The Spitak earthquake, 1988

On 7 December 1988, at 11:41 local time, a catastrophic earthquake of magnitude 6.8–7.2 struck the north-west of the Armenian SSR. It was named the Spitak earthquake because its epicentre was near the town of Spitak.

According to official figures about 25,000 people died; independent sources gave numbers of up to 45,000. More than half a million people were left homeless. The town of Spitak and 58 villages were completely destroyed, and Leninakan (Gyumri), Stepanavan, Kirovakan (Vanadzor) and other towns and settlements were partly destroyed.

The photograph shows a collapsed church, with walls still standing among the ruins and a tower with a clock. Around it are multi-storey buildings, cars and people.