1. ABERFAN DISASTER 1966
…this is short, but VERY serious…

2. what happened?
On 21st October 1966, a landslide involving a coal tip slag heap (waste coal
pile) at Aberfan in South Wales killed 147 people.
116 of these people were children at the Pantglas Junior School
The landslide involved m3 of coal waste travelling at speeds of up to
20mph
Earlier landslides had occurred nearby but the National Coal Board believed
that any movement was slow enough to allow a warning to be given
…w’oh – it just gets worse…

3. the causes
This area had had more rain in October than it gets on average during the
whole month
More than half of the rain had fallen in one downpour two days before
A build-up of rain water inside the tip burst the base – this caused 2million
tonnes of waste to slide down the valley

4. the causes Aberfan Tip 5 Tip 4 Tip 7 Spring sandstone coal
boulder clay and alluvium
Pantglas Junior School
Aberfan

5. Pantglas School
It was 9.15am and the school had just finished morning prayers when
millions of tonnes of coal waste, rock and water crumpled 245m down
the Aberfan mountain. The children were due to start their week’s
half-term at midday. However many children never reached the
school at all. Fog delayed a busload of 50 seniors and juniors from
the nearby village of Mount Pleasant. Some decided to walk and
arrived late enough to miss the landfall