A great disaster. For a novel I started working on in October 2006, I started doing some research. There’s a portion of it that takes place in an old, abandoned city, one that had been left in destitution for centuries, so I was looking around for theories on what happens to a modern city when left to the forces of nature. To my shame, I had forgotten about the Chernobyl disaster. In my research, I rediscovered it.
There’s an excellent site - an adventurous woman takes a motorcycle tour of Chernobyl and surrounding areas, including Pripyat. See KIDDofSPEED. It is thought-provoking, saddening, and generally depressing. It provided the example for which I was looking.
After reading the site, I began to wonder if some of the pictures she had could be viewable on Google Maps. They were. Here are some interesting comparisons.
- Ship Graveyard: KiddOfSpeed vs. GoogleMaps
- Ferris Wheel: KiddOfSpeed vs. GoogleMaps
Also, you can go to wikimapia and search for Chernobyl or Pripyat. There, people have outlined places, and you can get a little more information.