A 56-year anniversary memorializes the devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck the Áncash region of Peru on May 31, 1970. The earthquake destroyed Huaraz and triggered a massive avalanche that obliterated Yungay, resulting in over 70,000 fatalities and the disappearance of 20,000 more. Survivors like Sixtilio Rojas Gamboa, who was in Chimbote, described the ground splitting open and water emerging as buildings collapsed. Carlos Martínez, a teenager in Huaraz at the time, recounted the utter devastation, comparing it to Hiroshima, and tragically lost his younger siblings. He also expressed concern over the lack of public preparedness for natural disasters in Peru, highlighting indifference towards national drills and the absence of a consolidated prevention culture.