The Aberfan Disaster

On October 21, 1966, a catastrophic event occurred in Aberfan, South Wales. A coal slagheap collapsed after heavy rain. The water build up was too great, causing a massive landslide that killed 144 people. 116 of those were children. “The fast-moving landslide, which had been triggered by heavy rain, demolished a farm and 20 terraced houses as well as Pantglas Junior School” (Yahoo News UK). Roughly 80,000 tons of debris changed the lives of so many forever.
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The cause of the landslide was reportedly caused by two days of constant rain along with the coal slag being on top of an underground spring. “The tragedy was caused by two days of continual heavy rain loosening the coal slag, which was situated on top of an underground spring” (The Aberfan Disaster). This obviously does not make for a good combination. The rain water saturated the soil, weakening its integrity. The underground spring loosened the soil underneath, cutting out the soil creating air pockets. This helped in weakening the structure of land. Once the weight was too much to bare, the earth gave way.
After the event, most of the mines have been closed down. There is only a few hundred miners left. “At one stage nearly 30 per cent of the able-bodied were out of work, while other adults were registered disabled largely through industrial diseases” (The Aberfan Disaster). To this day, there are still conflict over whose fault it was for this disaster. “A reluctant National Coal Board, which denied responsibility for the catastrophically unstable slag heap, was forced to pay compensation” (The Aberfan Disaster). The only money that was involded in this deal was the money paid to those who helped and to those who lost loved ones. It is still a battle that is being fought today. The economic toll is nothing compared to the toll that was brought upon those families who lost loved