European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 10, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A saturday dece Bamo 19bs the stars and stripes quake death toll May be 50,000 More temblor expected in devastated soviet Region Moscow a soviet authorities rushed military surgeons and tons of medical supplies into Armenia rocked by an earthquake that officials said devastated several cities and killed ens of thousands of people. Armenian journalists said 3 politburo commission led by Premier Nikolai i. Ryzhkova received preliminary estimates that up to 50,000 people died in wednes Day s earthquake which measured 6.9 on the Richler scale. Soviet officials reported thousands or people were killed but provided no official death loll. President Mikhail s. Gorbachev Cut Short his trip to the United states and flew Home to cad a worldwide emergency Rescue Effort in the Southern Republic which has a population of 3.3 million urgent measures arc brine taken to help All those affected by this terrible tragedy and have to be there in this Effort Gorbachev said before leaving new York. He cancelled trips to cub and Britain. The soviet news Agency Tass announced Gorbachev s arrival in Moscow Early Friday. It did not say whether he would stay or Fly immediately to Yere Van the capita of the soviet Republic in the caucasus mountains. President Reagan offered emergency humanitarian Aid cuban president Fidel Castro pledged to Send construction workers and Britain dispatched London firefighters to join the Rescue Effort. Tass quoted Nikolai Shebalin a Laboratory director at the soviet Institute of Earth science As saying More Earth quakes were Likely in the Region but they should be weaker. Less powerful aftershocks normally follow a Strong Earth quake the epicentre of the quake was 25miles Northeast of uni Nakan on the turkish Border the . Geological Survey said the initial Shock was Fol Lowed four minutes later by an aftershock measuring 5.s on he Richle scale. Soviet to showed a clock on a build ing in la Niakan Armenia s second larg est City stopped at 11 41 . The instant the disaster struck. The newspaper Izvestia reported the population of Armenia has swelled in recent weeks As settlers fled violent eth Nic strife Between armenians who Are mostly Christian and predominantly moslem azerbaijani. About 180,000 refugees reportedly have fled across the Border to Armenia from Azerbaijan in the last three weeks. The earthquake destroyed two thirds of la Niakan which has a population of 250,000. A to correspondent said. Spitak a town of 16,000 about 45 Miles away was practically erased from the face of the Earth the correspondent said. Hundreds of thousands were left homeless in the Region he said. Tass said half the buildings in kirov Kan a City of 150,000, had crumbled. For a second night thursday millions of soviet to viewers saw soldiers searching for survivors and bodies i huge piles of Concrete rubble by hand or with cranes. The disaster coverage by the slate run Media was unprecedented in it Speed and scope. Friday and saturday were declared Days of mourning in Armenia. Foreign minister spokesman Vadim per Filici said authorities were having difficulty calculating a death toll because communications with the Region were severed. ,. Komsomol Skaya pravda said Soldier were working under spotlights in the wreckage of a Lenin attn school. It said two sergeants pulled the bodies of More than so children from the ruins and that Only a few children had been found alive in the collapsed building. The last earthquake in the soviet Union with a death loll in the thousands was on oct. 5, 1948, in Ashkhabad the capital of turkmen a. The soviet press acting under Gorbachev s policy of glasnost or greater openness recently gave the death loll for the Ashkhabad quake As 110,000. A quake of 6.9 on the Richter scale is capable of causing widespread damage. The scale is a measure of ground motion As recorded on seismographs. Every in crease of one number Means a tenfold increase in magnitude workers describe Spitak a town of 16,000, As almost erased from the face of the  quake cer Neap Tell Sakati Armenia Reggon us. Armenians rally to Aid quake victims a Man in soviet Georgia is one of scores of people donating blood to quake victims. By the Baui Tnora Sun Washington three cargo planes were standing by thursday to Fly medical supplies into the soviet Union after soviet Leader  s. Gorbachev accepted an offer by. The . Armenian Community of Aid to victims of the earthquake that struck Armenia wednesday. We Are waiting for clearance from the russian Side and the stale depart ment Sarkis Soghanalian owner the pan aviation air cargo company said from Miami where his Boeing 707s were being readied to ferry the supplies. As . Armenians continued collecting medical supplies and mobilizing Volunteer doctors the . Office of foreign disaster assistance put official Rescue teams on Alert in Israel Switzerland France England Italy and West Germany after president Reagan offered emergency Aid to help earthquake victims. If there is any Way in which we can be of assistance either bilaterally or through the International Community please let me know Reagan told Gorba Chev during a Telephone conversation. No formal soviet response had been received to the presidential offer the of fice of foreign disaster assistance said. American red Cross president Rich Ard of Schubert said that the red Crosshead sent $50,000 and was preparing to Send medical supplies to the victims of the armenian  of one another a num Ber of organizations sprang into action Toad the earthquake victims. A number of organizations among them the inter National red Cross the Hollywood movie Industry and the soviet embassy opened Bank accounts for contributions.  athe More than 800,000 american armenians have been galvanized around the Issue of ethnic strife in the Cauca Cus Region where the quake hit. When the earthquake hit Many of the american Community s leaders were inner York trying to lobby with the Gorbachev entourage fora Resolution of the armenian question. We were not expecting anything like this unfortunately we were not organized to respond to this kind of a thing,".said cargo company owner Soghanalian