ARMENIAN EARTHQUAKE: The World Disaster Series

 On December 7, 1988, a devastating earthquake, centered in northern Armenia between the cities of Spitak and Stepanavan, rocked the country. These and other cities, along with hundreds of villages, were completely leveled. More than twenty-five thousand people were killed. Yet once again, the statistics tell only part of the story. The earthquake was a natural disaster, but the tragic loss of lives and property was greatly increased by human mistakes and miscalculations. Placing the blame for these errors triggered divisions among Armenians, Russians, and other peoples of the region. Many old political wounds were reopened.  The story of the Armenian earthquake of 1988 is not just a story of a natural disaster, but of a proud people who look back on a troubled past.