Mudslides (Mass Movement)

This blog compares two mudslides which occurred almost 50 years apart and at opposite ends of the world and asks the question;










"In what ways does human interference alter the devastation caused by a mud slide?"

What is mass movment?


Case 1 - Abervan 1966



On Friday, October 21, 1966, at 09:15, colliery waste tip number 7 (containing unwanted rock from the local mine) slid down Merthyr Mountain. As it collapsed, it destroyed 20 houses and a farm before going on to demolish virtually all of Pantglas Junior School and part of the separate senior school. The pupils had just left the assembly hall when a great noise was heard outside. Had they left for their classrooms a few minutes later, the loss of life would have been significantly reduced, as the classrooms were on the side of the building nearest the landslide.

In total, 144 people were killed, 116 of whom were children, most of them between the ages of 7 and 10. Five teachers were also killed in the accident. Only a handful of children were rescued from the rubble.

Case 2 - Philippines 2006
In February 2006, an entire village was been buried by a major landslide in the central Philippines following heavy rains and a possible earthquake.
Nineteen people are known to have died and 83 have been found alive so far, but rescue officials said between 1,500 and 2,500 may be buried in the mud.

Philippineslandslide

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