The matter of restoring the Armenia earthquake disaster zone is impossible to resolve at once.

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, who traveled to the country’s second largest city of Gyumri to pay his respects to the victims of the Spitak earthquake in 1988, on Monday told the above-said to several reporters.

“[Respective] money is provided and we continue providing for the restoration of the disaster zone,” Abrahamyan noted. “It’s simply not possible to immediately resolve the issue. We are moving forward by solving the problems of Gyumri.”

The PM, accompanied by several senior officials as well as MPs, also placed flowers at the monument to the victims of this catastrophic natural disaster.  

A devastating earthquake had struck Armenia on December 7, 1988, at 11:41am local time; that is, 27 years ago on this day.

In a matter of thirty seconds, the strong underground shakings destroyed Armenia’s northern portion, with a population of one million. At Spitak town, which was the epicenter of the tremor, the quake measured magnitude 10 on a 12-magnitude scale. Shocks were recorded in capital city Yerevan and in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi, too.      

According to official figures, the disaster claimed 25 thousand lives, 19 thousand people became disabled, and 530 thousand residents were left homeless.