A small earthquake was detected in central Armenia in the wee hours of Thursday, December 21, the ministry of emergency situations said.

The quake was a 2.7 magnitude and occurred just 20 kilometers west of the town of Gavar.

29 years ago in 1988, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook northwestern Armenia followed by a magnitude 5.8 aftershock four minutes later. The earthquake leveled the cities of Spitak and Gyumri, as well as about 60 villages, leaving al least 25,000 people dead, 100,000 wounded and 500,000 homeless.