Ranrahirca was a village in Peru, alongside the river Santa, near Huascarán, the highest mountain in Peru. It was hit by massive avalanches of snow, rocks and mud, originating on the slopes of Huascarán and triggered by earthquakes, on 11 January 1962 and again on 31 May 1970. Over two thousand people from the village perished in the first earthquake along with the inhabitants of seven nearby settlements. In total about 3,500 died in the disaster. About 20,000 people died in the avalanches that resulted from the second earthquake (known as the 1970 Ancash earthquake).

References

• BBC News "On this day" website
• Time magazine article