1988 Armenian earthquake

The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake (, "Spitaki yerkrasharj"), happened on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X ("Devastating").
The shock happened in the northern region of Armenia. Between 25,000 and 50,000 were killed and up to 130,000 were injured.
Despite the tensions of the Cold War, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev formally asked the United States for humanitarian help within a few days of the earthquake.