There are many cities around the world that have been evacuated, abandoned or severely depopulated due to natural disasters, mine fires or political unrest. Some of these cities, which were once tragic for the people who lived there, are now home to architecturally significant buildings that attract tourists and movie productions.
1- Hashima Island (Japan)
Hashima, also known as Battleship Island, located off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan, was a mining island where about 5000 people lived in the 19th century. Until 1960, Mitsubishi, the owner of the mining business in the city, which provided Japan’s mining needs until 1960, lost population with the replacement of coal by oil and the island population gradually decreased. Since 1974, no one has lived there.
2- Craco (Italy)
Despite the fertile flat plains around it, Craco is located in a very steep region. In 1981, the city had a population of around 2000 inhabitants, but it lost its population due to drought, earthquakes, landslides and finally in 1963, when the last remaining inhabitants left the city, leaving it as an abandoned region.
3- Kolmanskop (Namibia)
In the early 1900s, the abandoned diamond mining town of Kolmanskop saw massive investment. The city was flooded with thousands of people who came with the dream of finding diamonds and getting rich, and many investments were made, including a casino, luxury residential houses and a theater. As the demand for diamond mining declined after World War I, the city started to lose its population in the 1950s. Houses in the city collapsed over time and were buried in the sand. Kolmanskop is now a ghost town.
4- Pripyat, Chernobyl (Russia)
One of the 20th century’s worst disasters, the Chernobyl Reactor Accident led to the evacuation of the entire city. While the explosion on April 26, 1986 killed 31 people, the real damage was caused by the radiation emitted by the explosion of the reactor. However, the radiation effect affected not only Russia but also Turkey and many other countries over time, and the leaking radiation brought deaths along with cancer.
5- Kawloon Walled City (Çin)
Kawloon Walled City is a city in China that was established under British rule. After the Second World War, Kawloon Walled City, which China and Britain did not take responsibility for, became uninhabitable with the establishment of brothels, casinos and the increase in drug production. The city was partially demolished and evacuated in 1993 by a joint decision of the British and Chinese governments.
6- Centralia, Pennsylvania (USA)
Unfortunately, the fate of mining towns is notoriously bad. Such is the fate of the town of Centralia in Pennsylvania. After a mine fire in 1962, the town began to empty and by 2005 the population had fallen to 7 people.
7- Agdam (Azerbaijan)
Located 365 kilometers from Baku, the city was once a thriving Azerbaijani city with a population of 150,000. Occupied due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Aghdam is now a ghost town.
