Semana Santa - Part II, Yungay

Descending down the winding dirt road from the lakes of Llangunuco, we arrived at the site of the avalanche of May 31, 1970, which totally covered the village of Yungay (yune-guy), elevation 8,200 ft. The landslide was triggered by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck the Peruvian departments of Ancash and La Libertad. Yungay is approximately 35 miles from Huaraz.

The quake destabilized the northern wall of Mt. Huascarán, which is only 9 miles from Yungay, causing a rock, ice and snow avalanche that buried 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 advanced to the village of Yungay at an average speed of 170 - 200 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 more than 28 million tons of water, mud, and rock."

It was a Sunday, at 3.23 local time, while most were tuned in to the Italy-Brazil World Cup Match, when the earthquake struck.  Approximately 3 - 4 minutes after the earthquake, a wall of snow, ice, boulders, trees, and debris hit the village of Yungay, giving the townspeople literally no time to prepare and totally burying most of the village. It is estimated that 20,000 people were buried alive in the town. It is considered to be the world's deadliest avalanche. 

There was a circus in town and several hundred children were at the carnival, which was located on the soccer field near a small hill. Many were able to run up the hill as the sound and sight of the advancing 60 ft. high wall engulfed the town. Most were left orphans since their parents and families were buried in the village. They were adopted out to families in many countries. 

Being Sunday, a few people were at the cemetery and also saw the advancing menace. They climbed steps of a small hill at the edge of the cemetery as the landslide banged against the bottom of the hill and finally stopped. They also survived the onslaught and were witnesses to the massive destruction of their homes. It is estimated that the total number of people who survived the avalanche was approximately 350. 

Jorge Flores Garcia, a survivor, remembers: "I looked up and saw a cloud of ice dust, like smoke, on the face of Huascarán. I ran toward the hill to the north of town. [I looked and] Yungay wasn't there. A few minutes earlier there was a city, and now there was nothing!"

The reported death toll from what came to be known as Peru's Great Earthquake totaled more than 74,000 people. Another 25,600 were declared missing, over 143,000 were injured and more than one million left homeless. The city of Huaraz was rubble, the valley buried in mud as the majority of the buildings were of adobe, and about half of the 30,000 inhabitants of Huaraz died and 90% of the buildings were destroyed.

The Peruvian government has declared the site in Yungay a national memorial to those who died and has prohibited the building or excavation of any of the ruins that lay below the 20+ feet of earth and rubble that buried the town. Some crosses and signs mark the spots where homes once stood, engraved with the names of those never found. Extensive landscaping has been installed and grass, trees and flowers planted. We walked through a large portion of the site and climbed the cemetery hill that survived the destruction. Very sobering.
Our photo narrative follows.

The entrance to "Campo Santo" (Holy Field) of Yungay.

The view toward Mt. Huascarán, the source of the avalanche. Part of the landscaped grounds covering the buried city.

One of many markers with the names of a family that is buried below.

A partial view of the site. Too large to include in one photo.

The remains of part of a building.

A large boulder carried by the avalanche.

The remains of a bus that was crushed and thrust up to the surface.

The remains of the top of the Catholic Church of Yungay.

Four palm trees survived the landslide. Three have since died and their bare trunks can be seen in the background. The lone survivor is the tall one in the center. It is at least 50 years old. All the other palms have been planted since.

Looking toward the hill at the bottom of the cemetery with its statue of Christ.

Approaching the hill to which some of the survivors fled who were visiting the cemetery when the avalanche struck.

The burial niches that survived.

"Wall of Remembrance" with names of some those whose tombs were destroyed in the lower part of the hill.

We climbed to the top of the hill to view the Christ and the surrounding countryside. This is the part of the hill that provided safety for those few in the cemetery that were able to climb here in time.

Looking back toward Mt. Huascarán from the top of the cemetery hill. The avalanche came through the low place between the two hills.

Every tourist site must have its vendors. We came across these entrepreneurs selling their shaved ice. Reminded us of the Smith's Snowy in SLC. (Well, a little bit.)

Snowcones and sunglasses.

This looked like a little more prosperous stand. The sign says: "Snow cone" above and "Natural Ice" below. (Is there any other kind of ice?)

Epilogue: At the Family History Fair this past week I was speaking with Brother Rodriguez, who was a survivor of the earthquake here in Huaraz. He was 12 at the time and standing in the small plaza in front of the Catholic Church near the El Tumi Hotel that we stayed in for three weeks. When the quake stopped he headed toward his home which was only two blocks away, but the dust cloud was so strong that he could not make out the street to take. When it finally cleared a little, he headed for what remained of a tall building which he remembered was by his home. When he got there, he discovered that one of his twin sisters had been crushed, but the rest of his family were OK.

He learned that his parents had run to the small interior patio and were not injured. His three sisters, believing that they would be safer in the street, ran down the open corridor that led to the street. At the end of the corridor there was a arch over the doorway. As they ran under, it started to crumble and one of the twins threw herself on her two sisters as the arch came down. She was killed but saved her two sisters.