Ranrahirca was a village in
Peru, alongside the
river Santa, near
Huascarán, the highest mountain in Peru. It was hit by massive avalanches of snow, rocks and mud, originating on the slopes of Huascarán and triggered by
earthquakes on 10 January 1962 and on 31 May 1970. Over two thousand people from the village perished in the
1962 avalanche, along with the inhabitants of seven nearby settlements. In total about 3,500 died in the disaster. About 20,000 people died in the avalanches that resulted from the second earthquake (known as the
1970 Ancash earthquake
The 1970 Ancash earthquake (also known as the Great Peruvian earthquake) occurred on 31 May off the coast of Peru in the Pacific Ocean at . Combined with a resultant landslide, it is the most catastrophic natural disaster in the history of Peru ...
).
400 survived from the second disaster.
BBC on this day
/ref>
See also
* Yungay, Peru
References
BBC News "On this day" website
External links
Earthquake of 31 May 1970
*
(chimboteonline)
*
(yungayperu.com, with details and fotos of the catastrophe)
{{coord, 9, 10, S, 77, 43, W, display=title, region:PE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki
Populated places in the Ancash Region
Destroyed populated places
Landslides in Peru
Landslides in 1962
Landslides in 1970
1962 disasters in Peru
1970 disasters in Peru
January 1962 events in South America
May 1970 events in South America