by Emele Maisey

Created on: November 21, 2011   Last Updated: November 23, 2011

On Friday July 26th 1963 at 5:17am local time, an earthquake lasting 20 seconds and measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale (9.0 on the Mercalli scale) hit the Macedonian capital of Skopje, then part of SFR Yugoslavia.

The earthquake killed over 1,000 people, injured between 3,000-4,000 thousand people and left half the population, more than 100,000 people homeless. The epicenter of the earthquake was on “Sloboda” (Liberty) Square, right in the center of the city; Macedonia Square today and was felt for 90 miles, mostly along the Vardar River Valley.

Skopje, located halfway between Belgrade and Athens, in the Balkans, was virtually demolished with approximately 80% of the city's buildings completely destroyed or badly damaged. 30 monuments including the ancient Kale fortress along with everyday buildings such as the National Bank, the archaeological museum, the Army Club and the luxurious 5 story Macedonia Hotel were completely ruined along with the railway station and post office which cut off communication with the outside word.

The BBC reported that the city's hospitals were at breaking point and that medical supplies and blood were in urgent need. Rescue teams from Yugoslavia were sent to help recover and rescue people trapped in the rubble of fallen buildings. These heroes were later awarded medals from the President of the Republic for their brave and honourable work.

The day after the earthquake, on the 27th July 1963, President Tito arrived at the ruined city. He made a speech saying “Skopje has endured a terrible catastrophe, but Skopje will be rebuilt with the help of the whole society, it will become a symbol of brotherhood and unity, of Yugoslav and world-wide solidarity".

Though the earthquake caused a loss of approximately 15% of the gross national product of Yugoslavia for that year the presidents words rang true and with the help of 78 countries offering aid in the form of money, medical supplies and engineering and building teams the city was rebuilt.

A Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, who had rebuilt Hiroshima, planned much of the new city giving it modern, and rather unique, buildings including a new train station on an elevated platform over bridges which allowed traffic and pedestrians to be separated. The south bank of the river Vardar was redeveloped to accommodate more than 1,000 new homes and a circular post office was built.

The site of the old railway station still stands in Skopje as a poignant reminder of the tragedy that occurred here over 45 years ago. The broken clock still stands, marking the time of 5:17am while the remaining buildings have been turned into a museum commemorating the event and loss of lives.

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