1966_Tashkent_earthquake

The 1966 Tashkent earthquake (Uzbek: Toshkent zilzilasi; Russian: Ташкентское землетрясение) occurred on 26 April in the Uzbek SSR. It had a moment magnitude of 5.2 with an epicenter in central Tashkent at a depth of 3–8 kilometers (1.9–5.0 mi). The earthquake caused massive destruction to Tashkent, destroying most of the buildings in the city, killing between 15 and 200 people and leaving between 200,000 and 300,000 homeless. Following the disaster, most of the historic parts of Tashkent had been destroyed and the city was rebuilt, based on Soviet architectural styles. Soviet authorities created an institute of seismology in order to forecast future earthquakes.