15 impressing Chernobyl pictures: before disaster and today

Reactor No.4

An aerial view of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant immediately after the 26th April 1986 accident. It clearly shows the front most building which was the most damaged as it where the initial eruption took place. This building was known as the Reactor No.4. The nuclear blast at the Reactor No.4 subsequently sent a radioactive cloud into the air that stretched from Ukraine to Belarus to Russia. To date is the one of two worst nuclear disasters of all time.

Military helicopters

As soon as the accident took place, the entire area of Chernobyl and its adjoining cities were evacuated. An estimated 330,000 people were evacuated from the whole region as the atmosphere became extremely unsafe and polluted for humans to live in. Therefore, the Ukrainian government decided to use military helicopters such as the one in the image to spray anti-toxic liquid into the air to decontaminate the place and stop the contamination from spreading. The picture was taken in June 1986, two months after the disaster. The disaster was given a maximum level 7 in the International Nuclear Event Scale, to reiterate the intensity of the disaster.

The brave men

November 1986 marked the end of the first stage of concrete covering of the Reactor No.4. The image shows the brave men who put their lives on the line and just seven months after the blast went back to the toxic site to help bury the building. It was an important mission conducted by the government to stop further releasing of radioactive emissions.

Pripyat: before and after

The two parallel images show the before and after of the Pripyat town know commonly referred to as the Ghost Town. The town of Pripyat was constructed for the workers of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and their families who resided there. The top image shows a day in the daily lives of those workers and their families in 1982 while the bottom image clearly shows abandoned building and leaf-less trees in 2011.

Street in Pripyat

The top image giving a clear picture of the once beautiful town of Pripyat and their residents going about their work on the usual basis, the image was captured in 1982. The town was full of people who were happily living their lives until the disaster struck. The lower one captured in 2011, however, shows a deserted look of the same street that once had a feel of a normal Ukrainian city.

Vital and abandoned

The upper image shows three elegantly dressed people of Pripyat communicating in 1982 outside a beautiful office building. Pripyat was a business hub as it was tailor-made for workers and officers of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. While the lower image captured in Feb 2011 shows the exact same place with no grass, no people and abandoned buildings.

An amusement park

The image shows a look of an amusement park that once echoed the laughter and joy of children but now has nothing but bundle of snow piled up, rusting rides and no humans to enjoy or take care of the place. The town of Chernobyl had a population of 14,000 but now only 500 souls reside there. The picture was taken in 2011, 25 years after the disaster.

Measuring the radiation levels

A nuclear expert measuring the radiation levels with the help of a Geiger counter of the equipment that was used inside the forbidden 30km exclusion zone of Chernobyl. The image was taken in the village of Rossokha within the limitations of the exclusion zone. The government had used every possible equipment such as tanks and other military arsenal to bring the accident under control. Some rusting tankers can be seen in the image.

Villager Ivan Shamianok

The person in the image is Villager Ivan Shamianok who was 61 at the time of the disaster, is only one of the six people that still reside in the dangerous and contaminated village of Tulgovichi in Belarus. He never left his beloved town even after repeated warnings and evacuations as his heart was in Tulgovichi. The home’s where the heart is.

Day of Rejoicing

The same person Villager Ivan Shamianok, 87 in the image which was captured in 2012, sharing his experiences at a cemetery with his ex-villagers who left after the accident, on the day of rejoicing Radunitsa’. Radunitsa is a scared day for the Eastern Orthodox Christians who remember the ones that have passed away.

Dytyatky checkpoint

Image shows officers guarding the Dytyatky checkpoint. Dytyatky check post marks the start of the 30km exclusion zone of Chernobyl and every car and person going in and out of the zone is checked at this point. The entering vehicles are checked for passports, documents and dress code while the leaving vehicles and people are checked for radiation levels.

Radiation map

The map which was made in 1996 shows parts of Ukraine that were either heavily effected or slightly effected by the radiation of the Chernobyl disaster. The red parts show the area that had 40 curies per sq km of contamination and are permanently closed. The pinkish-reddish areas have less than 40 but greater than 15 curies/sq km while the pinks ones were less than 15 curies/sq km and are areas that are temporarily closed.

New Safe Confinement

Shows the image of a partially constructed New Safe Confinement (NSC) that will be placed over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant’s cemented Reactor No.4. This will be a permanent solution to the toxic emissions still being released to this date. NSC is a state of the art confinement unit that will endure the released toxins.

Annia

Image of a gorgeous 11 year old Annia who was unfortunately adversely affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the biggest and most lethal nuclear disaster of all time. Annia is one of 24000 children that have been diagnosed with severe diseases such as cancer after the disaster. Cuba to this date has been providing free healthcare facilities and treatment to the effectees of the accident.

Chernobyl memorial

Image shows people commemorating the loss of valuable lives at the Chernobyl memorial near the town of Chernobyl at Slavutych in 2013. The candle lighting and placing of flowers under the pictures of the heroes and brave firefighters along with the workers who lost their lives while fighting the disaster. The memorial also marks the anniversary of Chernobyl accident. This ritual is being taking place every year for the past numerous years.