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Yungay debris avalanche (landslide) 1970

View on map:9.139444°S 77.745000°W

Comments

The nearby earthquake initiated the debris avalanche that buried the towns of Yungay (located here) and Ranrahirca. The town has been  built back on the rubble. 

Description


Huascarán

On 31 May 1970, the Ancash earthquake caused a substantial part of the north side of a mountain, Nevado Huascarán, to collapse and an unstable mass of glacial ice about 800 meters across at the top of Nevado Huascarán to fall. This caused a debris avalanche, burying the town of Yungay and killing 20,000 people (400 survived).[6] More than 50 million cubic meters of debris slid approximately 15 kilometers downhill at an angle of about 14 degrees. Speeds between 340 mph to 620 mph were achieved.[7] Most of the survivors were in the cemetery and stadium at the time of the earthquake, as these zones were the highest in town.

References

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