On December 7, 1988, at 11:41 a.m. local time, a catastrophic earthquake occurred in Armenia. A series of tremors in 30 seconds practically destroyed the city of Spitak and caused severe destruction to the cities of Leninakan (now Gyumri), Kirovakan (now Vanadzor) and Stepanavan. In total, 21 cities were affected by the disaster, as well as 350 villages (of which 58 were completely destroyed). In the epicenter of the earthquake – the city of Spitak – its strength reached 10 points (on a 12-point scale), in Leninakan – nine points, Kirovakan – eight points. The disaster struck the north of Armenia, affecting about 40% of its territory, and tremors were felt even in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, and in the capital of Georgia.

According to experts, during the earthquake in the zone of rupture of the earth’s crust, energy was released equivalent to the explosion of ten atomic bombs, each of which was similar to the one dropped in 1945 on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The wave caused by the earthquake circled the Earth and was recorded by scientific laboratories in Europe, Asia, America and Australia.

In total, in addition to volunteers, over 20 thousand soldiers and officers took part in the rescue work; more than three thousand units of military equipment were used to clear the rubble. The collection of humanitarian aid was actively carried out throughout the country.