Skopje, 26 July 2025 (MIA) - Skopje marks Saturday 62 years since the disastrous earthquake, which leveled much of the city on July 26, 1963, killing over 1,070 people and leaving 3,000 injured.

In honour and remembrance for the victims of the catastrophic earthquake, delegations from the Parliament of North Macedonia and the City of Skopje will lay flowers today at the earthquake memorial in Butel cemetery.

The Museum of the City of Skopje will open the exhibition "Skopje in the Time of the Earthquake and Beyond" on Saturday evening in honor and remembrance of the victims of the devastating earthquake that left the city in ruins 62 years ago.

The exhibit will be permanent and open to all museum visitors. Just like every year, the city remembers the catastrophic 1963 earthquake that changed it forever.

The 1963 Skopje earthquake is known as one of the greatest tragedies in the city’s history, but also as a moment when the world showed its solidarity and helped the community recover.

The earthquake, which measured 6.1 on the moment magnitude scale, equivalent to 6.9 on the Richter scale, occurred on 26 July 1963 at 5:17 am local time. The tremor lasted for 20 seconds and was felt mostly along the Vardar River Valley. Smaller aftershocks were felt until 5:43 am.

More than 15.800 homes and apartments were destroyed in the quake, and 28.000 were damaged. The disaster left 200.000 people homeless, many of them forced to seek shelter across Macedonia and then Yugoslavia, the others waiting in improvised tent cities until prefab housing was made available.

Countries from around the world helped rebuild the devastated city, in a completely new architectural style and layout, with several large new urban zones added to the east, west and north. The United Nations coordinated the support effort and despite the Cold War, both Eastern and Western bloc countries helped with resources and personnel.

It is believed that the 1963 earthquake was at least the third time Skopje was destroyed in this fashion, with records of catastrophic quakes in 518 and 1555.

Photo: MIA archive, City of Skopje, Museum of the City of Skopje