Earthquake Remembrance Day

Observed in Turkmenistan

October 6

Earthquake Remembrance Day is a public holiday in Turkmenistan.

During Earthquake Remembrance Day, Turkmenistan pays its respects to those who were killed in the earthquake of 1948 in Ashgabat.

The Turkmen people were just recovering from the wounds of World War II and starvation, which came right after the war in 1946-1947, that it faced with another grief. The night from October 5th to 6th in 1948 at 1 o’clock 12 minutes 5 seconds, there was an earthquake in Ashgabat and its suburbs. The earthquake lasted only 10 seconds, but it was around 10 point and devastated entire city in such a short time. All of the apartments, factories, schools, hospitals, government buildings, offices, and theaters equaled with the ground. Electricity, telephone lines, telegraphs, radio stations, railway stations and airport roughly damaged and basically the city was broken apart from the connection with the other part of the world. That night the whole city was in chaos.

At the beginning, the city tried to handle the situation with its own forces. People, who got out of this earthquake safe, started retrieving their family members, relatives, and neighbors from wreckages. The next day people of the USSR were shocked by the news about the Ashgabat earthquake tragedy.

National Museum

Those times the population of Ashgabat was 170 thousand and from them around 110 thousand of them were buried under the wreckage of the earthquake. In 1995 there was a memorial museum built in the middle of the city in commemoration of victims of earthquake. Every year October 7th is known as Remembrance Day in Turkmenistan.

The day after the earthquake, on October 7th railway roads was rebuilt. Airport and radio lines started working. Food, medical supplies, construction materials and other necessary supplies started coming from Moscow and other cities. 240 cargo aircrafts, 7 thousand carriages and thousands of cars keep bringing aids from all around USSR. Aircrafts would bring goods and take wounded people back.

Dovletmammet Azady Park in the middle of the city turned into the field hospital and most of the injured people got first necessary medical aids there.

Today is a day of remembrance for those that lived through this devestation of 1948.

Read more: http://www.theorientalcaravan.com/pages/turkmenistan_photos.htm

A Celebration of Women

sends our blessings to all the Women of our World in Turkmenistan.

May God Bless YOU!