Gorbachev, in a TV interview several weeks after his expedited return from New York City, said that the concrete blocks had been built with more than enough sand but too little concrete, and suggested that the concrete had been stolen. [16], December 1988 earthquake in Armenian SSR, USSR, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Ministry of Emergency Situations (Russia), Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 1, "Still Recovering: A visit to the 1988 "center of the epicenter, "Soviet aides say deaths in quake may reach 50,000", " ? But it didnt feel that way. Their injuries were minor, but one person did suffer a broken arm. Several investigations of that event took place in the 1980s and early 1990s and the primary conclusions were that a critical condition for liquefaction to occur in that type of soil was the presence of a low permeable crust that did not allow pore water pressures to subside and that the assessment method and associated standard penetration test values used with sandy soils also applied to gravelly soils. [6][16], Some of the strongest shakings occurred in industrial areas with chemical and food processing plants, electrical substations, and power plants. Officials acknowledged that the work to complete the rebuilding may take up to five years or longer, a supposition that more than doubled Gorbachev's estimate of two years. There were also 9 quakes below magnitude 2.0 which people don't normally feel. The shock occurred in the northern region of Armenia (then part of the Soviet Union) which is vulnerable to large and destructive earthquakes and is part of a larger active seismic belt that stretches from the Alps t The two days I spent in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, were Feb. 25 to 27, 2015. With its epicenter about 55 miles north of Yerevan, the earthquake began at 11:41 in the morning of December 7. 0 earthquakes in the past 7 days. The dome of the Tepebashi mosque collapsed in 1988 on account of the Spitak Earthquake (also known as the 1988 Armenian Earthquake). Though the recurrence of seismic events in Armenia does not reach the high frequency that is seen in other segments of this zone, rapid crustal deformation there is associated with active thrust faulting and volcanic activity. Beginning with late 1987 the Caucasus region was experiencing a surge in political turmoil with large and near-constant demonstrations being held in the capital of Yerevan beginning in February 1988. 0 earthquakes in the past 30 days. While on-site during aftershock monitoring, the US research team verified the presence of soil amplification effects when pronounced differences in readings were observed when compared with nearby rock sites. At the Yerevan airport, western pilots reported a breakdown in air traffic control communications, with flight controllers not delivering the necessary flight navigation instructions, allowing for a critical lack of separation as foreign planes made their way into the area. A monument, Armenian Earthquake, expressing the appreciation of the Armenian people for assistance from the U.S. was erected in Washington, D.C. in 1990. 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