Peru: Deel gletsjer stort in meer: 23 meter hoge tsunami

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Gletsjer in Peru stort in en verwondt vijftig mensen

Ongeveer vijftig mensen zijn gewond geraakt toen een gletsjer in Peru afbrak en in de Hualcan rivier stortte. In de rivier veroorzaakte de klap een rimpeleffect in het water en zo werden 20 huizen verwoest.

Door de hogere temperaturen smelten gletsjers weg en kunnen stukken ervan afbreken. In de Andes zijn de voorbije 30 jaar een derde van de gletsjers verdwenen. De gletsjers in Peru zijn sindsdien ook met 22 procent gekrompen, waardoor minder vers water de zwaarbevolkte kust bereikt

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Glacier falls in Lagoon, injuring at least 40
A huge portion of a glacier fell on a lagoon in Ancash on Sunday, generating a massive mudslide that affected the towns of Hualcán, Acopampa, Obrabaje, Queshquipachán and Pariacaca, located near the Hualcán peak, 28 km. North of Huaraz.

According to preliminary reports issued by Civil Defense (Indeci), there have not been any fatalities, 4 missing persons and a total of 40 people affected; however, figures may reach 200 people, according to Indeci estimates.

The towns in the area have been declared in emergency, since another glacier may fall down, and local residents are being evacuated, informs the regional President, César Álvarez.

"There is a large crack, 100 mt long and 30 mt wide, in the Hualcan peak, and if it finally falls down on the lagoon, it would create a mudslide four times bigger that the previous one,” said Alvarez on RPP radio.

He also said that they need a helicopter to check the area from air, so they have requested one to the central government, and they expect that mining companies such as Antamina and Barrick may help with heavy machinery for cleaning works.

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23 meter high tsunami wave after glacier broke off
Lima - A huge glacier broke off and plunged into a lake in Peru, causing a 23m tsunami wave that swept away at least three people and destroyed a water processing plant serving 60 000 local residents, government officials said on Monday.

The ice block tumbled into a lake in the Andes on Sunday near the town of Carhuaz, 320km north of the capital, Lima. Three people were feared buried in debris.

Investigators said the chunk of ice from the Hualcan glacier measured 500m by 200m.

"This slide into the lake generated a tsunami wave, which breached the lake's levees, which are 23 metres high - meaning the wave was 23 metres high," said Patricio Vaderrama, an expert on glaciers at Peru's Institute of Mine Engineers.

Authorities evacuated mountain valleys, fearing more breakages.

It was one of the most concrete signs yet that glaciers are disappearing in Peru, home to 70 percent of the world's tropical icefields. Scientists say warmer temperatures will cause them to melt away altogether within 20 years.

In 1970, not far from Carhuaz, an earthquake triggered an avalanche of ice, rock and mud on the mountain of Huascaran that buried the town of Yungay, killing more than 20 000 people who lived below Peru's tallest peak, which sits 6 768m above sea level.

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Op woensdag 21 april 2010 01:58 schreef FP128 het volgende:

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Tja, want kun je daarop zeggen zo veilig hier in West-Europa?