Spitak

Spitak - darkometer rating : 6 - This town in northern Armenia was nearest to the epicentre of the devastating earthquake of 1988 that was accordingly named after Spitak – even though the death toll at the nearby city of Gyumri was even greater. Today, there's still a grim atmosphere about, even though a lot of relief money has been funnelled towards the rebuilding of Spitak. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: The Spitak earthquake of 7 December 1988, which hit just before noon, was one of the worst in the 20th century. It is estimated to have had a magnitude of at least 7 on the Richter scale. Combined with the poor quality of some of the communist era buildings, many of which collapsed like houses of cards, this caused such massive devastation that its scars still show today. At least 25,000 and possibly up to 50,000 people were killed in total by the quake, over a hundred thousand more were injured and about half a million made homeless. Much of the destruction occurred in the nearby city of Gyumri , which was (and is) the area's largest conurbation. Bad relief management in the ailing Soviet Union and the fact that it was the middle of winter made things only worse. On the other hand, help from outside was allowed in, which until then had been a rare thing in Soviet times. And so international rescue teams managed to drag thousands out from under the rubble. Charity events also raised money, e.g. the Rock Aid Armenia effort. Spitak itself was practically wiped off the face of the earth. At least 4000 people perished here alone, nearly a quarter of the current population.