1970 Huascaran Avalanche
The 45-second earthquake with a 7.9-magnitude struck in 1970 on Sunday, May 31. It led to a big chunk of ice body to chip off Mount Huascaran. The massive ice body came down at lightning speed wiping off close to 10 villages and towns nearby.
It killed nearly 18,000 people. The worst-hit was the town of Yungay. It got completely buried under the debris, mud, and rocks that showered over the town due to the deadly avalanche.
After the disaster, the Peruvian government shifted the Yungay town’s locality to a place that was safer than the earlier one. The move was taken to safeguard the lives of the town’s residents.
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