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Sometimes, a building, a neighborhood or even a whole area is abandoned due to various reasons. Here are some of the more astonishing places that are being taken back by nature. The New World Shopping Mall, Bangkok, Thailand This place was abandoned in 1999 after a fire that left it irreparable. It later suffered a flooding that left several feet of water throughout the ground floor, and the water brought a surprise with them, Koi fish and Catfish who seem to be thriving!    The House in the Woods, Finland (Images: Kai Fagerström) The Finnish photographer Kai Fagerström focuses on the coexisting of man and nature, this has brought on this amazing photography project called “The House in the Woods”. An amazing collection of wild animals that have virtually taken over an abandoned house in the forest.       Chernobyl, Ukraine The most infamous nuclear disaster in the 20th century was the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown in 1986. The whole city of Pripyat, as well as nearby countryside were evacuated and abandoned a day later, leaving everything as if frozen in time, with food still on tables, clothes in closets & children’s toys strewn about everywhere. Since then, the levels of radiation decreased somewhat, but the area will remain uninhabitable for the next 20,000 years (!!!)     Fukushima, Japan Abandoned due to a series of unfortunate events - an earthquake which led to a tsunami, which hit the local nuclear power-plant, causing it to release massive quantities of radioactive materials to into the area. Many of Fukushima Island’s inhabitants evacuated in a haste, many leaving their pets behind. Now these pets roam the empty streets freely.    Old Chemical Weapons Factory, Okunoshima Island, Japan Once a chemical-weapons research & manufacturing facility during WWII, it was destroyed after the war by the allies. The rabbits that were used to test the chemicals on managed to break free and, well, did what rabbits do…   Holland Island, Chesapeake Bay, U.S.A. Abandoned in 1914 due to land erosion into the sea, this island once served as home for nearly 360 people. The last building on the island (in the pictures below) finally succumbed and collapsed into the sea in late 2010.    Kolmannskuppe, Namibia Many famous pictures came from this ghost town that is being taken over by the desert and, surprisingly – the rare Namib Horse. Once a diamond-mining town, it was abandoned in 1954 when the mines were exhausted.     Dungeness Ruins, Georgia, U.S.A. Abandoned in the 1920’s and shortly after was destroyed by a fire, this used to be a famous hunting lodge. Now, the place is owned by the National Park Service, while the previously hunted wildlife roam it freely.   Aral Desert (Aralkum), Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan Previously, the home of the Aral Sea (the worlds 4 th largest body of water), this post-apocalyptic-looking place is the result of over-fishing and a huge irrigation project by the former USSR that caused the massive drop of water level between 1990-2000.     Año Nuevo Island, California Previously a peninsula, an ever-growing channel has separated it from the mainland sometime after the 18 th century. Abandoned at around 1950, it’s now the breeding grounds for Elephant Seals, Sea Lions and many kinds of marine birds.   (Courtesy of cdn.c.photoshelter.com)  (Courtesy of |
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