1970 Ancash Earthquake

On 31st May 1970, there was an earthquake in Peru. It had a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale.Thousands of houses were desctroyed, there were many landslides. Estimates are that about 800.000 people lost their homes, and about 70.000 people died. It probably was the biggest earthquake in the modern history of Peru. The city of Yungay was almost comletely destroyedin the earthquake.

Yungay cathedral was destroyed in the eathquake. This is what remained of it (photo taken in 2008)