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Our final "road trip" whilst in Peru. Everyone
in the family travelled to Ancash Province to
the areas of Huaraz, Chinancocha, Huascarán
National Park, and Yungay, Peru.
On May 31, 1970 a landslide caused by the 1970 Ancash earthquake buried the whole town of Yungay, killing more than 20,000 persons. Only 400 people survived, most of whom were in the cemetery and stadium at the time of the earthquake, as these zones were the highest in town. The earthquake lasted 45 seconds and destabilized the northern wall of Mount Huascarán, inducing a rock and snow avalanche and burying the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca. The avalanche started as a sliding mass of glacial ice and rock about 3,000 feet wide and one mile long. It swept about 11 miles to the village of Yungay at an average speed of more than 100 miles per hour. The fast-moving mass picked up glacial deposits and by the time it reached Yungay, it is estimated to have consisted of about 80 million cubic yards (61,000,000 m³) of water, mud, and rocks. The reported death toll from the earthquake and avalanche totalled 47,194 persons, although some estimates place it as high as 66,000. About 19,600 went missing and 143,331 were injured. Over 500,000 people were left homeless.
On May 31, 1970 a landslide caused by the 1970 Ancash earthquake buried the whole town of Yungay, killing more than 20,000 persons. Only 400 people survived, most of whom were in the cemetery and stadium at the time of the earthquake, as these zones were the highest in town. The earthquake lasted 45 seconds and destabilized the northern wall of Mount Huascarán, inducing a rock and snow avalanche and burying the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca. The avalanche started as a sliding mass of glacial ice and rock about 3,000 feet wide and one mile long. It swept about 11 miles to the village of Yungay at an average speed of more than 100 miles per hour. The fast-moving mass picked up glacial deposits and by the time it reached Yungay, it is estimated to have consisted of about 80 million cubic yards (61,000,000 m³) of water, mud, and rocks. The reported death toll from the earthquake and avalanche totalled 47,194 persons, although some estimates place it as high as 66,000. About 19,600 went missing and 143,331 were injured. Over 500,000 people were left homeless.