1988 Spitak earthquake
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The Spitak Earthquake also called Gyumri Earthquake was a tremor with a moment magnitude of 7.2,[1] 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.[2]
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[edit] The earthquake
Local housing infrastructure (particularly schools and hospitals) performed poorly in the earthquake and this resulted in 50,000 lost lives [3]. 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.
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 due to the earthquake.
Since most of the hospitals in the area were destroyed, and due to 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 the US 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 7.2 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.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia 2004 - Page 74 by Imogen Gladman, Taylor & Francis Group
- ^ In the Soviet Union, the method of recording the magnitude of earthquakes was different that the more commonly used Richter Scale. The earthquake in Spitak, as defined in the Soviet Encyclopedia, fell between "annihilating" to "catastrophe" which scored as a 10 or an 11 on the Soviet scale. A "10" was described as "great cracks in the earth. Landslides and avalanches" whereas an "11" was described as "wide cracks in the earth. Many landslides and avalanches. Stone houses completely destroyed." For more information on the Soviet grading scale, see Yuri Rost's The Armenian Tragedy. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990, p. 193.
- ^ Genocide: conceptual and historical dimensions By George J. Andreopoulos - Page 116
- ^ "Armenia Earthquake of 1988" Retrieved 7th February 2008
- ^ "Armenia Earthquake of 1988" Retrieved 7th February 2008
[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 earthquake. 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 earth-quake 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.
