Chernobyl today: photo essay

Chernobyl  is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city used to be the administrative center of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932.
The city was evacuated in 1986 due to the Chernobyl disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Though the city today is mostly uninhabited, a small number of people reside in houses marked with signs stating that the "Owner of this house lives here". Workers on watch and administrative personnel of the Zone of Alienation are stationed in the city on a long term basis. Prior to its evacuation, the city was inhabited by about 14,000 residents.

reference: here
more info and photos at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/chernobyl-2/pool/
                                     http://firesuite.com/chernobyl