The Chernobyl Disaster

Decades after its fourth reactor exploded during a botched safety test, sending clouds of radiation across a large portion of Europe, the infamous Chornobyl plant remains radioactive to date. To put things in perspective, the explosion at the power plant was 400 times the size of the nuclear warhead that dropped on Hiroshima.

But at the time, Soviet authorities were hesitant to reveal the magnitude of the situation. So, it took 18 days before they disclosed the extent of the damage from the incident. Although the death toll is difficult to pinpoint, the international community says the disaster cost the lives of 31 people.