The area in general had long been susceptible to landslips and rockfall since it was developed; several other major landslides had occurred at or near Po Shan Road before 1972.
Shiu Fai Terrace, another site of landslips, had been leased in 1920 and the number and height of buildings that could be built on it had been restricted, probably decreasing the death toll of the 1972 disasters.
At midday on 18 June, a landslide buried a squatter village at the Sau Mau Ping licensed area, killing 71.
Resettlement Department staff and fathers of the adjacent Kwun Tong Maryknoll College launched the rescue operation.
[1] The road was blocked off by falling mud at a construction site and several cracks started to appear in a retaining wall.
On June 17, a slip had occurred over the whole width of the cut slope at the southern face of Inland Lot 2260 on Po Shan Road, carrying away nearly all the bamboo framing and metal sheet covering.
Po Shan Road was cordoned off to the public and nearby apartments were evacuated as it quickly became apparent that a large landslide would soon occur.
[1][6] 67 people were killed and 20 were injured in less than a minute[1] Because of the lack of lighting and the rain, as well as the fact that much of the transportation network had been destroyed, rescue efforts were initially sporadic and hampered.