Natural Devastation: 31 Before-and-After Photos of Disasters

Today, a photo of a forest in Western Hungary is going viral because of what appears to be an optical illusion. It's really a natural disaster.

By Daniel Bonfiglio

Published 6 months ago in Wow

Today, a photo of a forest in Western Hungary is going viral because of what appears to be an optical illusion. The bottom half of each tree is covered in red, and that red comes up to precisely the same height for all of them. Despite looking Photoshopped, the image actually comes from the aftermath of a 2010 accident at the Ajkai Timföldgyár alumina, an aluminum oxide plant. A corner wall of a waste-retaining pond broke, releasing a torrent of toxic red sludge down a local stream. That stream then flooded much of the nearby area, coating everything from foliage to houses in a red hue.

The aftermath of that disaster is pretty striking, but it is hardy the most destructive disaster in human history. A few of those are included on this collection of before and after photos; showcasing the harrowing destruction both humans and mother nature can cause.

1
Paraquita Bay, (British Virgin Islands), before and after Hurricane Irma.

3
The cultural center in abandoned Pripyat, near Chernobyl.
4

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7
Cat Island before and after BP oil spill.

8
Before and after 2016 Italian Earthquake.
9
10
2016 Louisiana flood.

11
Exxon Valdez oil spill, 35 years later.
12
Before and after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
13

14
Home on the island of Dominica after Hurricane Maria.
15
Japan’s Fukushima earthquake and tsunami.
16

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18
The Chernobyl reactor.
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20
Deep Water Horizon oil rig.
21
22
The Bhopal Disaster in India.

26
Triangle shirtwaist factory.
27
28
Beirut explosion.

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On October 4, 2010, an accident occurred at the Ajkai Timföldgyár alumina, (aluminum oxide), plant in western Hungary. A corner wall of a waste-retaining pond broke, releasing a torrent of toxic red sludge down a local stream.
31
An aerial view of the area.