The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake (Armenian: Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ Spitaki yerkrašarž) occurred in the northern region of Armenia (then part of the Soviet Union) on Wednesday, December 7, 1988 at 11:41 local time (07:41 UTC). The earthquake measured 6.8 on the surface wave magnitude scale and had a maximum perceived intensity of X (Devastating) on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. The region that the earthquake occurred is vulnerable to occasional large and destructive earthquakes and is part of a larger active seismic belt that stretches from the Alps to the Himalayas.