1970 Ancash earthquake
Coordinates: 9°28′S 78°19′W / 9.47°S 78.31°W
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  | |
| Date | May 31, 1970 |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 7.9 Mw,[1] 7.8 Richter scale |
| Depth | 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) |
| Epicenter | near Chimbote in Ancash Region |
| Countries or regions |
 Peru |
| Casualties | 100,000 confirmed (75,000 dead and 25,000 missing) and 200,000 injured |
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. Due to the large amounts of snow and ice included in the landslide and its estimated 20,000 fatalities it is also considered to be the world's deadliest avalanche.[2][3]
The earthquake affected the Peruvian regions of Ancash and La Libertad. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 35 km off the coast of Casma and Chimbote on the Pacific Ocean, where the Nazca Plate is being subducted by the South American Plate. It had a magnitude of 7.9 to 8.0 on the Richter scale and an intensity of up to VIII on the Mercalli scale. No significant tsunami was reported.[4]
The earthquake struck on a Sunday afternoon at 15:23:31 local time (20:23:31 UTC) and lasted 45 seconds. The quake destabilized the northern wall of Mount Huascarán, causing a rock, ice 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 (910 m) wide and one mile (1.6 km) long. It advanced about 11 miles (18 km) to the village of Yungay at an average speed of 280 to 335 km per hour.[4] 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 meters (80,000,000 m³) of water, mud, and rocks.
Disaster Prediction (1960)
The following is taken from a book written by Vlado Kapetanovic about experiences that happened to him in the year 1960. It describes the (then) future event related to him by those who claimed to be extraterrestrials from Apu. But no date was specified, just the event.
After making us see the past catastrophes, the screen of time showed us the alterations that that region will suffer in the future. An avalanche originated by the loosening of the glacial cap on mount Huascaran crept over the town of Ranrahira. In continuation, there then appeared another gigantic avalanche of mud from the snowfields of Huascaran, which, surrounded by the earth it sheltered and a slightly raised temperature, originated a huge mudslide which dragged along huge boulders, trees and rocks, full of mud and dirt, and buried in its path the whole town of Yungay with all its inhabitants of thousands of people.* After that in the screen of time emerged something very surprising . An earthquake shook the Cordillera Blanca. The snowslides moved on a grand scale, and the waters of the lakes were disgorged, originating terrific floods that flowed over the whole territory . A sad and desperate panorama replaced the beautiful landscapes of the towns and cities of the Andes. In the places where there had been plazas, parks and natural beauties, majestic works of the Inca civilizations and European influence, one could now see only rocks and ravines that were frightening. That scene horrified me. I looked at Zay and asked in consternation: “Can we avoid these catastrophes?” Zay remained pensive for some moments, then responded. “By organizing an evacuation of all the cities and villages that are found in those regions. Then you would have to fuse the snowfields with chemical products, or bomb them, and after that, when the danger is over, to reinforce the borders of the lakes there and populate the zone all over again. I know that that is a very laborious.but also is the only way of avoiding the catastrophe, which will eventually happen, and then to offer the possibility of reinstalling future life in this region for thousands of years.”
References
- ↑ "IRIS SeismoArchive for 1970 Peru earthquake". Archived from the original on 2009-10-08. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- ↑ http://www.guideto.com/science-nature/earth-climate/snow-ice/the-worst-avalanches-in-history.html
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huascar%C3%A1n
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Geological aspects of the May 31, 1970, Perú earthquake, by George Plafker, George E. Ericksen and Jaime Fernández Concha; Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America; June 1971; v. 61; no. 3; p. 543-578 (134MB PDF)
- ↑ Stevens, Wendelle; (2012-12-30). UFO CONTACT FROM PLANET APU Kindle Edition.
External links
- Terremoto y aluvión en Chimbote (Spanish)