16. Dzhrashen School, Armenia
Built: Unknown
Collapsed: 1988
Est. Damages: Unknown
On December 7, 1988, northern Armenia (then part of the Soviet Union) was hit by an earthquake that measured 6.9 on the Richter scale. The earthquake caused immeasurable damage to the region both, economically and socially, including $14.2 billion in property damage and leaving more than half of a million people without homes.
Dzhrashen School, Armenia @John A. Martin & Associates / Twitter.com
In total, close to 15,000 people were injured and 25,000 were killed by the earthquake that brought down the Dzhrashen school – 400 of those deaths came from the school itself. It’s believed that had the school’s concrete floors been secured more securely to the walls of the building, perhaps, the collapse could have been avoided and the many young lives that were lost might have been spared.