The exhibition Photographic Evidence of the 4th of March 1977 Earthquake can be visited between the March, 4th and April, 30th 2017 at the ground floor of Suțu Palace, in the recently renewed rooms.
The exhibition contains images owned by the Bucharest Municipality Museum, showcasing the consequences of the worst quake in the post-war era, forty years later. With a duration of 56 seconds and an intensity of 7.2 degrees on a Richter scale, its epicenter located in Vrancea, the earthquake wreaked havoc in Bucharest. Thirty two apartment houses and large buildings were destroyed, thousands of edifices collapsed or entered an imminent state of breakdown. Large apartment buildings, including the Scala, Dunărea, Continental or Wilson buildings, were severely affected. The earthquake became a reason for the communist government to rebuild the city in a Socialist manner.
The earthquake also ended the life of 1500 people, the number of wounded rising up to 11 300. Among the deceased were important figures of the Romanian cultural life at the time such as actors Toma Caragiu and Eliza Petrăchescu, poet A.E. Bakonsky, film and TV director Alexandru Bocăneț and many others. The rescue operations were led with the aid of both military forces and civilians.
Curators: Grina-Mihaela Rafailă and Ana Iacob