Ranrahirca
Encyclopedia
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 again on 31 May 1970. Over two thousand people from the village perished in the first earthquake 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
).
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, alongside the river Santa
Santa River
The Santa River is a river in the South American Andes cordillera in the Ancash Region of northwest central Peru.-River Course:Laguna Conococha, at an altitude of 4050 m above sea level and at , is considered the headwaters of the Rio Santa. Laguna Conococha itself is fed by small streams from the...
, near Huascarán
Huascarán
Huascarán or Nevado Huascarán is a mountain in the Peruvian province of Yungay, situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the Western Andes. The highest southern summit of Huascarán is the highest point in Peru, and all the Earth's Tropics...
, 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 again on 31 May 1970. Over two thousand people from the village perished in the first earthquake 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
1970 Ancash earthquake
The 1970 Ancash earthquake or Great Peruvian Earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred on May 31 of that year. Combined with a resultant landslide, it was the worst catastrophic natural disaster ever recorded in the history of Peru....
).