Chaosmos

"... The day after the Chernobyl accident, the state officials still had not warned the 50 thousand inhabitants about the threat of radioactive pollution; neither had they provided them with iodine pills helping against radiation. The power plant accident caused the level of radiation to exceed natural levels by a thousand times. Evacuation of Pripyat took place the day after – on the afternoon of April 27, 1986. The inhabitants were allowed to take only necessary items with them, as they were to return in three days. This information was released to avoid panic and to stop people taking too much luggage with them. Later, the authorities decided that the city must remain empty forever. During the evacuation women and children were collected first, but there was a serious lack of busses in this part of the Soviet Union. The busses thus had to come from other parts of the country to evacuate all 50 thousand inhabitants of Pripyat. The queue for the busses was 20 kilometers long – which means that when the first bus was leaving Pripyat, the last bus couldn’t even see the power plant chimneys from the distance away. In less than three hours the city was empty..."