What caused the 1988 Spitak earthquake disaster in Armenia?

The 1988 Spitak earthquake was a result of the region's inherent geologic instability. Armenia is situated within a zone characterized by complex tectonic activity, as its landscape is part of the Alpine geosyncline—a vast structural downwarp in the Earth's crust that has shaped the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus and the Armenian Highland.12

This area is subject to frequent and often disastrous earthquakes due to ongoing crustal instability, which is further evidenced by the presence of extinct volcanoes and geologically recent volcanic activity. On December 7, 1988, this seismic vulnerability led to a catastrophic event that destroyed the town of Spitak and caused severe destruction in Gyumri, resulting in the loss of approximately 25,000 lives.12