Remembering the Ancash Earthquake of 1970

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 31, 1970, a 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Central Peru. Within minutes, tens of thousands were killed and several million left homeless.

The Ancash earthquake killed more than 66,000 people and left more than 150,000 injured. Half-a-million people were left homeless and at least 4 million Peruvians were affected by the devastation.

The area near the Central highland town of Huaraz was hardest hit. Today this city of 100,000 is the center for the booming tourist trade in Central Peru – a crossroads for hikers and a camper exploring the country’s famed Cordella Blanca.

But the disaster that struck here almost three decades ago is still vividly remembered. In 2000, Peru designated May 31 as Natural Disaster Education and Reflection Day, in memory of the deadliest seismic disaster in the history of Latin America.

The quake struck at 3:23 p.m. and in the following 45 seconds shook an area larger than Belgium and the Netherlands combined. The impact of the temblor was massive across the country but nowhere was its devastation felt more than in the Andean valley known as the Callejón de Huaylas.

The earthquake caused a massive avalanche on the northern slope of Mount Huascarán. A huge mass of glacial ice and rock about 3,000 feet wide and one mile long slid down the valley at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. Within five minutes the towns of towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca were simply covered in more than 80 million cubic meters of material.

In Yungay, more than 25,000 people perished. Only about 100 people survived simply because they happened to be at various spots outside of the landslide’s reach. After the disaster the Peruvian government forbade any excavation in the area, declaring it a national cemetery.

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake strikes near Lima, Peru

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake (downgraded from the initial report) occurred just off the coast of Peru at 7:51 this morning less than 10 miles from the capital of Lima. The temblor struck suddenly, shaking buildings for a good ten seconds before subsiding.

There are no reports of fatalities or injury. Lima newspaper, El Comercio, reports that five homes collapsed due to the earthquake. Although phone lines were jammed following the the temblor, officials with Telefónica, the primary phone network in the capital, said there were no major disruptions in service.

Several news agencies reported rockslides onto roadways from the cliffs along the coast , particularly in the Costa Verde area. These seemed to be relatively minor and within 90 minutes of the quake these roadways were completely cleared and traffic was moving normally.

The quake was preceded hours earlier by another temblor near the capital city although significantly less intense. That magnitude 4.4 quake struck at 1:41 a.m. local time about 45 miles north of Lima. Peru's civil defense said there were no reports of injury or major property damage during that event.

Officials with the Instituto Geofísico del Perú said that there is a fifty percent chance of another earthquake striking near Lima in the near future.

Peru is still recovering from the damage inflicted by a magnitude 8.0 quake that struck in August of last year near the town of Pisco on the southern coast. Approximately 540 people died, more than 1,000 were injured and more than 176,000 people left homeless after the disaster.

Last updated: 12:43 p.m.

Seals and sea lions flee the Peru earthquake

The 8.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated southern Peru on Aug. 15 caused substantial damage to the islands and coastal areas - one of the most sensitive natural habitats for seals, sea lions and penguins in the country.

As much as 60 percent of the resting grounds used by seals at the Paracas National Reserve, some 265 kilometers (165 miles) southeast of the capital, have been wiped out. According to a government agency, only 50 of the 150 seals living survived the disaster. The good news is that seal carcasses had not been found in great numbers in the park, indicating that the animals may have migrated to other areas.

The earthquake caused substantial damage to the coastal cliffsides and bluffs up and down the coast but nowhere more than here. One of the most distinctive attractions of the reserve, an arched rock formation known as "The Cathedral" was completely destroyed.

In addition, the earthquake destroyed many resorts, such as The Hotel Paracas, that cater to tourists who wish to national reserve's rich wildlife.

Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

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Helping the pets left homeless by the Peru earthquake

In the week since the massive earthquake struck Southern Peru, rescue efforts have focused on the residents in the devastated area. But their pets have not been forgotten either.

More than 3,500 pets have been affected by the Aug. 15 earthquake and most have been left unaided while the needs of the human survivors has taken priority.

On Thursday, a team of veterinarians arrived in Pisco to start tending to the needs of the thousands of animals that have roamed the ruined streets in the wake of the disaster. Many are malnourished and the team is finding many suffering from fractured femurs, tibias, and skulls.

"These animals are suffering greatly and they also need our help," veterinarian Francisco Cavero told Reuters.

There have been other steps taken to aid the homeless pets. Earlier in the week, Nestlé Purina PetCare sent almost tow and a half tons of pet food to the beleaguered region to help feed the animals struggling to survive in the devastated cities.

Yet caring for the animals is important for human health as well. Many packs of dogs roam the streets and can be a danger to people as well as a means of spreading disease. Cavero said ensuring the homeless animals are fed will limit the former and inoculations will control the latter.

Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

Technorati Tags: Peru, earthquake, pets, veterinarians, dogs, Pisco

Pisco 7.9 - To be shaken, not stirred

One of the cities devastated by last week's massive earthquake was Pisco, Peru - which is the center of where the country's famed distilled grape brandy, Pisco, is produced.

In an effort to thank all those who helped the country to deal with the earthquake, the government has produced a limited edition pisco named "Pisco 7.9" named for the degree of magnitude of the earthquake that struck on Aug 15. (It was actually 8.0 magnitude but the number has vacillated somewhat over the past week.)

Only a thousand bottles will be produced and those will be presented to the representatives of foreign countries who have done the most to help Peru this past week.

The idea for the limited-edition series originated from the Association of Producers of Pisco who said it was also part of the effort to reinforce the idea that the pisco is exclusively Peruvian. (Peru and Chile have long argued over which country deserves to export the drink as a cultural commodity.)

: :UPDATE (25/08): : Peruvian officials, citing a public outcry against the decision to name the spirit for the magnitude of the earthquake, have dropped the name for the limited-edition drink.

Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

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There is something fishy about some of the aid to Peru

When the massive earthquake struck southern Peru last week, countries around the world leaped at the chance to help. And among them was Venezuela but the country's controversial leader, Hugo Chavez, is taking some heat for cans of tuna handed out in the disaster zone.

The cans feature Chavez's image along with failed Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala.

The labels, according to Peru's Expresso newspaper bear a broadside against the handling of the disaster by the government of Peruvian President Alan Garcia:

"The Peruvian government acts in an inefficient, slow and heartless manner, notwithstanding the pain of the victims, leaving them to the mercy of hunger, thirst and delinquency."

Both Venezuela and Humala's Nationalist Party have denied responsibility for the tuna but both are feeling the brunt of the backlash.

"One has to ask who is behind this," Garcia said. "This is not the moment to take advantage of the circumstances to make electoral propaganda."

Humala and Garcia faced off last year in the hotly contested race for the Peruvian presidency. Chavez openly supported Humala's candidacy, a point many cited in eventually casting their ballot for Garcia.

Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

Technorati Tags: Peru, earthquake, tuna, Hugo Chavez, Ollanta Humala

The mysterious lights in the sky during Peru's earthquake

When the magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck Peru on August 15, thousands of people rushed into the streets and many of them reported seeing something strange above their heads while the ground trembled beneath their feet - bright flashing lights in the sky.

One blogger, Nicolás Bello, reported that when the earthquake hit he went outside and the sky was illuminated "like lightening had split the night."

So now the question is what the heck caused it?

Piezoelectricity...?

UFOs...?

The government of the United States...!?!!

Nothing so exotic, says the Peruvian Geophysical Institute. After being besieged with reports about the bright flashes the Institute issued a statement attributing the phenomena to exploding transformers as the quake pushed the country's electrical infrastructure to it's limit.

“We do not know exactly what happened but there were several areas of Lima that suffered power failures during the earthquake that probably caused these flashes," the Institute said in the release. "In other places of the country a similar phenomenon has not taken place."

The head of the Institute, Ronald Woodman, went so far as to insist to El Comercio newspaper that although there is no geological reason for the phenomena, reports invariably accompany seismic events.

"People have large imaginations," he said.

Another bit of earthquake folklore is that animals will sense a major seismic event prior to it's occurring. This oft-told tale goes back centuries but is notoriously difficult to substantiate.

After the temblor struck here in Peru I got a couple of inquiries about animals reacting to the earthquake prior to it happening. Ummm... I was a bit too occupied to notice, fellas. Similarly, my web search was unable to dig up any reports of such behavior prior to last Wednesday's temblor.

One last little superstition that is pretty prevalent here in Peru (but I'm not finding reports of on the web) is that a powerful seismic event is a precursor to a change in the weather.

Again, there seems to be no real substance to back up the belief but - although the coast of Peru has been socked in with grey skies for weeks the photos from the day after the earthquake clearly show the sun shining...

Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

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A report from Pisco, Peru

Over the weekend, I traveled into the earthquake-devastated region of Southern Peru and spent a night in the town of Pisco. I have put together a two-minute slideshow of my photographs from that visit.

It is very difficult to describe the devastation of what has now been designated an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. The city is in complete ruins and the stench of death is everywhere. It's a frightening place. Yet, the people there are already pulling together and helping each other survive this disaster.

The most current figures put the death-toll at 540 but it's almost certain that number will increase substantially as aid efforts shift from searching for survivors to recovering bodies.

Eduardo Romero continues to scour the internet for news stories and has an exhaustive set of links to English-language stories over at his blog, Peruvia.

Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

Technorati Tags: Peru, earthquake, Pisco

Earthquake devastation in Peru leads to chaos

With more than 500 people reported dead, thousands injured and tens of thousands left homeless the efforts to bring aid to the areas devastated by the 7.9 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday began.

Government officials were scrambling to restore order as hungry survivors and street criminals ransacked markets and aid trucks. President Alan Garcia ordered thousands of solders into the region to restore order in the city and along the highway from Lima.

Rescue workers began the grim task of locating bodies as the possibility of survivors became more grim. The sheer scope of the disaster is complicating the effort. For example, more than 60 people died while celebrating the Feast of the Assumption at the Church of San Clemente in Pisco. The walls of the 18th century church caved in as the temblor struck killing dozens.

The earthquake has spurred Eduardo Romero to re-start his blog, Peruvia. He is the master at finding Peru-related links on the web and he has an extensive listing of English-language stories available. He has also posted a page of sites to visit if you wish to help the relief efforts.

::NOTE:: I apologize for not updating the site and for the brevity of this entry. Although, at this point, the regular media has most of the salient data on what is happening. I am trying to get to the disaster zone and will update Andean Currents with my information if I succeed.

Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

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A rising death toll in Peru quake

As the night drags on into morning in Peru the death toll from the massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake continues to rise. The total stands at 330 dead and at least 1,000 injured, according to the country's civil defense ministry.

The location hardest hit seems to be Ica, a city of 650,000 people located 165 miles southeast of the capital. The temblor struck just off the coast and the department was declared a state of emergency.

Several buildings are reported fallen and many worshippers were killed and injured inside one of the larger churches when the structure collapsed. The large number of injured overwhelmed the local hospitals.

Rescue efforts to the region were hampered by damage to the Pan-American Highway between the department and Lima. Television news reported large numbers of dead and injured at hospitals - notably one report from the hosiptal in Chincha Alta, near the epicenter of the quake.

Firefighters in Lima responded to more than 100 emergencies overnight, more than half medical in nature. Thus far, only two people are reported dead in the city - perishing from heart attacks during the event.

All flights, national and international both into and out of Jorge Chávez International Airport, the country's main air hub, were canceled following the earthquake but are expected to resume today.

Last Wednesday night, Peruvian President Alan Garcia addressed the country via television.

"Thank you God Almighty, these terrible quakes did not cause a high death toll like in other years," he said.

The death toll has already surpassed the huge 8.4 magnitude quake that struck Southern Peru on June 23, 2001. That temblor killed about 75 people and left another 68 missing. Nearly 200,000 people were made homeless.

This photograph of that quake destroying the Cathedral in the center of the city gives and idea of the intensity of these events.

Last updated at 4:52 a.m.

Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

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Magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Lima, Peru

At 6:40 p.m. this evening a a 7.9 magnitude struck Lima, Peru shaking buildings across the city.

(The quake was initially reported as a magnitude 7.7 event but officials quickly downgraded it to a 7.5 magnitude temblor. Hours later, it was elevated to the the 7.9 magnitude designation.)

The quake lasted for several minutes but causing no apparent major damage in the capital. Many people fled buildings to wait out the quake in the streets. The violent trembling set off car alarms across the Miraflores section of the city.

The earthquake was felt as far as Loreto, more than 1,000 kilometers away in the northern Amazonian jungle.

No injuries were initially reported in Lima but the Ministry of Health immediately put all hospitals in the country on alert. Peruvian television reports that at least 17 people were killed near Ica when a church collapsed.

In Lima, some taller buildings dropped concrete but no major collapses have been reported in the Peruvian capital. Structures collapsed in other localities around the country, according to early press reports.

Electricity stayed on in Lima but phone lines were down. Internet service was not interrupted and, almost immediately, residents began logging their experiences on a webpage posted by the El Comercio newspaper.

The YouTube videos have started to appear and the one to the right gives a good idea of what the experience felt like.

At this point most seem to be taken from Peruvian newscasts including this one of a children's show filming when the earthquake hit and then immediately evacuating.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey the quake was more than 40 kilometers in depth about 150 kilometers south of Lima just off the coast. the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a Tsunami warning for the Pacific coast of South and Central America that was later rescinded.

At approximately 7 p.m. a third earthquake of 5.8 magnitude was reported in the region of Huancayo, Peru. This quake was felt in Lima as well. Two 5.9 magnitude aftershocks were recorded near Ica within an hour of the large temblor.

Last updated: 11:31 p.m.

::NOTE:: I am here in Lima and I am fine. It was rather frightening but, thankfully, nothing more than that. I appreciate all the folks who contacted me concerned for my well-being.


Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

Technorati Tags: Peru, earthquake, lima