00:00The 1963 Skopje earthquake was a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on the Richter scale.
00:05which struck part of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, now North Macedonia, on the morning of July 26
00:111963.
00:13The earthquake mainly affected the Vardar Valley, where Skopje, the capital and main Macedonian city, is located, and the
00:20adjacent mountain ranges, Suvagora, Cerenagora, Jakupika.
00:25In Skopje, the damage is considerable, both in terms of human losses, with at least 1,000 dead, 3,000 wounded, and 120
00:31000 homeless, and in terms of material losses, the city is more than 80% destroyed.
00:36The earthquake is a direct consequence of the tectonic activity of the Balkan Peninsula and more specifically of
00:43the presence of a fault, known as the Vardar Furrow, which runs from the Aegean Sea to the Belgrade region.
00:47The disaster left a deep mark on the history of Skopje, which lost most of its infrastructure and
00:54her heritage, but she also made her mark on the media of the time and triggered numerous international reactions.
00:59Yugoslavia's non-aligned status thus allowed the Skopians to receive aid from all over the world.
01:05The reconstruction was rapid and orchestrated by big names in modern architecture, such as the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange.
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