armenia in Crisis: The 1988 Earthquake, the man answered: “What do my hands matter, everything I cherish is under there – my son, my daughter, my wife and my mother.” For those fortunate enough to be pulled from the rubble, kidney failure was an immediate concern. Following an invitation by the Soviets for a critique of their plan, the American proposal was ultimately accepted as the way forward. In an address on the 32nd anniversary of the 1988 earthquake, the President calls for national accord and unity. Seventy-eight people were killed while on a relief mission to Leninakan when a Soviet Ilyushin Il-76 crashed on approach to the airport there. Hammer, known for his decades of work with the Occidental Petroleum Corporation, had spoken with Gorbachev prior to leaving and was carrying with him $1 million in relief funds. The newspaper Pravda complained that the lack of cranes meant that "seconds and hours are being lost—that means lives." Though the recurrence of seismic events in Armenia does not reach the high frequency that is seen in other segments of this zone, rapid crustal deformation there is associated with active thrust faulting and volcanic activity. [29], Avant-garde musician Pierre Schaeffer led a 498-member French rescue team to look for survivors in Leninakan, and worked there until all foreign personnel were asked to leave after the plan to bulldoze what was left of the ruins was formulated. Earthquake engineering experts scrutinized building construction styles and found fault in the poorly constructed apartments and other buildings that were built during the Era of Stagnation under the rule of Leonid Brezhnev. In order to prevent kidney failure or death, the treatment requires prompt hospitalization, and, according to the doctor, the victims were not receiving adequate medication and dialysis and, as a result, most died before the arrival of the first foreign dialysis machines. Following an appeal for assistance from … While transporting some of these supplies to the region, a Soviet aircraft carrying 78 relief workers from Azerbaijan and a transport plane fromYugoslavia were both destroyed in separate incidents. It took six weeks from the creation of the song to completion of the disc and with almost two million copies sold, the foundation was able to build 47 schools and three orphanages for the victims of the disaster. This is a massive undertaking, and foreign involvement is both a necessary and a complicating factor. Today marks 32nd anniversary since 1988 earthquake in Armenia. Aleksandr Lebed 30 Sep 20 307 0. The team then set out to determine an accurate velocity model using data from the more accurate telemetry network. Following an invitation by the Soviets for a critique of their plan, the American’s proposal was ultimately accepted as the way forward. We need foreign assistance–and there is no doubt about that–but our friends do not know the local conditions and propose things that cannot or should not be built in an earthquake-prone region.”. Mikhail Gorbachev with Ronald Reagan and George H.W. A group of French recording artists and actors came together with the French writer and composer Charles Aznavour to record the 1989 song “Pour toi Arménie” (For you Armenia). 1988 SPITAK EARTHQUAKE (ARMENIA) A. K. BORUNOV, A. V. KOSHKARIOV, AND V. V. KANDELAKI Institute of Geography USSR Academy of Sciences Staromonetny 29, Moscow 109017, USSR ABSTRACT The Spitak earthquake, magnitude 7 on the Richter scale, which occurred on 7 December 1988 caused extensive damage throughout the area and resulted in over 25,000 deaths. Thirty-two years ago, on December 7, 1988, one of the most terrible tragedies in the modern history of Armenia took place. The 1988 earthquake in Armenia is unique in some ways. The east-central segment coincided with the surface breaks between Spitak and Gekhasar, while the west-central portion’s break was concealed under an anticline and was not visible at the surface. In the days following the earthquake, the normally quiet airstrip was receiving up to 180 flights per day carrying food, medical supplies, and disaster management experts. The engineers who scrutinized the damaged buildings and the rescue workers who had dismantled the buildings while extricating survivors ascribe both design shortcomings and improper construction methods for the failure of the buildings. [9], The world responded rapidly to the disaster in Leninakan and Spitak, with much of Europe sending cargo aircraft loaded with medical supplies, rescue equipment, and trained personnel to assist in the recovery, and even more reinforcement came in from Latin America and the Far East. While on site during aftershock monitoring, the US research team verified the presence of soil amplification effects when pronounced difference in readings were observed when compared with nearby rock sites. The 6.8 magnitude quake affected an area … The message reads: “Dear residents of Gyumri, Spitak, Vanadzor and Stepanavan, Dear compatriots, Today is the day of remembering the victims of the 1988 earthquake. American businessman and philanthropist Armand Hammer, well known to the Soviet Union for his financial pursuits and humanitarian ties, left Los Angeles for Armenia on board a Boeing 727 loaded with 2,300 pounds of medical supplies that were provided by theAmerican Red Cross. Red tape inevitably held up some of the rescue efforts and criticism of the perceived flawed processes soon followed. Aznavour, together with Armenian-French composer Georges Garvarentz, formed a foundation called “Aznavour for Armenia” and composed the song as a call for help for the Armenians. At least 25,000 people killed, 19,000 injured and 500,000 homeless in the Leninakan-Spitak-Kirovakan areas of northern Armenia, then part of the USSR. Earthquakes similar to or like 1988 Armenian earthquake. The 7 December 1988, magnitude M s 6.8, earthquake in northern Armenia caused unprecedented destruction and fatalities within the epicentral region for an earthquake of this size. In all, 111 countries, 7 international organizations, and 53 national chapters of the Red Cross provided help to Armenia. The official communist party newspaper Pravda said that poor construction, like other issues of neglect in the Soviet system, could be blamed on the Era of Stagnation from the era of Leonid Brezhnev. [26], The epicenters of the recorded aftershocks formed a relatively narrow 50 km (31 mi) band. Despite the tensions of the Cold War, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev formally asked the United States for humanitarian help within a few days of the earthquake, the first such request since the late 1940s. Their injuries were minor, but one person did suffer a broken arm. [29] Japan sent a monetary gift of $9 million while Italy had plans to build a prefabricated village for the victims, andWest Germany offered to send more than a dozen heavy cranes. Yuri S. Mkhitarian, an Armenian State Building Committee official, gave an updated damage report that included some of the outlying communities away from the population centers stating that 342 villages were damaged and another 58 were destroyed. As a result, ... Goenjian and colleagues have been conducting ongoing research among survivors of the devastating 1988 6.9 earthquake in Armenia. [41][42], The Tsaghkadzor earthquake on October 20, 1827, was centered about 50 km (31 mi) southeast of Spitak and had a maximum intensity of VIII on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. Arrival times were used to record signals from three-component seismometers decided that the town would be severe! Meant that `` seconds and hours are being lost—that means lives. and propagated to the Alavar.... 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