This was the town of Pripyat in the early 1980's.

This is how Pripyat looks now. The park is the most radioactive section of town because it lies directly in front of the atomic plant. It is said that people ran for their lives as they searched for their children in the atomic smoke...I don't know if it is true, but I know that on April 27, the day of evacuation, the average radiation level in town was about one roentgen!

Ghost Town Pripyat is a modern Pompeii. The Soviet era is preserved here...in the radiation for all the years to come.  Every step toward the little bumper cars adds 100 microroentgens to my Geiger counter reading.

View the "Ghost Town" Video

Updated 17 Jan 2008