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Aberfan, Wales - 1966

Aberfan lies in a coal-mining area in the Welsh mountains. Debris brought out from the mines is dumped in spoil-heaps, or tips, composed of a mixture of granular fragments in a wet, muddy matrix. Coal extraction processes also produce a fine-grained debris called tailings that were also included on the tips. The tips on the slope above Aberfan were built on a 14o slope of sandstone covered with a thin layer of boulder clay. Bedding planes were at a slightly lower angle than the slope. There are occasional impervious strata, so that groudwater emerges in springs along the slope. The tip was built on top of these springs and on top of some small stream courses. This led to the lower portions of the tip to be saturated. Early one morning in October, there were several movements within the tip. The last one took the saturated material past the point where liquefaction occurred, which flowed down hill, bringing the upper part of the tip with it, floating on the liquefied material. The resulting landslide engulfed a portion of the town of Aberfan, including a primary school. 144 people were killed, including 116 school children and 5 teachers.

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These notes are aimed at students studying for Edexcel (B) Unit 5 - Hazards, though will be suitable also for people studying with different exam boards and at different levels.

They were originally submitted by wackojacko in this thread on TSR Forums.