Skopje earthquake 1963

Thousands of people were feared dead after a massive earthquake rocked the Macedonian capital Skopje of the then Socialist Republic of Macedonia. The first quake occurred in Skopje (with a population of 200,000 people to that time) at about 5:00 pm and lasted for 20 seconds. Tremors from the earthquake were felt some 90 miles along the Vardar valley. More than 100,000 people were made homeless immediately as three-quarters of the city’s buildings were damaged or destroyed.