March 20, 1971 - Kerry and Kathryn with village girl in the village (Photo Courtesy of A. Edwin Vinson)
Suddenly a thunderous explosion was heard! A villager was on a nearby hill and looked back to see the
sound. She saw Walt run out of the house and Vonnie run out after him. Then they both turned back
and knelt down together as massive earth and trees from the exploded mountain rolled over them. An
older man also ran into the village to get a valuable string bag and was immediately buried.
A tremendous landslide, one half mile long, 400 feet high and 100 feet deep, came crashing down with a
terrific force, crossed the river and covered the village. In just 20 seconds everything in its path was
buried in fifteen to twenty feet of mud and debris! More than 3 million tons of material had covered
everything! In that instant, God’s sovereign, invisible hand was seen and the plans of men were forever
changed! The Steinkraus family and seven other Tifalmin villagers (three adults and four children) were
gone.
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