Episode #135 -- Spitak Earthquake
It Was 20 Years Ago Today
English - December 07, 2008 20:06 - 5 minutes - 4.86 MB - ★★★★ - 2 ratingsHistory News Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
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Sunday, December 7, 2008. Twenty years ago today, a major earthquake struck the city of Spitak, in what was then Soviet Armenia. At least 25,000 people were killed in this disaster. I look at why so many people were killed in this earthquake, and my thoughts about the prospect of being in a natural disaster myself.
People from nations all over the world stepped in to help rebuild after the Spitak earthquake. The picture here is a statue that the people of Armenia gave to the United States as a token of gratitude. It stands near the Red Cross Building in Washington D.C.