Monday, December 7 2020 12:18

ArmInfo. "Today we are re-experiencing the bitterness that fell to our lot in 1988 and we honor the memory of the innocent victims," Governor of Shirak region  Tigran Petrosyan said in his address dedicated to the 32nd  anniversary of the terrible earthquake in Armenia.

He noted that as then, and now there is no one whose pain and loss would not be  personal. Tigran Petrosyan said that years earlier, the Armenian  people, and especially the Shirak people, looked to the future with a  willingness to resist pain. He stressed that the ordeal that befell  us must be overcome by standing firmly with our feet on our native  soil, as was done after the catastrophic earthquake.

The head of Chirac expressed his gratitude to those people who did  not leave their homeland and took up a difficult and responsible task  - the elimination of the consequences of the disaster, as well as to  those countries that have supported Armenia from the first day of the  tragedy.

<Human loss is the greatest and most irreversible. I bow to the  innocent victims. Dear people of Shirak, I wish you will, strength  and patience. Disasters pass, but the Motherland is eternal. May the  Lord protect our Motherland, "he said.

Let us remind that on December 7, 1988, at 11:41 local time, a  catastrophic earthquake occurred in Armenia. A series of tremors in  30 seconds practically destroyed the city of Spitak and inflicted  severe destruction on 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 -  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 experts, during the Spitak earthquake, energy was  released in the zone of rupture of the earth's crust, equivalent to  the explosion of ten atomic bombs, each of which was similar to those  dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The wave, caused by the earthquake,  circled the Earth and was recorded by scientific laboratories in  Europe, Asia, America and Australia.

As a result of the earthquake, according to official data, 25  thousand people died, 140 thousand became disabled, and 514 thousand  people lost their homes. The earthquake disabled about 40% of the  republic's industrial potential. Secondary schools for 210 thousand  pupils, kindergartens for 42 thousand places, 416 health facilities,  two theaters, 14 museums, 391 libraries, 42 cinemas, 349 clubs and  houses of culture were destroyed or fell into disrepair. 600  kilometers of roads, 10 kilometers of railways were put out of  action, 230 industrial enterprises were completely or partially  destroyed.