Buzz
After major calamities, it’s not unusual for entire populations to leave devastated regions permanently. This decision can stem from several factors: the extent of destruction may make reconstruction impossible, the threat of recurrence might loom, or the emotional toll of lives lost could be too overwhelming.
You’ve likely come across stories of deserted sites like Chernobyl and Centralia in other readings. Here, we present ten lesser-known instances of such abandoned places:
10. Times Beach, Missouri, USA
During the early 1970s, Times Beach, Missouri, faced a significant issue: its predominantly unpaved roads generated excessive dust, posing serious safety hazards for travelers. To address this, the town enlisted waste hauler Russell Bliss to apply oil to the roads, a task he performed from 1972 to 1976.
Simultaneously, Bliss was engaged by ICP to dispose of toxic waste from Northeastern Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company (NEPACCO). NEPACCO, a supplier of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, produced this defoliant containing the harmful dioxin TCDD. TCDD is known to cause immune and reproductive issues, as well as severe conditions like cancer and chloracne, a persistent acne-like ailment.
Unknown to residents, Bliss used a blend of used engine oil and NEPACCO waste to oil the roads. On December 3, 1982, the EPA tested the town’s soil and discovered dioxin levels a hundred times above the hazardous threshold. Before remediation could begin, the Meramec River flooded on December 5, spreading the contamination across the entire town.
After the floodwaters subsided, the EPA evacuated the population in 1983 and acquired the land for $32 million. By 1985, the town was demolished, and the contaminated soil was incinerated in mobile furnaces. The site is now a state park. In 2012, the EPA retested the soil and confirmed it no longer posed a health risk.
9. Wittenoom, Australia
Wittenoom, a town in Western Australia, was founded in 1947 to house workers from the nearby crocidolite mine. Over time, it expanded significantly, reaching a population of five hundred by 1951 and over twenty thousand before its eventual abandonment in 1966.
Mine waste was repurposed for children’s sandpits, golf course greens, and even a makeshift beach near the town pool. It was also used to pave streets, playgrounds, and walkways. Tragically, residents were unaware of the risks. Crocidolite, known as blue asbestos, is highly toxic, with its fibers capable of causing malignant mesothelioma, a rare cancer affecting organ linings, in those who inhale it.
Health experts repeatedly warned about the dangers of asbestos exposure during the mine’s operation, but their concerns were dismissed by the mine owners. After the mine closed in 1966, air tests confirmed asbestos contamination in every building. In 1979, the government began relocating residents by purchasing their homes and covering moving expenses. While most accepted the offer, a few remained as late as 2006, despite the town’s official erasure from maps, road signs, and the power grid.
Conservative estimates indicate that over two thousand of Wittenoom’s twenty thousand former residents have died from asbestos-related diseases. Western Australia also has one of the world’s highest per capita rates of malignant mesothelioma.
8. Deception Island, Antarctica
Situated 75 miles north of Antarctica within the South Shetland Islands, Deception Island was discovered by a British naval expedition in the early 1800s. It became a hub for whaling in the early 20th century, boasting 14 whale blubber processing plants by 1914, owned by nations like Chile and Norway. However, the Great Depression rendered these plants unprofitable, leading to their eventual abandonment.
In 1944, the British set up a permanent research station on the island, followed by Chile a decade later. Volcanic eruptions in 1967, 1968, and 1969 forced the British to evacuate, leaving behind abandoned fueling stations and huts. While the Chilean bases withstood the earlier eruptions, the 1969 event destroyed two of their facilities, prompting their scientists to leave as well.
Today, Deception Island has no permanent inhabitants but attracts tourists much like Chernobyl. Visitors can explore remnants of its industrial past, including derelict fueling stations, huts, research facilities, and even an aircraft hangar.
7. Beichuan, China
On May 12, 2008, a devastating 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck China’s Sichuan province, claiming over 69,000 lives and injuring 374,000 others. It displaced between five and eleven million people, a significant portion of the region’s fifteen million residents.
Beichuan, located in the northern part of the province, suffered immense damage. More than eighty percent of its buildings were reduced to rubble during the quake.
In a thoughtful decision, the government chose to preserve Beichuan’s ruins as a memorial museum rather than demolish them. Hydraulic systems were installed to stabilize collapsed structures, effectively capturing the town in its post-earthquake state.
6. Saint-Jean-Vianney, Quebec, Canada
On May 4, 1971, the small village of Saint-Jean-Vianney in Québec faced a catastrophic event with limited documentation. What is known is that after intense rainfall, the unstable Leda Clay beneath the village liquefied, causing the ground to collapse. This resulted in a thirty-meter-deep chasm that swallowed around forty homes.
Before the disaster, residents noticed unusual signs: house foundations sank six to eight inches, large cracks formed in roads and driveways, and strange noises like thumping and running water were heard underground. The landslide lasted only five minutes but claimed thirty-one lives. Had it occurred later at night, the death toll would have been higher. The surviving villagers were relocated to Arvida, and the village was abandoned.
5. Gilman, Colorado, USA
Gilman, Colorado, was the site of Eagle Mine, a significant source of zinc and lead. Established in 1886, the mine employed hundreds and played a crucial role during WWII, as its miners were exempt from the draft due to the strategic importance of zinc. However, after the war, demand declined, leading to financial struggles and the mine’s closure in 1977.
Once the mine shut down, the dewatering pumps, which kept lead and zinc from contaminating the groundwater, were deactivated. This caused the mine’s lower levels to flood, allowing toxic chemicals to seep into the Eagle River, a primary water source for the town.
The EPA intervened, designating the area a Superfund site and evacuating all residents. Cleanup efforts were initiated, but the town remains closed to this day.
4. Tomioka, Fukushima, Japan
After the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant meltdown triggered by the 2011 tsunami, a 30km exclusion zone was created to protect people from potential radiation exposure. Tomioka, among other towns and cities, was evacuated, with 488,000 people relocated within two weeks. Once home to around 16,000 residents, Tomioka remains largely abandoned, and much of the tsunami damage along its coastline remains unrepaired.
A single man continues to live in the town, dedicating himself to caring for animals left behind during the evacuation. These include not only dogs and cats but also cattle, pigs, and boars that have since roamed freely in the wild.
At present, there is no indication that the exclusion zone will be lifted or that former residents will be permitted to return.
3. Agdam, Azerbaijan
In July 1993, after fierce battles, forces of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic seized Agdam, a city in southwestern Azerbaijan. Backed by Armenia, this republic had emerged a year earlier when several regions broke away from Azerbaijani control. The offensive aimed to expand Nagorno Karabakh’s territorial holdings.
On July 4, an Armenian artillery strike prompted a mass evacuation of Agdam’s residents. By month’s end, the town was under Nagorno Karabakh control, with reports of war crimes, including forced displacement and hostage-taking. Fearing an Azerbaijani counterattack, Nagorno Karabakh forces destroyed the town to prevent its recapture.
Today, Agdam’s ruins act as a buffer zone between Azerbaijan and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, making its permanent resettlement nearly impossible.
2. San Juan Parangaricutiro, Mexico
On February 20, 1943, two farmers clearing shrubbery in their cornfield witnessed the ground suddenly swell and split open, forming a smoking, two-meter-deep fissure with a strong odor of rotten eggs. Within a day, a 50-meter-tall rock cone emerged, growing to 100 meters in a week and spewing ash and smoke over nearby villages, including San Juan Parangaricutiro and Paricutin.
On June 12, the volcano, now 424 meters tall, erupted. Fortunately, Paricutin’s residents evacuated safely due to the slow lava flow. Months later, San Juan Parangaricutiro was also evacuated before lava could reach it. Remarkably, no direct fatalities occurred, though three people died from lightning strikes caused by atmospheric disturbances linked to the eruption.
By late 1944, both villages were buried under lava and ash, with only San Juan Parangaricutiro’s church tower visible above the hardened lava. The Paricutin volcano continued its slow eruption for nine more years, finally ceasing in 1952.
1. Tyneham, Dorset, UK
During World War Two, parts of the British countryside were requisitioned for military use, including the small village of Tyneham in Dorset. In 1943, the village and its surrounding 7,500 acres of woodland and heathland were seized, forcing 252 residents to leave immediately. The last villager reportedly left a note on the church door, which remains preserved to this day:
“Please treat the church and houses with care; we have given up our homes, where many of us lived for generations, to help win the war and keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.”
It is unlikely the villagers or their descendants will ever return. The area is filled with warnings about unexploded shells and fast-moving tanks from the nearby Armored Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School. However, visitors are occasionally permitted to explore the village, which features a medieval church, a restored manor house, and abundant wildlife thriving in the absence of human activity.
