Earthquake in Tajikistan 1985. Kairakkum earthquake (1985)

Hi all! After a long break, Vladimir Raichev is with you again. I will try to write a detailed post soon about where I was and what I did. And today I suggest you read interesting information about the Kairakkum earthquake.

Today's article will be presented to you in a slightly different format than it was previously. The fact is that I came across an article by a woman who saw this earthquake with her own eyes and everything that will be told is in the first person.

We had been shaken before, but the force of the tremors was insignificant and did not pose a threat. For buildings to collapse and people to die? It seemed to us that this was impossible. But one day, while watching a movie in the cinema, we were frightened by very noticeable tremors.

Real panic began. Everyone rushed to the doors. The youth, pushing aside the elderly and children, rushed to the exit first, creating an unimaginable crowd, not allowing either themselves or other people to get out of the hall. Afraid of being crushed by the maddened crowd, the people who fell to the floor began to scream. Fortunately, the shaking stopped, everything turned out relatively well, not counting bruises and abrasions on some victims.

After that, no one returned to the hall. Everyone understood that the tremors could happen again. People also crowded near residential buildings, afraid to go up to their apartments, especially in high-rise buildings. In the morning we learned from the news that the force of the tremors reached five on the Richter scale.

Signs of trouble

Meanwhile, we continued to shake. After all, Tajikistan is located in the mountains and is a seismically active zone. But we stopped paying attention to it—probably we just got used to it. Life went on. But then the fateful day came - October 13, 1985.

It started off calmly enough. It was Sunday, the weather was unusually warm and sunny. There were no signs of trouble. And in the evening, about two hours before the disaster, the fish in the aquarium suddenly began to muddy the water and randomly rush back and forth. We haven't noticed this about them before.

Dogs howled in the area, as if anticipating the approach of something bad, unkind, and warning not only their owners, but also everyone around about it. The cat left the house. Before that, she meowed for a long time and couldn’t find a place for herself. Now he lies down, now he gets up, now he rubs against my legs, now he looks pitifully into my eyes, trying to warn us of the impending mortal danger. But we still did not understand either the animal’s hints or other signs given to us.

Pilots and policemen flying in a helicopter over the reservoir in search of poachers who, despite the ban, were catching fish with nets, saw a miracle of miracles. Huge schools of fish jumped high out of the water into the air and then fell back, raising clouds of spray. Surprisingly, the epicenter of the earthquake turned out to be in that very place!

Unknown force

Still suspecting nothing, my husband and I fed the children, bathed them and put them to bed. My husband sat down to read the newspaper, and I sat down on the sofa to watch TV. As I remember now, Nikolai Ozerov was talking about sports news, and then the announcer announced the start of the film “The Eighth Wonder of the World.”

And immediately after her words we heard a certain growing noise, reminiscent of the roar of moving tanks. Then the noise grew into a rumble. Sensing something was wrong, I just managed to jump off the sofa and was immediately pushed into the corner of the room. Something incomprehensible began.

It was as if an unknown force had thrown up our house and began to shake it randomly. We were rocked from side to side as if we were rag dolls. The lights went out. The sound of falling dishes was heard. The TV fell. A chandelier fell from the ceiling and crashed on the floor. Pots of flowers fell from the windowsills. It all looked like the end of the world!

Lucky and not

Not realizing what was happening, half naked, barefoot, with cut legs, arms and faces, we grabbed the frightened children and ran out into the street. A huge number of people have already crowded here. Women and children were crying. Oh God! — literally in a minute, beautiful houses turned into rickety wrecks.

However, the husband and several other men, risking their lives, returned to the apartments to take out everything they needed for the children, warm clothes, shoes, food and blankets. After all, it was autumn after all! It quickly became dark, and we somehow settled down for the night.

At dawn a terrible picture appeared before us. It seemed that the city survived the war and was subjected to more than one massive bombing.

Kairakkum was almost immediately declared closed. We learned that the force of the tremors of this terrible earthquake was 8-9 points. There were casualties. My friend survived by pure chance. That day, a young woman asked her to switch shifts at work. And here is the result - the friend remained alive, but the replacement was unlucky, she died, leaving her two-year-old son orphan. By the way, I was lucky too. As soon as I managed to jump off the sofa, a sideboard with dishes fell on it. If I had stayed even for a second, I can’t imagine what would have happened to me. Maybe it wouldn’t have killed me, but I would definitely have suffered serious injuries.

We are with you!

I also remember the Druzhba sports camp for 150 people. He was completely buried underground. Fortunately, this natural disaster did not occur in the summer, otherwise the children vacationing there would certainly have joined the list of dead.

The city was scary to look at. All the houses have huge cracks, with gaping holes instead of windows. Uprooted trees and poles with broken wires lay everywhere, and the ground with deep and wide cracks terrified people!

We must admit that the Soviet state did not leave us in trouble. Thousands of volunteers responded, not indifferent to the grief of others. They provided us with material and humanitarian assistance. Parcels and parcels came from everywhere, and trailers with all amenities were delivered to families left homeless. But most importantly, they supported us morally. In letters, telegrams and postcards they wrote: “Hold on! Do not give up! We are with you! And we held on, we survived.

Towards a peaceful life

Volunteers provided us with great assistance in construction. And our city quickly transformed and became even more beautiful than it was before the earthquake. But we could no longer live in peace; we were constantly expecting new shocks.

Yes, God forbid someone to survive such a rampant disaster. How do you like the article? Share your impressions in the comments. Personally, I got goosebumps when I read it.

That's all for today, I was glad to meet you. Share the link to this article with your friends on social networks, I am sure that they will also be interested in reading about the horrors of this earthquake. See you again, bye-bye.

Earthquake

Earthquakes are a fairly common occurrence in Asia. Usually, it is not very large. The chandelier will swing, and that’s the end of it. But in October 1985, we experienced real fear when the Kairakkum earthquake happened. Kairakkum Mono was named because its epicenter was near Kairakkum, in the village of Kuptulyuk, on the banks of the Syr Darya. That day I came from cotton. Took a bath, one hundred and fifty grams on my chest. It was ten o'clock in the evening. The “Time” program started on TV. And suddenly, not only the chandelier swayed, but all the furniture. Maya grabbed the children and rushed out the door. And I, not understanding the danger, began to save the furniture from falling. I have not yet realized the strength of the tremors. And the furniture continued to sway. Running out into the street, I saw a yard full of people. All its inhabitants left the house. The lights went out. Half an hour later the light came on again. It was simply turned off. For two hours no one dared to return to the house. Gradually the fear passed, and people began to disperse to their apartments. But some people didn’t decide to do it until the morning. In the morning, looking out at the view of the neighborhood from the balcony of the house, it seemed to me that it was just another fright. I went to work, I entered the technical school building and saw a pile of plaster on the floor, cracks in the walls. Everyone who worked at the technical school and was not at the cotton harvest gathered. They began to discuss how they survived that night. Evening classes have been cancelled.

After lunch, with the headmistress, we went to Kairakkum. There we had a branch of the evening department. With difficulty, the police let us through. The manager, Azizbayev Abdugafor, showed the destruction in the branch building and took us to see the Kuptulyuk village, where the epicenter was located. The village did not exist. Everything was leveled to the ground. It was later reported that there were few casualties. The houses in the village were made of adobe. And we watched from a distance, closer, the police didn’t let us in. They didn’t let us into the carpet factory either. Many people died there. The press reported 30-40 victims. The roof slabs were not welded to the concrete columns of the walls, and the earthquake wave was vertical, which is especially dangerous for buildings. The entire roof collapsed onto the looms. Many workers were pulled out from under them by rescuers. Several rescuers died trying to pull people out from under the rubble. But there could have been more victims. At that hour it was lunch time for the second shift, and many were outside the production building. Azizbayev showed a phenomenon that arose from an earthquake. There was a summer restaurant on the shore of the reservoir (Kairakkum Sea). Between the restaurant building and the sea flowed an aryk with poplars on its banks. One line of poplars remained in place, while the other moved about twenty meters to the sea.

The branch building was to be demolished. A similar fate was in store for the technical school building in Leninabad. The commission determined that it was unfit for use. And then the looting began. Someone pulled out more than half of the air conditioners from the windows and took away a metal garage for a bus. I suspected the caretaker, Ravshan Akhmedov. He was roguish at hand. But no one began to figure it out. Everything was attributed to an earthquake.

Leninabad was not seriously damaged. The shock wave from Kairakkum passed selectively along the outskirts of Leninabad. On Leninabadskaya Street there were three buildings of typical construction from the early fifties. The technical school building was in the middle. The outer houses practically remained intact, but the middle one was destroyed. To accommodate the technical school, a branch of the polytechnic institute was compacted, and then we were transferred to the old regional committee building in the city center. Two crossings are equivalent to one fire. There are crumbs left of the laboratory equipment. We had to start equipping them almost from scratch. But there would have been no happiness, but misfortune helped. In the new (old) building we created more modern workshops - weaving and sewing. They equipped the computer science room with computers of modern brands, at that time, although domestic, made in Minsk. The models were similar IBM 286. Office stands have been redesigned. But physical education classes had to be held in the central park, and in winter I had to go to the sports hall of the Shelkovik cultural center. It was a pity to leave the fruits of this labor when moving to Russia. Everything that had been done was again subject to destruction, with the “independence” of the republic.

Earthquakes are a fairly common occurrence in Asia. Usually, it is not very large. The chandelier will swing, and that’s the end of it. But in October 1985, we experienced real fear when the Kairakkum earthquake happened. It was named Kairakkum because its epicenter was near Kairakkum, in the village of Kuptulyuk, on the banks of the Syr Darya. That day I came from cotton. Took a bath, one hundred and fifty grams on my chest. It was ten o'clock in the evening.

The “Time” program started on TV. And suddenly, not only the chandelier swayed, but all the furniture. Maya grabbed the children and rushed through the door to exit. And I, not understanding the danger, began to save the furniture from falling. I have not yet realized the strength of the tremors. And the furniture continued to sway. Running out into the street, I saw a yard full of people. All its inhabitants left the house. The lights went out. Half an hour later the light came on again. It was simply turned off. For two hours no one dared to return to the house. Gradually the fear passed, and people began to disperse to their apartments. But some people didn’t decide to do it until the morning. In the morning, looking at the view of the neighborhood from the balcony of the house, it seemed to me that this was another fright. I went to work, I entered the technical school building and saw a pile of plaster on the floor, cracks in the walls. Everyone who worked at the technical school and was not at the cotton harvest gathered. They began to discuss how they survived that night. Evening classes have been cancelled.

After lunch, with the headmistress, we went to Kairakkum. There we had a branch of the evening department. With difficulty, the police let us through. The manager, Azizbayev Abdugafor, showed the destruction in the branch building and took us to show the village where the epicenter was located. The village did not exist. Everything was leveled to the ground. It was later reported that there were few casualties. The houses in the village were made of adobe. And we watched from a distance, closer, the police didn’t let us in. They didn’t let us into the carpet factory either. Many people died there. The press reported 30-40 victims. The roof slabs were not welded to the concrete columns of the walls, and the earthquake wave was vertical, which is especially dangerous for buildings.

The entire roof collapsed onto the looms. Many workers were pulled out from under them by rescuers. Several rescuers died trying to pull people out from under the rubble. But there could have been more victims. At that hour it was lunch time for the second shift, and many were outside the production building. Azizbayev showed a phenomenon that arose from an earthquake. There was a summer restaurant on the shore of the reservoir (Kairakkum Sea). Between the restaurant building and the sea flowed an aryk with poplars on its banks. One line of poplars remained in place, while the other moved about twenty meters to the sea.

The branch building was to be demolished. A similar fate was in store for the technical school building in Leninabad. The commission determined that it was unfit for use. And then the looting began. Someone pulled out more than half of the air conditioners from the windows and took away a metal garage for a bus. I suspected the caretaker, Ravshan Akhmedov. He was roguish at hand. But no one began to figure it out. Everything was attributed to an earthquake.

Leninabad was not seriously damaged. The shock wave from Kairakkum passed selectively along the outskirts of Leninabad. On Leninabadskaya Street there were three buildings of typical construction from the early fifties. The technical school building was in the middle. The outer houses practically remained intact, but the middle one was destroyed. To accommodate the technical school, a branch of the polytechnic institute was compacted, and then we were transferred to the old regional committee building in the city center. Two crossings are equivalent to one fire. There are crumbs left of the laboratory equipment.

We had to start equipping them almost from scratch. But there would have been no happiness, but misfortune helped. In the new (old) building we created more modern workshops - weaving and sewing. They equipped the computer science room with computers of modern brands, at that time, although domestic, made in Minsk. Models were similar to IBM 286. Office stands have been redesigned. But physical education classes had to be held in the central park, and in winter I had to go to the sports hall of the Shelkovik cultural center. It was a pity to leave the fruits of this labor when moving to Russia. Everything that had been done was again subject to destruction, with the “independence” of the republic.

1985
6th January
a thunderstorm in Moscow caused by the collision of warm and cold air masses.
January 17
release of 7.5 tons of liquid chlorine from a tank at the Volgograd Production Association "Khimprom". 27 people were injured. Since the 1950s, the plant has been focused on the production of 2nd generation chemical weapons - sarin and soman gases, as well as highly toxic pesticides from the class of organophosphorus substances.
The 25th of January
collapse of the dome of the High-Voltage Test Center of the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute named after. Lenin (Istra district, Moscow region) - the largest domed structure in the world, and also unsupported. The abundance of wet snow, wind, as well as numerous defects and deviations from the design made during the manufacture and installation of dome components led to the loss of fastening bolts and, a few days later, to disaster. It happened in 15 minutes. before the start of the working day it did not cause any casualties, but the structure could not be restored.
1st of February
near Minsk (Belarusian SSR), due to icing of parts, freezing of fuel in the tanks and stopping of the engines, the Tu-134 plane crashed (fell into the forest and burned out). 58 of the 83 people on board were killed.
March, 6
In the port of Ventspils (Latvian SSR), the tanker Ludvik Svoboda exploded. The reasons are the negligence of the sailors and their gross violation of safety regulations. 4 people died.
April 3
During the preparation for the display of new aviation equipment in Machulishchi (Belarusian SSR), the experimental helicopter “B-80 No. 01” crashed, in which one of the best pilots of the OKB E. Laryushin died. When testing the accelerated approach from low altitude to the ground as part of a study of the limiting flight modes, the rotor blades overlapped, they collapsed and the helicopter fell.
May 3
near the city of Lvov (Ukrainian SSR), a Tu-134 passenger plane flying from Tallinn and an An-26 military transport aircraft collided, on board which were almost the entire leadership of the Air Force of the Carpathian Military District. The cause of the disaster was a gross mistake by the Lvov dispatcher, who mistakenly determined the location of the An-26 and gave the Tu-134 crew a command to descend. A total of 94 people died.
May 30
tornado in the Dnieper district of Kyiv (Ukrainian SSR). Garages were destroyed, windows were broken, antennas, trees and even pieces of asphalt were torn out from the road surface.
June
explosion and fire at the Tengiz oil field (well No. 37, Atyrau region, Kazakh SSR). The explosion occurred at a depth of 4209 m, the power of the fire fountain had no equal in the world - a column of fire almost 150 m high. The torch burned for about a year, during which time 1 person died. (platoon commander of the Poltava anti-fountain detachment), residents of the village suffered from excess hydrogen sulfide. Karaton, Sarykamys and other nearby settlements. The “candle” burned along the migration path of migratory birds, which burned in the flames by the thousands; The ecofauna of the Caspian coast suffered a significant blow. The suppression of the fountain was completed only in July 1986.
June 6
release of liquid chlorine from a tank at the Pervomaisky Production Association "Khimprom" (Kharkov region of the Ukrainian SSR). 3 people were injured.
27th of June
accident at the Balakovo nuclear power plant (Saratov region): during the “hot run-in” of the 1st power unit without loading fuel, a pipeline ruptured and 300-degree steam began to flow into the room where people were working. 14 people died. The accident occurred due to the erroneous actions of inexperienced personnel. For several years in a row (1987-1991), steam generators failed en masse at nuclear power plants.
July 10
the largest plane crash on the territory of the USSR: near the city of Uchkuduk (Uzbek SSR), due to a failure of the control system at high altitude, a Tu-154 B-2 plane flying from Tashkent to Leningrad crashed. 200 people died.
July 15
accident at 521.8 km of the linear part of the Urengoy–Center gas pipeline (Tyumen region). Lost 21.57 million cubic meters. m of gas.
August 9
a squall wind swept across the territory of the Smolensk region. Tens of kilometers of power lines were damaged, thousands of trees were uprooted, livestock buildings were left without electricity and water, windows were broken, and roofs were torn off houses.
10th of August
the most severe radiation accident for the entire existence of the domestic nuclear fleet: on the nuclear submarine “K-431”, located in the Sea of ​​Japan (Strelok Bay, Chazhma Bay), due to personnel violation of the rules for reloading nuclear fuel, a spontaneous chain reaction occurred in one of the reactors reaction and a thermal explosion occurred. During the accident and during the liquidation of its consequences, 10 people died, up to 300 people. were exposed to increased radiation. At the same time, the axis of radioactive fallout crossed the Danube Peninsula in a northwestern direction and reached the sea on the coast of the Ussuri Bay, passing another 30 km along the water area. The length of the plume on the peninsula was 5.5 km.
September 25
An An-12 plane flying from Dnepropetrovsk to Moscow crashed near Kharkov (Ukrainian SSR). All on board (9 passengers and crew members) were killed.
October
earthquake in the city of Kairakkum (Leninabad region of the Tajik SSR). The epicenter was located in the area of ​​the Kairakkum reservoir, the intensity was estimated at 9 points. The villages of Kuntullyuk, Ispisar, Katagan, etc. were destroyed or severely damaged. Chkalovsk and Gafurov. In Kairakkum itself, most residential buildings and industrial enterprises, being at the epicenter, suffered irreparable damage.
October 11
in the area of ​​Kutaisi (Georgian SSR), while climbing, a Yak-40 passenger plane entered a rain zone, collided with a mountainside and burned out. 14 people died.
December 18
leak of liquid chlorine at the Kemerovo production plant "Khimprom". 1 person was injured.
+
– in the Irkutsk region over the year, 1,498 forest fires occurred in forests of national importance on an area of ​​208.2 thousand hectares, including 82 large forest fires on an area of ​​195.3 thousand hectares. 1,300 parachutists and forest airborne paratroopers, including 300 from other regions, more than 1,250 enterprise workers, 50-80 aircraft, up to 80 all-terrain vehicles and fire engines worked to extinguish the fires.
– in Sochi (Krasnodar Territory), a squall storm swept cars and tents from the coast into the sea. Dozens of people were injured.

1986
February 16
off the coast of New Zealand in Port Gore Bay, the Soviet motor ship of the Baltic Shipping Company "Mikhail Lermontov" ran into reefs and sank. In an extreme situation, the crew saved all passengers.
2nd of March
Due to engine failure, an An-24 plane crashed near the city of Bugulma (Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). 38 people died.
March, 6
earthquake in the North Apsheron waters of the Caspian Sea with a magnitude of 6.1.
11th of March
leak of liquid chlorine from a valve at the Kaprolaktam Production Association (Dzerzhinsk, Gorky Region), 1 person was injured.
April 24
At 178 km of the Kancherova-Kuvandyk section of the South Ural Railway, a freight train crashed, 30 cars derailed. The cause of the accident was track overshoot.
26 April
accident and explosion at the 4th block of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant named after Lenin (Ukrainian SSR). In the first days, 2 people died, 197 were hospitalized. According to the UN report, about 600,000 people received a high dose of radiation, of which at least 4,000 died later from cancer. 45 thousand people were evacuated from the disaster zone. in the Ukrainian and 135 thousand in the Belarusian SSR. An area of ​​109 thousand square meters was significantly damaged. km, another 100 thousand square meters are affected by pollution on a noticeable scale. km (23% of the territory of Belarus, 5% of the territory of Ukraine, 0.5% of the territory of the RSFSR).
may 13
strong earthquake in the Georgian SSR (in the area of ​​Lake Paravan).
May, 23rd
fire at the emergency 4th power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The fire occurred in the area where the main circulation pumps of the unit were located. Firefighters were transported to the fire site in armored personnel carriers. Due to high levels of radiation, they extinguished it in small groups - 5 people each. The operating time of each of them was no more than 10 minutes. 268 firefighters took part in extinguishing the fire, which lasted about 8 hours. Of these, 11 people. received radiation doses of over 20 roentgens, 7 people - from 50 to 100 roentgens.
12 June
Due to a broken neck of the wheelset axle, a freight train crashed on the Kimasozero-Ledmozero section (Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). 22 cars derailed with cargo (metal pellets) spilling out. Traffic was interrupted for 29 hours.
July 2
A fire broke out in the luggage compartment of a Tu-134 aircraft taking off from the airport in Syktyvkar (Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). The cabin very quickly filled with smoke and the commander decided to make an emergency landing, during which the car hit trees and collapsed. 2 crew members and 54 of 94 passengers were killed.
May 24
release at the railway station of Bataysk (Rostov region) of liquid chlorine from a tank traveling from the city of Sterlitamak (Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) to the city of Sumgait (Azerbaijan SSR).
June 18
railway accident on the Baltic Railway between the stations Kurtsums and Griva (Latvian SSR): due to excessive rolling, the buffers of the 4th and 5th cars got stuck, as a result of which the cars of the fast passenger train derailed.
August 19
accident in the immediate vicinity of the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant - derailment of a special railway car with spent nuclear fuel. Civilian specialists were unable to cope with the accident; soldiers from the railway troops of the USSR Ministry of Defense were brought in to eliminate it. After 2 days, the destroyed railway track was restored. The radiation level at the work site was 1-1.5 R/h.
August 31
In the port of Novorossiysk (Krasnodar Territory), the passenger motor ship Admiral Nakhimov sank in a collision with a cargo ship, the dry cargo ship Pyotr Vasev. The Soviet press reported that "there were casualties." Later, the death toll appeared: first 398 people, then 423 people.
August 30
earthquake in Odessa (Ukrainian SSR). 55% of buildings received 1st degree damage. Many residents of the city felt dizzy, nauseated, and in some cases there was a loss of balance. Security alarms were turned on in cars and apartments. The average intensity in the city is 6 points.
September 20
The bridge at the Kegums hydroelectric power station (Latvian SSR) collapsed. The tragedy occurred during a strength test of the bridge: an error in the calculations of the test plan caused a monstrous overload of the structures after 15 dump trucks loaded with sand were driven onto it. As a result, one of the crossing spans collapsed. 11 people died. (including the head of the inspection and his consultant), 13 were injured of varying degrees of severity.
October 3
in the area of ​​Bermuda (Atlantic Ocean), as a result of a rocket explosion in a mine at a depth of 4000 m, the Soviet nuclear submarine K-219 (commander I.A. Britanov) with a displacement of 9300 tons sank. 4 people died, some crew members were injured by heptyl. The nuclear submarine sank. Both nuclear reactors are plugged with standard absorbers.
October 13
Kairakkum earthquake. It was of an epicentral, short-period nature with a strength at the epicenter slightly higher than 8 points. Over 90 4-story brick residential buildings received significant damage. Large-panel residential buildings withstood the earthquake satisfactorily. Some of the 4-story frame buildings were severely damaged. Very significant destruction occurred in the old workshops of the Kairakkum carpet factory. The frame building, with a span of 12 m, lost its stability and collapsed, causing casualties.
October 14
During takeoff at Ust-May airport (Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic), the L-410 M plane crashed. 14 people died.
October 19
In the Drakensberg Mountains on the border of Mozambique and South Africa, a Mozambican Tu-134 plane, which was serving an Aeroflot crew temporarily seconded to this country, crashed. The exact cause of the disaster has not been established; disorientation of the crew is most likely, although there has been an assumption of sabotage by the South African intelligence services. 34 people were killed, including Mozambican President Samora Machel and his wife.
The 20th of October
When landing at the Kurumoch airport (Kuibyshev), due to the arrogance of the crew commander, the Tu-134 A plane, en route from Sverdlovsk to Grozny, crashed. 70 people died.
November 6
at the station Koristovka Odessa Railway (Kirovograd region of the Ukrainian SSR) there was a collision between 2 passenger trains with serious consequences (43 people died).
12 December
The Tu-134 A plane of the Belarusian air squad crashed at Schönefeld airport (Berlin). All 9 crew members and 63 of 73 passengers were killed, most of whom were German schoolchildren returning from a trip to the USSR.
+
disaster at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station (Krasnoyarsk Territory): after the release of the first flood, twice as weak as the design one, the bottom of the water well (more than 30,000 cubic meters of structures and rock foundation) under the dam was destroyed. Repairs were carried out: the bottom of the well was strengthened to prevent the base of the dam from being weakened and washed away by the flow of discharged water.

1987
January
In the first ten days of the month, exceptionally severe frosts were observed in the northwestern region of the European part of the USSR. At the station On a hill in the Novgorod region, the temperature dropped to –42°C. Severe cold has led to a number of climate records in various areas of the European part of the country. In Rivne, the temperature dropped to –35°C, which is below the absolute minimum for the entire January. In the Novgorod and Vologda regions, frosts reached -48°C at night!
In the mountainous regions of Svaneti (Georgian SSR), winters are extremely snowy (the height of the snow cover in some places reached 5 m). As a result, snow avalanches, blocking roads, cut off many cities and villages from the “mainland”, disabled more than 350 km of roads, about 200 km of high-voltage power lines and trunk communication lines, caused significant destruction of residential buildings and human casualties.
January 9
A “local radiation accident” occurred at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant with a leak of radioactive water into the turbine room.
13th of January
On the Malino-Usada section (Moscow region), a freight train crashed due to the negligence of the trackmaster and dispatcher.
January 21
unauthorized increase in reactor power at the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant (Sosnovy Bor), which led to the melting of 12 fuel elements, contamination of the core with cesium-137 and the release of radioactive substances outside the station.
January 29
As a result of a collision on the Chir-Surovikino section of the Volga Railway, 2 freight trains crashed, which led to serious consequences and a long interruption in traffic.
18th of Febuary
A fire started on the B-33 submarine, which was located at a combat training site in Peter the Great Bay (Sea of ​​Japan). 5 people died.
12th of April
accident on 2 km of the linear part of the Yamburg–Elets gas pipeline (Tyumen region). Lost 21 million cubic meters. m of gas.
April 16
During the firing of target missiles in the Peter the Great Gulf (Sea of ​​Japan), one of the missiles suddenly hit the small missile ship Monsoon. The hit in the radio room and the explosion caused a fire; all fire extinguishing systems and communications on the ship were damaged. Survivors evacuated the ship, which was hit by live shells and sank. 39 people died. The official commission came to the conclusion that the cause of the tragedy was the ill-conceived actions and criminal negligence of officials during the exercise.
20 April
a fire in the tail car of a train traveling towards the center along the stretch between the Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya stations of the Moscow metro. Several tail cars of the train were severely burned, the lining of the southern part of the station was badly damaged, and significant reconstruction was required.
April 29
During repair work at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant (Nikolaev region of the Ukrainian SSR), a 12-ton crane part collapsed, deforming the reactor vessel.
May 15
The orbital spacecraft "Buran" (in the "Skif-DM" version) fell into the Pacific Ocean during flight tests (due to a failure of the control systems, it received a braking signal instead of additional acceleration).
22nd of May
accident at 614 km of the linear part of the Urengoy–Uzhgorod gas pipeline (Tyumen region). Lost 3.30 million cubic meters. m of gas.
June 14
The bulk carrier "Komsomolets Kyrgyzstan" of the Baltic Shipping Company suffered a disaster in difficult weather conditions (storm) 200 miles off the coast of New Jersey (USA). Assistance was provided by the US Coast Guard: all crew members (37 people) were taken off board and taken to the port of Atlantic City. Later, President R. Reagan met with them.
July 7
leakage of liquid chlorine from the tank along the route and upon arrival at the station. Anau (Turkmen SSR). 135 train passengers were injured, 35 of them were seriously poisoned.
July 18
release of 20 tons of liquid chlorine at the Azot Production Association (Novomoskovsk, Tula Region).
October
Lenkoran earthquake in the Azerbaijan SSR (intensity 7 points on the Richter scale).
August 6
A tornado in the Kyiv region led to significant destruction of buildings and forests.
August 7
at the station Kamenskaya, Rostov region (Kamensk-Shakhtinsky), a railway accident occurred: a freight train at full speed rammed a passenger train standing at the station. 106 people were killed, 114 were injured.
October 19
When attempting to take off at the airport in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the An-12 BK plane crashed. The reason was a collision with a garage for heavy airfield equipment due to overload in conditions of strong tailwind and wet snowfall. 9 people died.
20 November
accident at 174.3 km of the linear part of the Urengoy–Chelyabinsk gas pipeline (Tyumen region). Lost 20.1 million cubic meters. m of gas.
November 23
Due to a disruption in the technological process, a powerful explosion occurred in the rock ammonite workshop of the plant in Dzerzhinsk (Gorky region), which caused a fire inside the building. Due to the high temperature, another explosion of the finished product occurred, which completely destroyed the workshop building. As a result of the collapse of building structures, a fire service guard (3 people) was killed.
November 24
On the Kanash-Achaks stretch (Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic), passenger train No. 173 collided with a freight train that stopped on the stretch in a crooked section of the track in conditions of poor visibility and a power outage in the contact network and power supply to the automatic blocking. 3 people died. (driver, his assistant and passenger). The break in traffic was 18 hours.
December 1
release of liquid chlorine from a valve on a tank at the Sayansky Production Association "Khimprom" (Zima, Irkutsk Region). 2 people were poisoned and burned by chlorine. The tank arrived from the Kalush Production Association "Khimprom" (Ukrainian SSR).
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- a powerful hurricane felled a forest over a large territory of the Tver region.
- forest fires in the Chita region engulfed a vast area of ​​more than 90 thousand hectares.

1988
January 14
3 explosions in the silo of the Tomylovsky elevator (Samara region). An attempt to localize the accident leads to another explosion and the death of personnel (3 people). The process of spontaneous combustion of sunflower seeds with subsequent gas-dust-air explosions has become uncontrollable. It was not possible to localize the accident; the elevator slowly died over the course of 1.5 years due to successive local fires and explosions in the silos. As a result, the huge procurement elevator made of reinforced concrete structures ceased to exist.
January 18
The Tu-154 plane broke in half during a too hard landing at the airport in Krasnovodsk (Turkmen SSR). Of the 137 passengers, 11 who were at the fault site died.
January 24
near the city of Nizhnevartovsk (Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug), immediately after takeoff, a Yak-40 plane crashed, flying to Tyumen; for unknown reasons (according to the main version - due to erroneous actions of the crew), all 3 engines turned off. Of the 35 people on board, 31 died: most of them froze in deep snow, because... the plane crashed late in the evening, and was discovered only at dawn.
The 25th of January
On the nuclear submarine K-178, located at a base in Kamchatka, a fire broke out in the storage compartment of insulating gas masks and breathing apparatus. 1 sailor died.
January 26
At the Pady station of the South-Eastern Railway (Penza region), 2 freight trains crashed.
1st of February
accident in Yaroslavl on the Volga-Filino railway section. 7 cars of a special freight train derailed, incl. 3 tanks with highly toxic rocket fuel heptyl. About 740 liters leaked from the overturned tank onto the embankment, and 450 liters of heptyl were collected in a container. During the liquidation of the accident, 58 people were hospitalized with poisoning; many of the firefighters who worked to collect fuel soon died or became disabled.
12th of February
On the Northern Fleet nuclear submarine K-14, a fire started due to an oil fire. 1 person died during the fire extinguishing.
February 14-15
the largest fire in the Library of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Leningrad). It started on Sunday evening on the 3rd floor of the newspaper storage facility and was quickly extinguished by firefighters. However, a few hours later, early in the morning, the fire appeared again, this time simultaneously on the 4th and 5th floors, where the collection of books and periodicals in Russian and foreign languages ​​was located. This time the fire suppression lasted 11 hours. As a result, about 300,000 storage units were damaged, and 10 times more copies were damaged by water than by fire.
February 27
When landing at the airport in Surgut (Tyumen region), a Tu-34 plane crashed (crashed into the ground and caught fire). 20 passengers and crew members, 37 people, were killed. received injuries and injuries.
March 13-14
one of the strongest hurricanes in Kamchatka. Despite the fact that weather forecasters sent an alarming signal to local authorities and the population in advance, little was done to meet the disaster in full readiness. The wind speed reached almost 40 km/h, the wind broke windows and doors in thousands of apartments, bent traffic lights and poles, tore off roofs from hundreds of houses, knocked down trees, demolished newsstands and food stalls. Electricity and heat supply in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, television and radio broadcasting were out of order, residents were left without electricity, heat and water.
April 19
While descending through the clouds during a heavy snowstorm in conditions of limited visibility in the area of ​​Bagdarin (Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic), the L-410 UVP aircraft crashed (collided with a mountain). 17 people died.
April 30
the death of N. Ustinov, an employee of the secret viral biological center in Koltsovo (Novosibirsk region), who became infected with the Marburg virus during the development of the latest biological weapons.
May 18
In the Japanese port of Osaka, the Soviet tourist ship “Priamurye” caught fire at night, on which about 300 tourists from the USSR were traveling on packages from the Sputnik travel agency. 11 people died.
May 27
accident at 741 km of the linear part of the Urengoy–Petrovsk gas pipeline in the floodplain of the river. Ob (Tyumen region). Lost 2.3 million cubic meters. m of gas.
June 4
When approaching the Arzamas-1 station (Gorky region) of a freight train traveling from the city of Dzerzhinsk to the Kazakh SSR, an explosion occurred in 3 cars with 18 tons of industrial explosives intended for mining enterprises in the south of the country. The depth of the crater at the explosion site is 30 m. 151 residential buildings were destroyed (including a nearby village), 2,700 people. lost their housing. 94 people died. (including 10 children), 840 injured. One version of the cause: a gas leak in the gas pipeline under the railway tracks.
3 July
fire in a carriage with herbicide (sodium trichloroacetate) at the station. Chepetskaya (Kirovo-Chepetsk, Kirov region) with the formation of a number of toxic substances - phosgene, chloroform, carbon monoxide. Smog hung over the city. 27 people sought medical help.
July, 12
a large 3-deck motor ship "Sergei Kuchkin", making a voyage along the Canal. Moskva, trying to avoid a collision with another motor ship "Moscow-92" (it urgently changed course because of 2 guys swimming in the restricted area of ​​the river), collided with the canal slope, damaging the hull. The repair work took almost 2 days, and the schedule of tourist flights was disrupted.
August 16
On the Berezayka-Poplavenets section of the Bologovsky branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway (Kalinin Region), the high-speed passenger train No. 159 “Aurora” crashed (caused by cars derailing and a fire). 31 people were killed, 182 were injured. 2500 m of the contact network, 500 m of the railway track were damaged, 12 cars were damaged to the point of exclusion from inventory. There was a break of more than 15 hours in the movement of trains on the section.
August 18
accident (melting of the reactor core) on the nuclear icebreaker "Russia" in the Arctic.
September 13
an accident accompanied by an explosion and fire at the monomer warehouse of the Sumgayit Production Association "Orgsintez" (Azerbaijan SSR).
The 4th of October
explosion of a car with industrial explosives at the station. Sverdlovsk-Sortirovochnaya (46.8 tons of TNT and 40 tons of hexogen). At the site of the explosion there is a 15 m deep crater, and a carriage depot located 400 m from the explosion site was destroyed. 4 people were killed, 500 were injured (about 80 of them became disabled). Significant material damage was caused, industrial and residential buildings were destroyed (losses amounting to more than 100 million rubles). One of the main reasons for the incident was non-compliance with international requirements for packaging and transportation conditions for especially dangerous goods.
11th of November
On the nuclear icebreaker Rossiya, which was moored at the berth, an event occurred that led to a nuclear-hazardous situation: as a result of incorrect actions of the personnel, the reactor remained without cooling for 4 minutes, after which the emergency protection was activated.
December 3-5
severe ice in the south of Ukraine paralyzed the activities of most sectors of the economy, causing enormous material damage.
December 7
the largest (in terms of number of victims) earthquake in the USSR for 40-50 years (and the most powerful in the Caucasus for 80 years) - in the Armenian SSR. The city of Spitak was destroyed, the cities were destroyed. Leninakan, Stepanavan, Kirovakan. The strength of the earthquake is about 7 points on the Richter scale. An estimated 25,000 people were killed, more than 17,000 were injured, and 514,000 people lost their homes. In the area of ​​the earthquake, 21 cities and 324 villages were destroyed.
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* at the station A tornado up to 1 km wide hit Pavlovskaya, Krasnodar Territory. About 500 houses were destroyed. During the recent rain, hail the size of a chicken egg fell, which pierced the roofs of buildings and destroyed crops.

1989
January 8
leak of 6 tons of chlorine from a refrigerator at the Kremniypolymer plant (Zaporozhye, Ukrainian SSR). 1 person was injured. In the 1980s, this plant was prepared for the production of the latest chemical weapons under the “Foliant” program.
January 9
On the Volgograd I-Volgograd II section, passenger train No. 173 on the Volgograd-Kharkov route crashed due to a collision between the shunting train and the tail car of this train.
January 23
a strong 7-magnitude earthquake in the Gissar region of the Tajik SSR on the Urtaboz plateau, which caused landslides in the village. Sharora and Okuli-Poen. Under the collapse of soil more than 10 m high, 274 people died, more than 30,000 were left homeless. More than 5,000 houses and a large number of schools and healthcare facilities were damaged beyond repair, agricultural buildings, many roads, utilities and power lines were destroyed.
20th of March
disaster at the Azot production facility in Jonava (Lithuanian SSR): explosion of a liquid ammonia storage tank and fire, incl. in the warehouse of nitrophoska. Release of 7000 tons of ammonia into the environment. 7 people were killed, 64 were injured, and about 40,000 residents had to be evacuated from the danger zone. The area of ​​the contamination zone with ammonia vapor and thermal decomposition products of nitrophoska was 400 square meters. km.
April
an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 6 points in the city of Mendeleevsk (Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic), which became an echo and consequence of intensive oil development in previous years.
April 7
In the Barents Sea, as a result of a fire in the tail sections at a depth of 1700 m, the Soviet nuclear submarine K-278 Komsomolets with a displacement of 6000 tons sank. 42 of the 69 crew members were killed. There were 2 normally shut down nuclear reactors on board.
April 15
When a freight train was departing for the busy Kupyevakha-Post Spitsin section (Poltava region of the Ukrainian SSR), it collided with the tail part of a previously dispatched freight train.
April 21
A powerful seismic shock shook the southern territory of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. A shaking of magnitude 3 to 8 affected a vast area of ​​more than 1.5 million km located in the middle of the river. Lena and Cupid. The strength of the earthquake turned out to be comparable to the Spitak earthquake. The southern and central parts of Yakutia, areas of the Chita, Irkutsk, Amur regions and Khabarovsk Territory were affected. After the main shock, more than 3,000 aftershocks were recorded during the year. The earthquake was felt on sections of the BAM highway (Chara-Tynda-Berkakit) with a force of 5-6 points.
May
explosion on a deep-sea fixed platform in the Caspian Sea. The fire lasted more than 9 days.
June
radiation accident at the Podolsk non-ferrous metals plant (Moscow region), after which work on the reconstruction of aluminum production was suspended.
June 3
the largest railway disaster of recent decades: a gas condensate explosion causing a fire in the product pipeline in the section between the years. Chelyabinsk and Ufa near the railway track during the passage of 2 passenger trains. About 340 people died, more than 800 were hospitalized, of which 115 were children (97 in serious condition).
the 9th of June
At the Kamenskoye-Pogorelovo railway crossing (Rostov region), a regular bus drove onto the track and collided with passenger train No. 395 Adler-Voronezh. As a result, 29 people. died on the spot, 2 died on the way to the hospital, 14 were hospitalized.
June 14
rupture of a container at a liquefied chlorine warehouse at water pumping stations in Khabarovsk. A cloud of chlorine (800 kg) was released into the atmosphere and covered vacationers on the banks of the river. Amur, 70 people. were taken to the hospital, 8 of them were taken to intensive care units due to developing symptoms of toxic pulmonary edema.
June 18
a fire at the VEF electrical plant (Riga, Latvian SSR) due to welding work on the roof of one of the factory extensions. Due to strong winds, fighting the fire became extremely difficult; all available resources had to be used to extinguish the fire: almost 170 firefighters and 2 specialized firefighting trains. The damage was enormous: 3 buildings of the plant burned down, 1,500 jobs were destroyed, and the total damage reached 5 million rubles. (in 1989 prices).
June 26
accident on the nuclear submarine "K-192" in the Norwegian Sea: a leak was discovered in the reactor compartment, a radiation hazard signal was issued. While carrying out repair work, a leak was discovered in the starboard side, during the localization of which a pipeline ruptured. Military support vessels assisted in flushing the reactor, but the procedure was stopped on June 27 due to a personnel error for 2 hours, which led to the fusion of the starboard core. The personnel received a radiation dose of up to 4 rem.
July 19
When flying for the purpose of ice reconnaissance over the East Siberian Sea, the An-26 aircraft collided with a rocky slope of a hill in the area of ​​​​Cape Kibera near the island. Shalaurov (territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug). 10 people died.
August
Typhoon Judy swept over the Ussuri taiga and the Sikhote-Alin ridge (USSR). The winds reached a speed of 46 m/s, the rains came with such force that the water poured in a continuous stream. 109 settlements were flooded, in which about 2,000 houses were damaged, 2,678 bridges were demolished, 1,340 km of roads, 70 km of power lines, 600 km of telephone networks were disabled, and 12,0000 hectares of farmland were flooded.
August 27
The hydrofoil motor ship "Raketa-15", which belonged to the Verkh-Irtysh River Shipping Company, crashed into the shore at full speed in clear sunny weather. Of the 18 passengers and crew members, 11 were taken to the hospital in the regional center of Cherlak with varying degrees of injuries. The cause of the accident was the death of the backup captain at the helm, which caused the ship to lose control.
October
a fire occurred at the railway station in Jelgava (Latvian SSR): 2 of the 60 tanks of the arriving train with gasoline caught fire. There was a fuel depot near the fire site. City authorities considered the possibility of evacuating residents of surrounding houses, but firefighters managed to prevent trouble.
The 20th of October
- near the city of Troitsk (Moscow region) on the 34th km of the Kaluga highway on the bridge over the river. The Desna PAZ bus collided with a passenger car, knocked down barriers and fell from a height of 10 m into the river. The exact number of deaths is unknown, according to official data - 11 people.
- While performing a training flight, combined with the delivery of humanitarian cargo to the city of Leninakan for earthquake victims in Armenia, an Il-76 TD plane crashed. 15 people died.
the 25th of October
accident at 1055 km of the linear part of the Urengoy–Center gas pipeline (Tyumen region). Lost 17 million cubic meters. m of gas.
November
explosion on the main pipeline Messoyakha fields-Norilsk. More than 4 km of pipes were damaged.
November 12
In the area of ​​Leninakan (Armenian SSR), an Il-76 plane crashed. 78 people died.
November 21
When landing at the Sovetsky airport (Tyumen region) in difficult weather conditions, an An-24 plane flying from Perm crashed into trees to the side of the runway. 4 crew members and 28 of 36 passengers were killed.
November 21
leakage of several hundred tons of phenol at the pumping station of the Khimprom Production Association in Ufa (Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). Having lain in the snow all winter, phenol at the end of March 1990 was washed away by meltwater into the city’s rivers and ended up in the drinking water intake. Large concentrations of polychlorinated dioxins were found in the waters.
November 26
When landing at the airport in Sovetsky (Perm region), the An-24 B plane crashed (it hit the tops of trees, fell to the ground and caught fire). Of those on board, 42 people. All crew members (6) and 28 passengers were killed.
December 5/7
unsuccessful missile launch from a Delta-IV nuclear-powered missile submarine. As a result, 15.8 tons of one of the rocket fuel components was dumped into the White Sea, 105 km northwest of the city of Severodvinsk (Arkhangelsk region).
December 17
release of liquid chlorine from a tank at the Kaustik Production Association (Sterlitamak, Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). 2 people were injured, 1 of them died.
December 30th
At the airport in Getashen (Armenian SSR), a Mi-8 helicopter overturned while disembarking passengers and unloading cargo. 12 people were killed by blade impacts.
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– as a result of severe fires, the forests of the island were almost burned out. Sakhalin.
– in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories - heavy rainfall. The water level in the rivers rose by 8 m, more than 140 settlements were flooded, 11 people died or went missing.

I can’t even believe that 25 years have already passed... It seems that I remember everything down to the details, although I’ve probably forgotten something. I was 14 years old then, and I saw and remembered everything completely differently than it does now...
We were at the very epicenter, the documentary film about our earthquake was later called “Epicenter”...

Due to my age, it probably wasn’t scary then, although the earthquake was very strong - about 9.5 points. They officially announced 8, since with scores above 8 the borders were opened for the Red Cross, and we have secret nuclear production there; uranium for the first Soviet nuclear bomb and the first nuclear reactor in our area was mined and enriched in a neighboring city. Some, by the way, during the earthquake thought that everything was war, and the Americans were bombing us, it was so strong =)
[UPD. In general, everything is difficult with points... It depends on what system you use to count. On the Richter scale it seems to be 8. In intensity 9]
So, there was no longer fear, but curiosity - as soon as the houses were cleaned up, they hauled several buckets of porcelain, glass and crystal to the landfill, and dismantled a bunch of bricks from the pipes in the yard, they ran first to school, then around the city, to see what was going on. listen, tell each other... There was no Internet then, no phones, there were even problems with TVs - all the information came from word of mouth...

It was only later that it began to dawn on me that he could have been injured or something worse...
My sister and I had a fight about whose turn it was to sleep on the floor near the sideboard, my mother scattered us onto an armchair and a sofa, and when it shook, all the glass, porcelain, crystal from the sideboard... in general, all the dishes spilled out onto the place where one of us could sleep.
Then I successfully fell and lost consciousness for a couple of seconds, without hurting myself on anything, and by the time I ran out into the yard, as expected, everything was already over, and I ran out onto the bricks from the pipes, and not under them. Fate, probably... I would never have thought that there were SO MANY bricks in the pipe!... From two pipes we had enough for a small shed...

There were many casualties. Officially announced - 29, but in fact much more. The whole village went underground, the shift at the Carpet Factory was buried, and then the rescuers were bombarded with repeated aftershocks... People saw corpses in the hospital or the wounded even on the street... The hospital was small in the city, there was not enough space... Although in the same carpet, many were saved under the machines, many in the city or in the same village were saved by chance, but nevertheless... There were practically no casualties in the city itself. People knew what to do, and they built there taking into account earthquakes, which shook us regularly.
But the city and the surrounding area suffered specifically - cracks in the ground, uplifted asphalt, almost all houses without pipes, a lot of houses collapsed, began to crack... What did not collapse on its own, then much was demolished because of these cracks, and sometimes simply to build a better new one...

Life in the city was clearly divided into “before” and “after”, and for many years... The city was rebuilt very much. Many people profited from this, not without it. Humanitarian aid was stolen, bricks were stolen from destroyed buildings, someone was even tried later, I remember, for such things...
We boys made our first money from these bricks, loading them from destroyed houses to local women. It was good money at that time, but not without risk - the walls of the houses were held together by snot, we had to make sure that they didn’t collapse, there were precedents. ..
I also remember that at school, in the NVP’s office, we got a good deal of bullets for the air gun, and for a long time we shot for free at the local shooting range =)
We got a lot of good books - the entire city library was placed in a 3-room apartment, a lot of things were written off, thrown away and picked up...
In general, there were some advantages even with such a tragedy...

While they were thinking and deciding where to build, people lived first in tents, then in trailers... For two years, some lived in carriages, there was a whole microdistrict - Vagonny, with streets, numbering of trailers, there was even something for leisure there, children's room, something else...
For a family - a carriage. If there were no children, then a carriage could be provided for 2 families. Apart from spring, the rest of the time it was practically hell there. It’s winter, even though it’s Tajikistan, but it’s cold – there’s wind here and there. In summer it is hellishly hot. In short, there is still drama... We received some kind of benefits, food packages. At first, I remember, they gave out all sorts of food and vegetables for free from cars... Somehow we lived, where could we go... Moreover, it all somehow even united people who actually dealt with all sorts of problems together...

Neighboring cities (Chkalovsk, Leninabad) suffered less damage, but even there they quietly demolished a lot (even what would still be standing) in order to build newer and better ones...
People received new apartments, rejoiced, were happy - words cannot express it... And after 6-8 years they had to give up everything and run wherever they could - from the civil war, from nationalism, from all these problems - poverty, hunger, cold... .
In general, life there is completely different now, but the earthquake is still remembered by both those who stayed and those who left...

Of course, few photographs have survived from those times. Firstly, a camera was still a rarity back then, and secondly, the police very quickly began to persecute left-wing photographers, because no big deal... I remember I clicked 1-2 films on my “Smena”, but, alas, everything was lit up then during development - there was still drama (((
You can still find something on the internet. Quality, of course, is something else... But you can get an idea of ​​the scale of what happened...

Destructions:

One of the most impressive places is the shore of the reservoir near the breakwater. There was an alley along the shore, trees in 2 rows. One row seemed to have been cut off and carried down to the reservoir. At the teahouse there, a cauldron on the street ended up half in the air, and from under it, as if with a knife, the ground was carefully carried down.
Most of the photos were found from this place.

Carpet factory:

Damaged buildings:

But those same tents and trailers...
At least these trailers were somehow adapted for housing. And I remember that some people also lived in ordinary passenger carriages...

By the way, the deeds of bygone days are still visible there.
Here is a modern photo of the house (2012, I think). It shows the ties that were put in place after the earthquake to prevent the house from falling apart...