Mount Huascaran, in the Andes Mountains of Peru, represents an extinct volcano, with many Peruvian communities settled at its base in the Rio Santa Valley. On the fateful day of January 10, 1962, a massive chunk of a giant glacier on the mountain broke apart from it and rushed down to the valley with thundering speed. As the people of the region were used to avalanches, they knew they had to seek refuge on higher grounds before the avalanche reached their homes. However, this time they had underestimated the speed of the avalanche, which covered a distance of 9.5 miles in only 7 mins, wiping away several communities in the valley before they could reach safe grounds. The deadly avalanche completely buried the towns of Ranrahirca and Huarascucho under 40 feet of snow, and continued on in its killing spree until it reached he Santa River. There, it blocked the river flow, subsequently causing massive flooding in the nearby areas. Over 4,000 people lost their lives in the disaster, with many bodies remaining undiscovered for long periods, still buried under several feet of snow. A large number of farm animals and millions of dollars of crops were also lost in the disaster.
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