A 56-second earthquake has destroyed lives and cities 42 years ago. More than 1,500 people have lost their lives, and tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed. The searches lasted for days, and the damages amounted to the equivalent of today’s EUR 2 billion. After 42 years, the earthquake of March 4, 1977 continues to be one of the nightmares that haunt Romanians.
The quake occurred at 21.22h and lasted 56 seconds. The magnitude was of 7.2 on Richter scale. It took place at 110 km depth in Vrancea region. 35,000 homes were destroyed, most of them in Bucharest. 11,000 people were buried beneath the rubble, digi24.ro informs.
The earthquake destroyed most of Zimnicea town and Sistov locality on the Danube river bank. In Bucharest, 33 buildings collapsed, most of them downtown Bucharest on Magheru Boulevard – Dunarea, Wilson, Scala.
More than 30,000 firefighters and military participated to searches in the rubble, with victims rescued every 5 minutes.
On the night of March 4, 1977 important personalities lost their lives: actor Toma Cragiu, film director Alexandru Bocanet, singer Doina Badea.