The tragic experience of the Spitak earthquake in Armenia in 1988 gave impetus to the creation of an effective system for the prevention and elimination of the consequences of natural disasters. Russian Deputy Minister of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief  Nikolay Grechushkin said this during Monday’s scientific-practical conference, entitled "Historical experience of Spitak earthquake, modern technologies of seismic protection," in Yerevan.

He, in particular, recalled that the abovementioned natural disaster that took place 33 years ago on December 7 had covered an area with a population of more than one million.

"More than 40% of the [Armenian] republic's industrial potential was destroyed overnight. Earthquake remains one of the most devastating natural disasters [in history]. At the same time, this is the most difficult phenomenon in terms of predicting. But today we have accumulated considerable experience in the field of seismic safety monitoring," said the Russian deputy minister of emergencies.

Grechushkin added that he considers the aforementioned conference in Yerevan an important event, especially in terms of dialogue with the professional community as well as regarding the methodology of exchanging and evaluating respective experience.