The deadly 1972 twin landslides in Hong Kong that claimed 138 lives in a day
A “mammoth” 25.2 inches of rainfall in 72 hours caused the disasters on June 18, 1972 in which a luxury block in Mid-Levels toppled down, claiming 67 lives, while a squatter village in Sau Mau Ping was buried earlier in the day, killing 71
“Worst deluge in 83 years hits Hongkong: Mid-Levels Flats Crash in a Day of Disaster; 78 squatter huts inundated in big landslide”, reported the South China Morning Post on June 19, 1972.
“At least 200 people are believed dead in twin downpour disasters after a luxury skyscraper block last night toppled down the Mid-Levels [67 later confirmed dead] and a mudslide earlier in the day buried a squatter village in Sau Mau Ping [death toll 71]. At 3am today, under the brilliant glare of arc lights, armies of rescuers burrowed through the two mud-covered mass graves.”
The tragedies followed a “mammoth” 25.2 inches of rainfall in 72 hours.
“The Mid-Levels disaster started under a garage building in 21 Po Shan Road,” the Post reported. “During a violent downpour at 8.50pm, the garage [...] cascaded down a steep cliff, crashed across Conduit Road and into the base of [...] Kotewall Court. The building tilted and crashed to earth, ‘like a felled tree’, according to one onlooker.” The “huge concrete and glass skyscraper” had “swayed – then crashed onto its side”.
“[…] At Sau Mau Ping, public servants, soldiers and volunteers clawed their way into a horrifying montage of mud, blood and bodies. But all hope of finding anyone alive [at] Sau Mau Ping Class II Resite area had faded.”