The 1970 Ancash earthquake or Great Peruvian Earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred on May 31 of that year. Combined with a resultant landslide, it was the worst catastrophic natural disaster ever recorded in the history of Peru. The earthquake affected an area of about 83,000 km².
The earthquake affected the Peruvian regions of Ancash and La Libertad. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 35 km off the coast of Casma and Chimbote on the Pacific Ocean, where the Nazca Plate is being subducted by the South America Plate. It had a magnitude of 7.9 to 8.0 on the Richter scale and an intensity of up to 8 on the Mercalli scale. No significant tsunami was reported.
The reported death toll from the earthquake and avalanche totaled 74,194 people, although some estimates place it as high as 80,000. About 25,600 went missing and 143,331 were injured. Over 1,000,000 people were left homeless and other 3,000,000 were affected.
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