Two people have explored a radioactive ‘ghost neighborhood’ that fell victim to the second worst nuclear disaster of all time.
A total of 160,000 people were forced to flee their homes in Fukushima, Japan, after there was a major accident at a local nuclear power plant in March 2011.
The cause of the incident stemmed from an earthquake and tsunami which resulted in an electrical grid failure.
As a result, nearly all of the power plant’s backup energy sources were damaged, meaning that the plant wasn’t able to sufficiently cool their reactors.
This compromised the containment of radioactive materials, which leaked into the surrounding area.
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Two YouTubers, known online as @2swag.productions and @StringerMedia documented themselves exploring parts of the area that have since been left abandoned.
In the caption of the 2swag video, it reads: “Evacuated 13 years ago due to the second worst nuclear disaster of all time, we find that almost every home has cars still in the driveways, and everything still left inside…”
It’s just a three hour drive from Tokyo but the neighborhood has ‘some of the most post-apocalyptic scenes on the planet’.
According to the YouTubers, they risk facing a minimum penalty of 30 days in jail for going into the Fukushima Red Zone.
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In the video, they say: “Hundreds upon thousands of abandoned homes stand dormant slowly being overtaken by nature.
“With cars still in the driveways and dishes still left out to dry, these homes now serve as a time capsule to one of the worst days in Japan's history.”
At the time of the nuclear disaster, anyone within a 20 km (12.4 miles) radius was required to immediately evacuate.
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But what a lot of people didn’t realize was that 13 years later, many still wouldn’t have returned to their homes.
Viewers of the video were shocked by the sight of the abandoned town, with many taking to the YouTube comment section to share their reactions.
One user wrote: “Seeing the house with the rain boots and umbrella really made me sad for some reason.”
Another said: “Imagine someone from Japan would watch this video and see their own house being explored.”
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A third person commented: “Some areas of the world, the plants just start taking back buildings really fast. Japan is definitely one of them, 10 more years and you would probably just see weird shaped ‘hills’.”
And a fourth added: “I love the content but I am worried about your health.”