ArmInfo. December 7 declared non-working day in Shirak and Lori regions. The decision was taken at the November 29 meeting of the RA government.
As noted in his speech, the Acting Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Development of the Republic of Armenia Vache Terteryan, non-working The day for two specific regions of the country is announced for the first time in connection with the tragic events of 30 years ago. "It is necessary to enable people to honor the memory of those who died in the terrible earthquake on December 7, 1988," the acting president stressed. Deputy Minister, adding that the working day for these areas will be Saturday, December 15th. December 7, 1988 at 11 hours 41 minutes local time in Armenia a catastrophic earthquake occurred. A series of aftershocks in 30 seconds almost destroyed the city of Spitak and inflicted severe destruction on the cities of Leninakan (now Gyumri), Kirovakan (now Vanadzor) and Stepanavan. A total of 21 cities suffered from the elements, 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 - 9 points, Kirovakan - 8 points. The 6-point earthquake zone covered a significant part of the territory of the republic tremors were felt in Yerevan. According to specialists, during the Spitak 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 on Hiroshima in 1945. The wave caused by the earthquake circled the Earth and was registered by scientific laboratories in Europe, Asia, America and Australia.
The earthquake, according to official data, killed 25 thousand people, 140 thousand became disabled, and 514 thousand people lost their homes. The earthquake damaged about 40 percent of the republic's industrial potential. General schools for 210 thousand students, kindergartens for 42 thousand places, 416 health care facilities, two theaters, 14 museums, 391 libraries, 42 cinemas, 349 clubs and cultural centers were destroyed or came to an emergency condition. 600 kilometers of roads, 10 kilometers of railway tracks were put out of operation, 230 industrial enterprises were completely or partially destroyed.