Serouj Aprahamian
Twenty five years ago, on
December 7, 1988, a catastrophic earthquake ripped through Armenia,
decimating the town of Spitak and surrounding areas. The quake left more
than 25,000 people dead, 15,000 injured, 517,000 homeless, and $14.2
billion in economic damage.
But the horror of that day was just as much a result of human
negligence as it was natural causes. International experts concluded
that poor building construction, a lack of emergency planning, and
inadequate medical care were the main factors behind the earthquake’s
devastation.
