On Monday March 1 2010 there was a major disaster in Bududa district, which is part of the region we are twinned with in PONT. For several days there was torrential rain. A 200m wide landslide occurred that destroyed 3 villages. The weather had already made many roads impassable, with the result that nearest remaining usable road access was 4 or 5 hours walk away. Consequently it was not possible to get large mechanical equipment to the area, so digging had to be with bare hands and shovels.
Due to a swollen river children were unable to complete their journey home from school earlier. They took shelter from thre rains in a building, which was then taken in the mudslide. This has a particular poignancy for us because close to Pontypridd is the village of Aberfan. There, in 1966, a coal tip slid down on top of the primary school and wiped out an entire generation, bar a couple of survivors. Not something we would wish to have in common with our partner community.
