Between 11 and 17 villages within from the volcano were buried by the ash, among which were Calicanto and Chimpapampa south of Huaynaputina; the Huayruro Project that began in 2015 aims at rediscovering these towns. The death toll in villages from toxic gases and ash fall was severe; reportedly, some villages lost their entire populations to the eruption. One of the lost sites, Estagagache, has been deemed the Pompeii of Peru.