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Chernobyl
Before 1986, Chernobyl was an obscure city in the Ukraine. Following an explosion in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, this city would be forever known as site of the world's worst nuclear accident. Technicians managed to overheat reactor #4 during an experiment, causing explosions that destroyed the reactor building and released radioactive material into the atmosphere for 10 days.
Exposure to massive amounts of radiation killed 32 people initially. The Ukrainian government now says hundreds of thousands of people suffer from sickness related to the disaster. In the years following the accident , 210,000 people were resettled into less contaminated areas. Most of the radiation fell onto Belarus. Ten years later, children are still being born with stumps for limbs and no eyes. More than 600,000 people involved with the cleanup are now dead or dying. Soviet Union President Gorbachev gave this message to his countrymen: "Good evening, comrades. All of you know that there has been an incredible misfortune -- the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant. It has painfully affected the Soviet people, and shocked the international community. For the first time, we confront the real force of nuclear energy, out of control." Reactor #4 is now sealed underneath a giant concrete bunker, however this is a temporary plan at best. The shield is already in need of expensive maintenance and is not considered to be a permanent solution. Oddly enough, the Ukranian word chornobyl means "wormwood." This fact prompted believers in Biblical prophecy to interpret the nuclear crisis as the fulfillment of events described in Revelation 8:11.
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