On this day, on 7 December, 1988, at 11:41 a.m. local time, a major earthquake was registered in Armenia.

The devastating 10 magnitude earthquake in the epicenter of the Spitak earthquake shook the region, covering about 40 percent of the country.

The cities of Spitak, Leninakan (Gyumri), Kirovakan (Vanadzor), Stepanavan, more than a hundred villages and settlements of Spitak, Akhuryan, Gugark, Aragats, Kalinino, Stepanavan regions were completely or partially destroyed as a result of the disaster.

More than 25 thousand people died, 500 thousand remain without shelter. 17% of the housing stock, about 8 million square meters of living space, was out of order. More than 230 industrial facilities with about 82 thousand jobs were destroyed.

The total damage to the Armenian economy amounted to 13 billion rubles.

In those days, more than 113 countries and 7 international organizations provided comprehensive assistance to Armenia. Some countries continued to assist Armenia in the following years as well. In 1989-2000, 3.5 million square meters of housing was put into operation in the disaster zone at the expense of all funding sources.

Thirty-two years later, many families living in the disaster zone are still living in temporary houses.

On 7 December, 2018, the government decided to mark