Nature's victory over humans. Video clips from Chernobyl Zone
A house in the village of Barscouka. The 30-km exclusion zone, Chojniki district. Photo: Euroradio
The Zone does not look like most of us imagine. Abandoned houses, old rusty vehicles, children's toys scattered around empty rooms - this is just a journalistic cliche that hides a real zone where human traces have almost completely disappeared.
You will not hear the sounds you are used to. There are no human voices or the noise of machines. By April 1986, woods occupied 30% of what today is known as the Radioecological Reserve. Currently, forest occupies 60% of this territory. Every year, it takes 1% of the territory back and can take it all by 2050...if humans do not intervene again.
It took only 30 years for fields to become swamps again and for irrigation channels to turn into ditches covered by cane.
When watching video, please use headphones.
The Zone is mesmerizing. It is a unique place on the planet where nature is advancing on humans. The irony is that it was made possible by a manmade disaster.
Many people think that we have learned everything about the Zone for the past 30 years and that journalists and scientists no longer have something to do there. They think that this territory can be slowly returned into use by humans.
In reality, the Zone has more secrets. This is just the begining.
