Chernobyl is a city in northern Ukraine, known for the nuclear power plant disaster that occurred there in 1986. On April 26th of that year, a reactor at the power plant exploded and released a large amount of radioactive material into the environment. The disaster caused immediate deaths and long-term health problems for those exposed to the radiation, and also led to the evacuation and subsequent abandonment of the city of Pripyat, located nearby. The Chernobyl disaster is considered one of the worst nuclear accidents in history.
