hernobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in the Kiev Oblast (province) near the border with Belarus ( [show location on an interactive map] 51°16%u2032N, 30°13%u2032E).
The city was evacuated in 1986 due to the Chernobyl disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant under the then USSR, which is located 10.85 kilometers (9 miles) north-northwest. The power plant was named after the city, and located in Chernobyl Raion (district), but the city was not the residence of the power plant workers. At the time of the construction, a twin city of Chernobyl, Prypiat, was built to be close to the plant for workers.
Though the city is today mostly uninhabited, a small number of inhabitants 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 55,000 residents.
