Here's What Chernobyl Looks Like Now

Firefighters were not aware just how deadly and dangerous the radiation was when they rushed in to contain the fire from the intial explosion. At least one would die days later from acute radiation poisoning. 

What a difference three decades makes. It's barely recognizable. 

According to Getty Images, "the new plant has about 3,800 photovoltaic panels installed across an area of 1.6 hectares just a hundred metres from a giant metal dome, sealing the remains of the 1986 Chernobyl accident."

Surprisingly, wild animals--including dogs, deer, and others--have thrived around Chernobyl after the disaster. Many of the dogs are descendants of the pets citizens had to leave behind as they fled the town. 

When given the evacuation order, residents were only allowed to take a few important things with them. Much of what was left behind provides an eerie look into the everyday lives of these people. 

Fun fact: These "anti-chemical warfare suits" offer zero protection from radioactivity. 

This Kindergarten building is the only building left standing in Kopachi village.

Tours of the abandoned town of Pripyat are becoming increasingly common as the threat from radiation slowly but surely begins to decrease. 

Chernobyl tours are up by 30% in 2019 compared to the previous year, thanks to HBO's show about the 1986 nuclear disaster.

The Duga radar was a missle defense radar near Chernobyl. It has been subject to conspiracy theories ranging from mind control to weather control. 

This monument sits in front of the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement--a structure meant to house the remains of the exploded reactor. It commemorates the workers who built the original containment shelter in the aftermath of the explosion. 

Pripyat has become such a tourist destination that a rave has even been thrown here. 

The New Safe Confinement (NSC) was built in November 2016 to contain radiation for the next 100 years.

More radiation was released at Chernobyl than by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

April 26, 2019 marked the 33rd anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

Although Chernobyl tours are generally safe, visitors are encouraged to wear plenty of clothing (no shorts or open-toed shoes) and avoid sitting or touching anything. 

This alley is a memorial to villages and towns that had to be evacuated after the Chernobyl disaster. 

With no one to attend to the foliage, plants have managed to overtake what was once a town of almost 50,000.