Ronan Point was a 22-storey tower block in Canning Town in Newham, East London, that partially collapsed on 16 May 1968, only two months after it opened.

A gas explosion blew out some load-bearing walls, causing the collapse of one entire corner of the building; four people died and 17 were injured.

Ronan Point was part of the wave of tower blocks built in the 1960s as cheap, affordable prefabricated housing for inhabitants of West Ham and other areas of London.

Four of the 260 residents died immediately and seventeen were injured, including a young mother who was stranded on a narrow ledge when the rest of her living room disappeared.

Further, a subsequent investigation determined that mechanical elements of the floor slab/flank wall connection were not properly designed to account for the effects of gravity load changes due to lateral forces such as high winds or explosions.

[7] Sam Webb, an architect who had given evidence to the Griffiths inquiry, predicted that after approximately 15 years, Ronan Point would develop structural problems and collapse.

[14] On the lower floors, cracks were found in the concrete where it had been point-loaded, and it was alleged that the extra pressure on those points during a high wind (such as during the Great Storm of 1987, barely a year after the demolition) would soon have led to building collapse.

They specifically cover pressures which may be caused for example by wind forces, explosions (either internal or external), or vehicle incursions, and note that seismic design may occasionally be required.

[15] Immediately after the publication of the report, the Government brought out interim measures to ensure the safety and integrity of buildings in the event of an explosion.

Existing buildings were allowed to resist an explosive force of 17 kPa (2.5 psi), provided that the gas supply was removed and flats were refitted for electric cooking and heating.

[18] Southwark Council confirmed in 2017 that strengthening work ordered after Ronan Point may not have been carried out on the Ledbury Estate, after structural weaknesses were found that led to the evacuation of four tower blocks.

[21] In May 2018, 50 years after the partial collapse, Ronan Point was the subject of an experimental documentary film, And Then We Heard Shouts and Cries, by artist Ricky Chambers.