A shallow earthquake near Spitak destroyed towns across northern Armenia in less than a minute. Gyumri, then Leninakan, was among the hardest hit. This page tells the story and what it changed.
- 6.8surface-wave magnitude, Ms
- Xmaximum intensity, MSK-64
- ~5 kmdepth of the source
- 25,000+people killed, by most estimates
Epicentre near Spitak and the distance to the towns that were most damaged.
A thrust fault north of Aragats
The earthquake ruptured a thrust fault in the Lesser Caucasus, part of the collision between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. Because the source was very shallow, the strongest shaking reached the surface almost undiminished.
Four minutes later
A strong aftershock of magnitude about 5.8 struck four minutes after the main shock, while rescue had barely begun.
Spitak, Leninakan, Kirovakan
Spitak was almost completely destroyed. In Leninakan, today Gyumri, and in Kirovakan, today Vanadzor, many multi-storey frame and panel buildings collapsed, while well-built masonry often survived.
Help from around the world
More than a hundred countries sent rescuers, doctors and aid. It was one of the first times the Soviet Union accepted large-scale international assistance.
Why it matters today
The disaster showed that the quality of construction decides how many people survive. It changed building codes, land-use planning and the way earthquakes are monitored and studied in Armenia.
Science in Gyumri
For the institute in Gyumri this is the core of its work: monitoring earthquakes with the CHARNET network, assessing seismic hazard and helping to build safer cities. The institute’s museum keeps the memory of the earthquake and the original first multi-pendulum seismometer designed by Academician Armen Nazaryan.
Earthquake monitoringSeismic hazard researchWhat to do in an earthquake
Sources: USGS; Bolt, 1992; published accounts of the 1988 Spitak earthquake. Casualty figures differ between sources.