Our planet is filled with places that attract us towards themselves in more than one way. From mountains that touch the sky to plains as vast as our eyes can catch. Even on the internet, we find tons of articles on the world’s most desired destinations for tourists. However today’s article is on places that, in our opinion, you should refrain yourself from going to. Here are few places that are not exactly honey moon spots.
10. Bubbly Creek
Location: Chicago, Illinois
During the 19th century the scene of the Bubbly Creek was no less than as if a war took place nearby. The section towards the South Branch was named as Bubbly Creek. Originally the area was a wetland, but channels were dredged and the South Fork became an open sewer line for the local stockyards, especially the Union Stock Yards. On top of all this, slaughter houses in the adjoining areas started to dump large amounts of waste, such as blood and entrails. Naturally due to the presence of so much blood and animals parts, chemical reactions took place and water actually started to bubble with methane and hydrogen sulfide, hence the name” Bubbly Creek”. Towards the end of 20th century, large number of bloodworms found their home here. They fed on the thick mass of rotting blood which is located on the river bed. Oxygen depletion made the Bubbly Creek hypoxic and the creek remains highly toxic and the surrounding area is full of a rancid smell pushing the locals away from the creek.
9. Centralia, Pennsylvania
Location: Columbia County, Pennsylvania
The town was originally a coal mining area but was destroyed by a fire that left the town uninhabitable. In 1966, Centralia went out of the mining industry. The town which once proudly held seven churches, five hotels, twenty-seven saloons, two theatres, a bank, a post office, and fourteen general stores was made uninhabitable by a fire in 1962 which ignited in one of the mines below the town. The reason for the ignition is not fully understood however one theory suggests that the event occurred in May of 1962 when the Centralia Borough Council hired five people to clean up the town landfill, which was located in an abandoned strip-mine pit. The men did not extinguish the fire correctly and it spread through a hole in the rock pit and then into the abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia. In the late 1960s and 1970s dozens of town residents were hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning. Sink holes began to appear in the city limits and steam ports were often reported.
The population of the town saw ups and downs over the years. It ranged from over 1,000 residents in 1981 to 12,000 in 2005 to 9,000 in 2007. Centralia is one the least populated town of the state, one reason being that in 1984, U.S government allocated funds for relocation of the people and most of the people living there opted for a buyout implying that the government took ownership of the town. In 2002 the U.S. Post Office revoked Centralia’s zip code. There are little homes left in the area and the area is filled with sign of carbon monoxide poisoning and even steam can be seen at times from distance.
8. Dallol
Location: Afar Region, Ethiopia
Dallol is usually referred to as a ghost town with very few structures, most made of salt blocks, with travelling means of the old days such as camel caravans etc. located in the Administrative Zone 2 of the Afar Region in the Afar Depression, the area once had a railway back in 1928 constructed from the port of Mersa Fatma in Eritrea and then to a point 28 km form Dallol. However, after World War II it was removed by the British administration, as international trade routes had expanded. The area is also home to a volcano which n 1926 erupted leaving behind a 30 meter wide crater and forming geological hot springs. There are also deposits of salts and Dallol Co. of Asmara even sold salt from 1951 to 1953. One more attribute of the area is the temperature of the region. It is usually hot reaching upto 115 F. Dallol is one of the most remote regions of the world. The adjoining areas are hostile making it difficult for visitors. Many impressive hot springs do exist at Dallol, giving a stunning view of yellow and red hydrothermal deposits. However, Dallol lies in northeastern Ethiopia close to the disputed Eritrean border. Due to this reason, along with some hostile Afar tribesmen, make the area dangerous and several armed attacks on tourist convoys have occurred in recent years.
7. Hanford Site
Location: Hanford, Washington State
Hanford was basically a small agricultural community in Benton County, Washington, United States. In 1943, the residents were asked to leave the town in order to create room for the establishment of a nuclear production facility known as the Hanford Site. The Hanford Site was one of the first and biggest nuclear production centers during World War II. A plutonium production reactor was also integrated in this facility. It had 9 nuclear reactors and 5 plutonium processing complexes. Back in the days the waste treatment and disposal etiquettes were not as polished as they are today hence the reactor left huge amounts, as much as 70,000 containers, of high level radioactive material. The site was decommissioned after the cold war but the 53 million gallons of waste was left behind. The Hanford Site occupies 586 square miles (1,518 km2) and the Columbia River flows along the site for approximately 50 miles, the river is also polluted by the waste. The site is the main focus of the environmental cleanup.
6. Dzerzhinsk
Location: Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia
Dzerzhinsk housed the Soviet Union’s major chemical weapon development facilities dating back to 1941 up till the end of cold war. The story does not end there as Dzerzhinsk is the center for chemical industry housing 38 large industrial corporations. The city is said to be more polluted than Chernobyl itself as up to 300,000 tons of chemical waste was dumped in the city between 1930 and 1998. Many different types of highly toxic and dangerous chemicals were produced in Dzerzhinsk, including lewisite and mustard but the chemicals such as prussic acid, phosgene, and arsenic based weapons that were manufactured here had more devastating effects. In 1965, the production of major chemical weapons was stopped in the area. Most of the material had to be buried due to high arsenic concentrations. The area is one of the main centers for chemical processing in the Russian Federation, producing synthetic ammoniac, fertilizers, and herbicides producing over 1,000 different products. Water supply is contaminated with many toxins and the phenol levels are reportedly seventeen million times the safe limit. According to a report by Blacksmith Institute the life expectancy was reported to be 42 for men and 47 for women. However the city administrations states otherwise claiming it to be around 64.
5. Dharavi
Location: Mumbai, India
Dharavi is sandwiched between Mahim and Sion. The slum was used for a famous movie, “Slum dog Millionaire” and is one of the largest shanty town of Asia. The city of Mumbai can be a bit expensive for residents and Dharavi provides the answer. However it is illegal but people still live there. The slum covers 175 hectares of area and has rents as low as 85 Rs (4 dollars). Due to lack of facilities the slum is highly polluted. It is reorted to have 1 toilet for 144 residents. Most of the people urinate and defecate in the Mahim Creek leading to the spread of many contagious diseases. The area also suffers from problems with inadequate water supply. The stench of Dharavi is horrible and many open sewers exist in the area. Dharavi was featured in the 2008 award winning film Slumdog Millionaire. The Indian government has released plans for a redevelopment project, which aims to transform the giant slum into a self-sustaining urban community.
4. Linfen
Location: Shanxi Province, China
With population reaching up to 42 million the region is polluted due to the huge amounts of coal burning power plants. Due to this the air is smoggy and full of dust. Linfen is situated along the banks of the Fen River in southern Shanxi province, People’s Republic of China. The Chinese government has received pressure from the local media and environmental agencies to help clean up the city. Reports of respiratory illness in children are also high in Linfen. The residents of the city have to wear face protection during the day, it is said that at times it is even hard to see your own hand because the air is so polluted. Headlights are needed constantly. The people are now accustomed to being covered before leaving their homes. In the past couple years Beijing officials have ordered strict policy changes, but as one plant is targeted and shut down, another one opens up illegally. A child with a repertory illness has a life expediency 10 years shorter than average. The Fen River near Linfen, the source of drinking water for millions, is an open sewer. International studies have also suggested that the rate of arsenic poisoning is very high in the Shanxi province and life expediency is lower than the Chinese average.
3. Room 39
Location: Pyongyang, North Korea
Room 39 is a clandestine government organization located somewhere in North Korea as nobody knows for sure where it actually exists. It is said though that maybe it might be operating from Pyongyang. Room 39 was established in the late 1970s and has been described as the head of North Korea’s “court economy” centered on the Kim family and being a slush fund. Room 39 has been accused of conducting illegal activities such as drug smuggling, weapons sales, sale of nuclear weapons secrets and money laundering. U.s accused Room 39 that they sold military technology so that North Korea can obtain foreign currency; naturally North Korea denied the accusation. It is also one of the most dangerous locations in the world, unless you are a high ranking North Korean military official.
2. Mogadishu
Location: Benadir Region of Somalia
Somalia as a country is one of the most unstable region of the world. The country is struggling while the warlords fight each other to the death to gain power. Mogadishu is the largest city in Somalia and the nation’s capital. Until very recent (2006) Islamic Court Union ceased control of the country but the Ethiopian military invaded in an attempt to sieze power. Mogadishu has been the scene of bitter warfare and devastation caused by fighting between the Ethiopian and Somali governments, and Islamist guerrillas. Since there is no stability in the region, it invites foreign predator, unidentified vessels poach an estimated $450 million in seafood from Somali waters annually. The country is also used as a dumping site for nuclear waste material. In 2009 there something unusual happened, a string of suicide bombing took place killing thousands. Things have been downhill ever since and the place is not suitable for tourists either.
1. Cité Soleil
Location: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Cité Soleil is a densely populated shanty town located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area of Haiti. The town has an estimated population of 200,000 to 300,000. Not only is it one of the largest slum but also one of the most dangerous place on earth. There are no sewers or stores or electricity and even the police is a handful in 2004 UN forces invaded in order to take control of the violence but they were not successful. Armed gang members roam the streets and murders, kidnappings and rape are common to that area. On top of all this in 2010 an earthquake hit 16 km left of the town and left the town struggling for its life. It killed over 230,000 and left 1 million without home. It took over 14 days for relief to reach the slum as the roads were destroyed. Crimes reached record time high during this time. Cité Soleil is home to mostly children and young adults. Few residents survive past the age of 50 and most die from disease, including AIDS, or violence. The town lacks basic facilities and is polluted. Foreign travelers are specially targeted for ransom money.
source:r
ealitypod
No comments:
Post a Comment