This Day in History: April 26

Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, April 26.

In 1986, the Chornobyl (or Chernobyl as derived in Russian) nuclear disaster occurs, spreading a trace amount of nuclear toxins across parts of Western Europe and rendering the city of Pripyat and the surrounding areas uninhabitable. The accident happened during a planned test in the middle of the night, as engineers initiated a power-down sequence to conduct a simulation. However, an unexpected amount of power rapidly began to decrease, causing the plant’s coolant system to malfunction when a sudden power spike occurs. This causes an explosion in the reactor, leaking gases and graphite into core areas of the facility, triggering a chain reaction. The next day, thousands of residents in Pripyat were ordered to evacuate, but official word from the Soviet Union wouldn’t arrive for over a month. The last reactor wouldn’t shut down until 14 years later by the end of 2000. While it is safe for people to visit the area with the proper equipment, tourism has been suspended due to the current war in Ukraine as of 2026. It is said the area will be habitable for humans in 20,000 years. However, wildlife has recently been spotted in the area, including horses and wolves.