Report - Fukushima no-go zone - radioactive abandoned towns

[Yorrick]

The film came out 6 years after this event!

I would give serious consideration to the possibility that you may be mistaken –

Fukushima disaster 16th March 2011

Terminator 2 - Judgement Day released in 1991

 

[Zotlerg]

Oh sorry, I got bounced from a Chernobyl report to those picture, and I got a little confused by the old toy...

 

[TheVicar]

Absolutely superb report! Very interesting yet horrifying at the same time.

 

[sacredhart]

!!! Fantastic !!!

 

[Coxieboy]

2 words. Fucking Brilliant
.

 

[Killerkelly03]

MADE IN JAPAN
When I visited Chernobyl for the first time 7 years ago, I didn’t think that a similar disaster could take place anywhere ever again, and certainly not in Japan. After all, nuclear power is safe and the technology is less and less prone to failure, and therefore a similar disaster cannot happen in the future. Scientists said this, firms that build nuclear power stations said this, and the government said this.

But it did happen.

When I was planning my trip to Fukushima I didn’t know what to expect. There the language, culture, traditions and customs are different, and what would I find there four years after the accident? Would it be something similar to Chernobyl?

NO-GO ZONE

The decision not to come to Fukushima until four years after the disaster is a deliberate one, as most of the destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami has been cleared up. Above all, I would like to focus on the accident at the nuclear power station and the effects it had on the environment and the evacuated residents, and compare it to Chernobyl. For this reason, what I would like to do the most is see the orange zone and the red zone, the most contaminated and completely deserted. In the latter, no clearing up or decontamination work is going on. Here time has stood still, as if the accident happened yesterday.

A separate permit is required for each of the towns in the red zone, which is issued only to people who have a legitimate, official reason to go there. No tourists are allowed. Even journalists are not welcome. The authorities are wary, they enquire after the reason, the topic being covered, and attitude towards the disaster. They are worried that journalists will not be accurate and objective when presenting the topic, but they are most likely scared of being criticized for their actions.

I try to arrange entry into the no-go zone while still in Poland. I get help from colleagues, authors of books, and journalists who write about Fukushima. They recommend their friends, they recommend their friends, and they recommend their friends. It is not until I travel to Fukushima and spend two weeks there that I am able to make contact with the right people. It turns out that the knowledge I have and the photographs I have taken in my career from numerous visits to Chernobyl convince these people to help me.

NAMIE

A week later I have the permit in my hand and can finally make my way to Namie, one of three towns in the no-go zone. Although the town is completely deserted, the traffic lights still work, and the street lamps come on in the evening. Now and again a police patrol also drives by, stopping at every red light despite the area being completely empty. They also stop next to our car and check our permits carefully.

Checkpoint

Off-licence

Police patrol

In order to see the effects of the tsunami we go to the coast, where all of the buildings were destroyed. Although four years have passed, the clean-up is still going on, although most of the damage has now been cleared up. Behind the buildings one concrete building stands out, which was capable of withstanding the destructive force of the tsunami. It is a school, built using TEPCO money, where the schoolchildren luckily survived by escaping to the nearby hills.

The primary school building that survived is situated a mere 300 metres from the ocean. On the tower, as in all of the classrooms, there are clocks which stopped at the moment the tsunami came (at the time the power went off).

Remains of destruction in the aftermath of the tsunami. A photograph from the school’s observation tower.

School computers

One of the classrooms on the first floor in the school. There is still a mark below the blackboard showing the level of the tsunami wave. On the blackboard in the classroom are words written by former residents, schoolchildren and workers in an attempt to keep up the morale of all of the victims, such as / we will be reborn / we can do it, Fukushima! / stupid TEPCO / we were rivals in softball, but always united in our hearts! / We will definitely be back! / Despite everything now is precisely the beginning of our rebirth / I am proud to have graduated from the Ukedo primary school / Fukushima is strong / Don’t give up, live on! / Ukedo primary school, you can do it! / if only we could return to our life by the sea / it’s been two years now and Ukedo primary school is the same as it was on 11 March 2011, this is the beginning of a rebirth./

Gymnasium

Namie at dusk. Despite the area being totally deserted the traffic lights and streetlamps still work.

Absolutely breathtaking, what an inspiration. Thank you so much for posting

 

[Kirkymole]

That is incredible. My hat is well and truly off to you.

 

[The Minotaur]

Absolutely stunning pictures, especially those inside the supermarket. Supurb report.

 

[hamtagger]

Bloody amazing this

 

[kel05]

Fantastic read ☺

 

[Spork]

Insane..

 

[random_dav]

Awesome report, thanks for sharing!

 

[Eight-Seven]

Unreal scenes and beautifully captured. The write-up painted an equally interesting picture.Top job, my friend

 

[BAJ]

Wow thanks for sharing that, really enjoyed reading it and look at your flicks

 

[Antash]

Pictures of the super-market and those cows simply terrified me, great report