Aberfan disaster

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/aberfan-disaster

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How tall is Aberfan disaster?111 feet (34 meters)
2. What is the event type?Colliery spoil tip collapse and subsequent landslide
3. What is the date of occurrence?October 21, 1966
4. What caused the Aberfan disaster?A coal waste tip built over a natural spring became saturated with water, turning into a liquid mass that slid down the hill.
5. Why were so many children hurt?The landslide covered Pantglas Junior School and nearby houses, and the thick mud and coal hit the school where children were learning.

Colliery spoil tip: An artificial mound of waste material, primarily rock and earth, generated from coal mining operations.
Liquefaction: The process by which a solid material, like soil or spoil, loses strength and behaves like a liquid when saturated with water and subjected to stress.
Tribunal of Inquiry: A formal, independent investigation established to examine the facts and causes of a significant event, often with public hearings.
National Coal Board (NCB): The former statutory corporation responsible for the nationalized coal mining industry in Great Britain from 1947 to 1987.