Last year me with my wife visited Chernobyl - the place which was a little peaceful town near big nuclear station. After a massive explosion in april 1986, after thousands of deaths of people who fought in the aftermath of the accident, after 30+ years of building a new sarcophagus over a destroyed reactor, there is safe now. Almost safe. Slight excess radiation is present.
Before the nuclear station we visited a memorial complex “Star waterfin” withan alley of abandoned villages - 162 tablets with the names of permanently evacuated settlements.
Also we visited the exhibition of robots that participated in the liquidation of the accident. Most of the robots we could not see bacause of a high level of radiation.
Then we were taken to the once secret city of Chernobyl-2 where there was a complex of antennas for over-the-horizon detection of ballistic missile launch. The height of the large antenna is about 150 meters and the small one is about 100m. The length of the entire antenna complex is about 800 meters. Really huge thing!
After the accident within a record 206 days the Shelter isolation structure unofficially nicknamed the “Sarcophagus” was erected over the destroyed reactor. Its service life was calculated for 20-40 years. In 2007 the construction of a new arch construction began, designed to close the obsolete Shelter. Its length was 165m, width 257m, and height - 110m. The cost of construction is more than 2 billion dollars. This arch is the largest mobile ground structure in the world!
Pripyat. Ghost town. It is located closest to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, therefore it took on the largest dose of radiation. Once one of the most modern cities of the time, now it is covered with trees and shrubs. The high-rise buildings still have windows. The amusement park was never launched.
At the end of April 1986, 30 hours after the accident, about 50 thousand residents were evacuated from here. People were told that they needed to leave the city for only a couple of days, that there was a danger of an explosion. Although the explosion had already taken place, unsuspecting people continued to walk the streets, absorbing huge doses of radiation.
Thank you for sharing this! I wasn’t born yet when the explosion happened but when I heard about it. It was very sad and also interesting to know how it looked like now. Thank you for giving us a glimpse of what it looks like after many years. @Afukov_Alex
@Afukov_Alex thank you for sharing. Never knew it was open to public. Is there any specific requirement for entry or can any traveler go there? How did you feel wandering there? Was it eerie?
@Afukov_Alex Great post and pictures! I was supposed to go to Kiev and Czarnobyl in August,but because of the current situation (I call Virus time “Czarnobyl 2020”) , unfortunately I’m affraid I won’t go.
Amazing story @Afukov_Alex this is a place of the world I would like to visit because I enjoy exploring the abandoned places of the planet once occupied by humans.
Hi Sperakh! Before the coronavirus anybody could visit this place. There are some travel agencies that provide trips to Chernobyl. Radiation is still there. Some places have 10× more than normal level, some have 50×. You cannot stop in places like that, just ride through it by the bus. After we walked there we threw away our shoes and pants.
Wow Alex you must be one of the most daring guides I’ve ever seen. A tour of Chernobyl, that takes guts. I get the sense that memory of the nuclear disaster and it’s aftermath besides the nearly deserted areas always has this eerie effect on visitors. Thanks for sharing.
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