Pripyat, a Ghost Town: The Stories of Chornobyl

Pripyat is a ghost town, frozen in time. After the 1986 explosion at the Chornobyl Power Plant tore through reactor number 4, this place was evacuated and abandoned. Only wildlife lives and thrives here now – disturbed only by tourists, illegal trespassers, the small contingent of local workers and former residents.

It’s been 20 years since they both last visited the streets of their childhood. Very quickly, they locate their school and their favorite stores they used to go to.

Despite the smiles and the childhood memories, the eery silence of this place makes everyone uneasy. April 26th, 1986 was a warm sunny day. Here, children played in a sandbox in the front yard. The former resident of Pripyat Yevheniya Feshchenko says the exact spot where their family and neighbors all gathered the next day before immediately being evacuated. Pripyat was abandoned in just 4 hours. The radio announcement instructed residents to quickly pack basic necessities and to keep all the windows shut.

The 30-kilometer area surrounding the power plant was declared unfit for human dwelling. This so-called “exclusion zone” includes more than a hundred towns and villages in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. For the most part, the radiation level here is not considered dangerous for short visits. This limited access gives people a chance to revisit their long lost homes.