All language subtitles for Abandoned.Engineering.S06E05.The.Worlds.Strangest.Disaster.Zones.Pt1.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-squalor_track3_[eng]

Tom ward (narrates): A bizarre
and treacherous landscape

where people settled
despite the untold risks.

These colours are psychedelic,

these are danger signs,

these are warning
signs, it feels unnatural.

An idyllic tropical island
that felt the full force of nature.

On the radio they announced
what was happening

and people couldn't
quite believe it.

This hadn't happened
in nearly 300 years.

No-one was really
taking it seriously

it took the whole
island by surprise.

A ghost fleet laying
stranded in the desert sands.

It's a very odd thing
seeing a boat in the desert,

a boat is,

is an indicative sign of water

but then you look around
and there's none available.

And a collection of
battered structures

which are revealing
mother nature's secrets.

An entrance gate collapsed,

a running track
twisted and cracked

and then it starts to dawn on
you this place was a school.

Crumbling remains.

And ruins of lost worlds.

They were shaped
by extraordinary events

and are now haunted by the past.

Their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

In Ethiopia's
northern afar region

a supernatural landscape
is fraught with dangers.

This is one of the most
otherworldly places on planet earth.

This strange landscape
completely devoid

of any sign of
plant or animal life,

strange colours, pools
of iridescent water,

fumaroles, hot Springs,

there's really nothing
else quite like it.

It's an alien landscape

where yellow
green and red colour

these mystical
geological formations.

This place is really a furnace,

there's no shade to be
found for miles there's,

there's no vegetation

and you've got the sun
beating down on you,

it really is a hot bed.

You would never imagine
finding people here,

yet there are signs of life.

Rising up out of this
strange blasted landscape

you see the ruins of
some kind of community,

you see some, some
houses, broken down trucks,

some pipes,

bits of infrastructure

but everything kind of
encrusted and growing

right out of the material that
makes up the ground itself.

Today the village looks
desolate and abandoned

but at one particular time

there was a group of
people determined enough

to make this their home.

It's nicknamed the
land of the dead,

life can barely survive here

so why one earth would
anyone build a village here?

Worku kebede is a local guide

who is an expert on
this dangerous place.

So, this is afar,

we have a really
brutal geology here

so we come across
a lot of skeletons.

It's one of the lowest and
hottest places in the world,

it's around 400
feet below sea level.

The Mercury here can sky rocket
to almost 50 degrees celsius.

But it isn't just the temperatures
that make this location so hostile.

You walk around this area

you can hear the,
the sort of salty crust,

er, crumble under your feet
in fact it's quite dangerous

as you get close
to some of these,

er, stagnant pools they can
be, er, a ph of one or less,

they can be just
like sulphuric acid

and so there is a danger

that if your foot
falls through the crus

you can actually burn your skin

so it's, it's quite a
stark environment.

It's part of a rift
valley system

where two tectonic plates
are essentially pulling apart

and the earth is literally
getting ripped open.

Yet flanked by steaming fishers

lay the shattered
remains of a settlement,

this is the town of deloll.

So, there's no much to see here

but there are clues as to
what happened in the past.

There's buildings,
there's bits of machinery,

there's bits of
material on the ground

that was evidence that
people were living here,

what a place to live.

The answer lies
beneath your feet.

This crazy landscape where
biology keeps in to chemistry

is clearly why man came here.

This is the,

the location where
you have a volcano

is actually erupting through
all of these salty layers.

That interacts with that bedrock

and it starts to
dissolve the salt

and you get really
remarkable erm,

acidic hydrothermal fluids.

It's laden with all kinds
of chemicals and salts

and that's what causes

all these strange
colours and pools

and geysers and
fumaroles that you see.

It's a chemical wonderland.

And there was one element
in dalol's chemical cauldron

that was in demand
around the whole world.

There is one particular mineral
deposit known as pot ash

which is a mish mash
of various chemicals

but it has a lot
of potassium in it.

It's almost unique

to have such
concentrations of pot ash

actually at the earth's surface.

And without much processing

you can literally scrape the
pot ash off the earth's surface.

Pot ash this amazing thing

that we use in fertilisers
and other chemical reactions

and here it is on the
surface of the earth.

In 1912,

two Italian adventurers obtained
the first pot ash mining concession

and industrial excavation
of this precious resource

soon began.

There was a big
demand for the pot ash,

agriculture was increasing
around the world,

there's a big
demand for fertiliser

so more workers began
to flood in to this community

to be part of this operation.

Once here they built
houses however they could.

The people who came
here to dig the mines

lived in houses like this.

Which they built
from local salt rock.

In such a harsh
and remote location

everything including
drinking water

had to be bought
across the parched land.

But the mining community
in dalol prospered.

Here you can see a generator
that was used for water

and the wires they
used for electricity.

The blistering heat and
unstable earth below

didn't deter those
seeking their fortunes.

Soon larger companies followed

and in 1945

a 45 mile long
railway line was built

to transport the
precious pot ash

to the port of mersa
fatma in modern eritraya.

The railway really
opened up production

and it also opened up
the town to other people.

At it's peak 50,000
tonnes were being mined,

this was a place of opportunity,

a place where
fortunes could be made.

Pot ash flowed out of dalol

but the working
conditions were punishing.

There's acidic
waters floating around,

you've got sort
of noxious fumes.

Er, salty fluids getting
in to your hands.

The miners were working
in the hottest place on earth.

This had to have been a
perilous environment at best.

Still the potential of
what could be found here,

what could be extracted
outweighed the risks.

They developed a
thriving little operation

but it wasn't going to last.

The unrelenting heat

and the risk of
volcanic disaster

threatened to shatter dalol.

But in the end it's decline was
driven by changing economics

following the first world war.

It became easier to get pot ash

from different sources
in Germany and the usa.

The minute the global market
for pot ash changes slightly

all of a sudden you're
tipped from profit to non profit

and when there's no profit
people leave very very quickly.

Since then various
international operators

have tried to exploit
the rich resources

that lie under the
baking Ethiopian sun.

But mother nature was
always against them.

It is no surprise

that the word dalol itself
means disintegration.

Anything that's
metal is rusting,

you've only got to go and see
what's happened to a Land Rover

or another truck
that's only been there

for, for a few tens of years
and it is literally in pieces,

the place is
horrible place to live.

Mother nature didn't
set up this environment

to be friendly to be humans

and I think it took a few decades
but humans eventually got the hint.

Though the village lies
desolate and abandoned now,

not all the mining in
the area has stopped.

There's no longer

any industrial mining
of these resources

but people from
the local afar tribe

will often come
in often at night

with camel caravans and
carve out large slabs of salt,

load them on their camels
and take them out to market.

When you look at
ruins like this village

it really does bring home

how determined humans
are to exploit the environment,

how determined we
are to make money

to create wealth
wherever that should be.

And visiting dalol is
still fraught with dangers

old and new.

Just 60 miles from venice

in the mountains of northern
Italy is a mystifying sight.

Looming above the
town of longoronay,

one of the world's tallest dams

appears to be holding back
nothing but empty space.

In the aftermath
of world war two

Italy turned to hydro electricity
to power it's shattered industries.

Hydro electric power

is incredibly attractive
in a mountainous region

because if you can
have a tight valley

and you can trap water high up

you've suddenly got
that ability for that water

to move down hill very quickly
and generate free electricity.

Engineers constructed
the vajont dam.

It was the centre piece

of an ambitious
hydroelectric network

that would bring energy to
the cities of northern Italy.

And in 1960

the three mile long
reservoir behind it

was filled with water.

Throughout the construction
of the vajont dam,

there were repeated warnings

both from locals
and expert geologists

that the mountain behind the
dam was extremely unstable.

When you're filling the dam
up with water it's a lot of weight,

a lot of pressure
that's being exerted

on the sides of the valley.

On the 9th of October
1963 they were proved right.

Over nine billion cubic feet of rock
broke away from the mountainside

and hurtled in to
the reservoir below.

It wasn't just a mass of earth
that slid away in to the reservoir,

it was the ferocious
speed at which it came.

45 seconds for effectively

half of the mountainside
to drop in to the water.

The landslide pushed a
Tsunami of water over the dam

and down the gorge
towards longarone.

The force down
such a tight gorge,

it displaced all of that air

and it was almost
like a shockwave of air

hit the village directly
before the water did

and started destroying
some of the buildings.

Next minute a wall
of water hits you,

it's got rocks in it,
it's got trees in it,

it is like liquid sandpaper and
it just wipes the village clean.

The town was obliterated and
nearly 2,000 people were killed.

The tragic irony of this story

is that whilst the
villages below the dam

were completely destroyed
by the onrush of water,

the dam itself remained
completely intact.

However with the reservoir
packed full of debris

this mighty construction
was abandoned.

Today the vajont dam

remains a testament
to the dangers

of underestimating
the forces of nature.

From an engineering perspective

the vajont dam
should have become

one of the most
impressive dams in history,

instead it's become
one of the most infamous.

On the lush Caribbean
island of monserrat,

a once idyllic retreat was
built right in the firing line.

The hills level out in to coves

and the beaches
give way to forests.

There's a quiet rugged
beauty to this place.

Large houses
nestle in the hillside

and the views must be amazing
for the people who live there,

it feels like an exclusive
private island resort.

This island is so
lush and green,

you can see thick forest

and mountain ranges
reaching right up to the clouds,

you can clearly see

why it's been called
the emerald isle.

The devastation
wrought on this site

was not confined
to a single area.

But a vast tract of the island.

There's a variety of different
types of buildings and,

and in them you can see

things like government
documents are lying around.

One is round with many
rooms and beds inside,

another is full of
office equipment,

another you realise is
part of a shopping centre.

There's bits of infrastructure
lying absolutely everywhere.

Amongst all the decay you
can see all these buildings

once had opulence.

However lived here,
used to live the high life.

It feels as though
everyone left in a rush.

There's crockery on the tables,

video tapes were
left on the floor,

important documents
are left on desks.

What caused everyone to
leave in such incredible hurry?

More and more buildings
reveal themselves

all equally annihilated,

this isn't just a few
houses on a hillside

that have been destroyed,
this is a whole town.

Taking a closer look

reveals a clue as to
what happened here.

When you look all around

there's a grey
material on the ground,

it seems to have silted
up all of the buildings

and covered the whole
area in a grey Sandy material.

Just ten miles long and
less than seven miles wide,

this is the tiny
island of monserrat.

Local guide Norman cassell

is one of the few
remaining residents.

He remembers the
island's capital Plymouth

before disaster struck.

Plymouth was
really a special place.

It could have been a
hustly and bustling town

but it was always still

a bit of a relaxed
atmosphere here.

Plymouth now lies within
a perilous exclusion zone.

Getting in to this
area is not easy

and it gives you some sense of

just how serious
this disaster was

and how it hasn't
ended, it's still ongoing.

This was a main road

leading right in to the
centre of Plymouth.

The capital's
wrecked infrastructure

serves as an eerie
reminder of it's lively past.

A lot of the business people

stayed at the
flora fountain hotel

because of it's
location in Plymouth

and so it was very popular
with the business folk.

25% of this small nations
economy came from tourism.

This was just a wonderful place.

The rich and famous
gathered here,

people from different
parts of the world.

For conferences,
parties, weddings.

And now they all gone.

The grey ash that coats Plymouth

provides the answer
to what happened here.

This is the soufriere volcano.

It looms over the former capital

and the whole of
southern Montserrat.

It has been dormant
for more than 300 years.

The islanders had
almost forgotten about it,

it had never occurred to them

that it would stir at all let
alone emit steam and ash.

On the radio they announced
what was happening

and people couldn't
quite believe it,

this hadn't happened
in nearly 300 years.

No-one was really
taking it seriously,

it took the whole
island by surprise.

Well it started out with us
hearing this sound like jet engines.

People thought like for
me I was wondering if erm,

was there something
going on with the,

the us government
because there were times

when we would see
low flying fighter jets,

f18's, f16's skirting
around these areas

and we were
saying well it must be

those Navy or air force
planes that are flying low.

But then it was so constant
so people were saying

wonder what's happening
and then it sounded

that it was coming
from the hills.

In June 1995,

the soufriere hills
volcano burst into life.

What we never knew

that it was the initial
cracking of the rocks

and the steam venting

which created that sound

until there were a few bits

of black ash dusting areas

and it is after that
that it was final,

that it was actually vol,
the start of volcanic activity.

Compared to other
volcanic events

the 95 eruption
was relatively tame,

the earth's fiery magma had
not yet reached the surface.

These are eruptions which occur

when magma meets ground water

and flashes that to steam

and it can break open
and break open the rocks

and make sort of, big
thunder clap noises.

It also spewed out so much ash

that Plymouth was
plunged into darkness.

My goodness at times it
was like turning day into night,

you can put your hand
in front of your face

and you couldn't see
your hand it was that dark.

As the first layer of ash
coated everything in it's path,

scientists flew in
from all over the world

to figure out what the
volcano would do next.

Seismologist Roderick
Stewart was one of them.

When I first came here I
was basically full of questions,

trying to find out what was
going on and things and,

and this is a type of volcano
that can change very quickly

from looking very calm
to being very dangerous.

A month after
that first eruption,

the activity increased

and scientists felt

that they could no
longer guarantee

the safety of the people
in that part of the island.

Plymouth lay in
direct line of fire

so residents were evacuated
to the north of monserrat

out of the volcanoes
deadly range.

Many of these structures

are the remnants of
their abandoned homes.

Your home

was your pride and
joy in Montserrat,

you can see all these
buildings on the slopes,

all beyond, all these
abandoned buildings,

billions of dollars of
people's sweat and tears.

But many could not be persuaded
to leave their homes behind.

Every day the residents had
to make a difficult decision.

Stay and watch your
business collapse

or leave and save your life.

The islanders managed
to live with the volcano

and despite the exclusion zone

returned to as much of
a normal life as possible.

Everyone understood the
risks and chose to live with them.

While Plymouth had been
covered in a layer of ash,

the volcano hadn't
yet released any lava.

But the scientists feared
the worst was yet to come.

The lava that comes out
of this volcano is so viscous

that it cannot form a lava flow,

so it just comes out

and it stays at the
top of the volcano

and it builds for what
we call a lava dome.

The lava dome blocked
the mouth of the volcano,

effectively a plug sitting on
top of an unstoppable force.

The question was how
long would it stay in place?

Many residents had
already been evacuated

but some chose to play
a deadly game of chance.

Some people
started to defy orders

and go back to the
strict exclusion zone.

With the volcano's cone
blocked by solidified lava,

pressurised magma

had been building up
deep within it's core.

June 1997

the volcano finally
unleashed it's full fury.

It got to a point where
it couldn't sustain itself,

it, it collapsed with
a major eruption.

June 25th, er, 1997
when folks lost their lives,

those were some, some of
the longest days of my life.

As acting airport manager,

Norman cassell witnessed
the terrible events unfolding.

It was almost like

a continuous set
of pyroclastic flows.

Pulse after pulse

and then there was some
larger and larger ones

and the scientists sounded the
siren for evacuating the airport.

You've got an avalanche

of pulverised lava
and ash and gas.

They travel very very fast

and they basically just
smash everything in their way

so they are very very dangerous.

You saw the clear
line of demarcation

where that pyroclastic
flow came down

and struck these buildings.

But then the hospital

and those other buildings high
up on the slope were untouched.

So, it just amazing

how different parts of Plymouth
were just devastated in a way

and then others
were just left standing.

Millions of tonnes of
ash were deposited

across a vast area

filling all the valleys
and river beds.

For the residents who
had returned to their homes,

the results were deadly.

As it got later
towards evening and...

She walked all
through those hills

and came and she
met us down below here

and she said you know I'm
the only one who made it.

There were some other staff

who had gone up there

and never saw them again.

Sorry.

Over the next four months

the volcano exploded 75 times

burying Plymouth in layer
upon layer of super heated ash.

At one point there
was a pyroclastic flow

which came and hit the
parliament building at the back

and started a fire which
lit most of these buildings.

If you look below here you can
see some of the charred remains.

At that stage when they
saw Plymouth burning,

that was when folks knew

that it is we're not going back
to the Plymouth that we knew.

The pyroclastic
flows finally stopped

but that wasn't the
end of the tragedy.

Montserrat's wet
tropical climate

would soon deliver another blow.

Many of the structures aren't
buried in lava rock or ash

but mud set hard as concrete.

So, what happened?

When it rains it forms mud flows

which pick up all this material

and they've got immense power
and they can bring boulders down,

they can bring trees down.

So, Plymouth now is
almost totally buried.

Over the years the
lower sections were filled

and then it goes
higher and higher

and eventually it covers
completely some of these buildings.

The city was now
permanently evacuated

and left as a ghost town.

The soufriere hills
volcano slumbers, for now.

But it's affects are still
being felt to this day.

So, where you had

within Plymouth
and it's environments

thousands of households,

having to leave this
area and migrate

that's what really
broke the camels back

as people decided at that stage

they had to migrate overseas

and so the population
went from over 10,000

at one point down to 2,500

and now it's about 4,900 plus.

Away from the
destruction in the south,

the north of Montserrat is
beginning to show signs of recovery

beyond the volcano's
deadly reach.

The population is growing,
it's about 5,000 now,

tourism has picked up,

these are tough folks

and they're determined
to survive and thrive

even if they have to have
a monster for a neighbour.

In Uzbekistan,

a barren desert landscape
is not quite what it seems.

Over 40 miles from
the nearest shoreline

this stranded ghost fleet
feels a long way from home.

It's a very odd thing
seeing a boat in the desert.

A boat is, is an
indicative sign of water

then you look around
and there's none available.

But a clue on the town's signs

suggests those vessels
do in fact belong here.

So, what extraordinary event
created this bizarre scene?

In the 1960s

the town of moynaq sat
on the earth of the aral sea,

the world's 4th largest
body of inland water.

Almas tovashiv was
one of the many employed

in the booming
local fishing industry.

More than 200 vessels

were engaged in
the fishing industry

and over 100 vessels

were transporting fish
to the fish canning factory

where 1,200 people worked

and annually produced
up to 12 million cans of fish.

But by 1990 all the
fishing here had stopped.

Somehow the sea
had become a desert.

People understood
that there was less water,

there was not even water
for watering the gardens

or for use on the farms.

Incredibly the
cause of this disaster

was man made.

The aral sea was
fed by two rivers.

But when Uzbekistan's
Soviet rulers

decided to prioritise
cotton production,

they diverted that
water away from here.

It had devastating consequences.

It was ecological suicide

because once they took all
the water out of those rivers

there wasn't enough
water to feed the aral sea,

in this hot environment
it's sunny most of the time,

there's a lot of evaporation

without water
continuing to flow in to it

the aral sea began to evaporate.

In just 30 years the
sea level dropped

by nearly 17 metres

and in places the shoreline
receded by almost 100 miles.

Today a third of the
sea bed is exposed

uncovering a layer of dust,

salt and the toxic
residues of pesticides.

This poisonous mixture

is just waiting to be swept
up by the next strong breeze.

Off the coast of mainland China

in central Taiwan

an empty structure sits
covered with intricate sculptures.

You come across these
highly decorative doors,

these ornate statues
and these dragons.

Looking over to this temple,

this wonderful holy building

it looks incredible doesn't it

but as you look further down
you realise it's collapsed,

it's all over the place.

It's been completely destroyed,

there's rubble
strewn everywhere.

This is wuchang
temple in the town of gigi,

it's almost intact roof
draped over the rubble below.

And when you look inside

you see smashed
concrete and leaning pillars,

almost like it's been
pulverised from the inside.

Yet for some reason this
ruin has been preserved.

It has become a memorial,

pilgrims visit and legends
swirl around the temple.

What forces were at play here?

Were they purely natural

or did something more
sinister take it's toll?

Wuchang temple is not
as ancient as it appears.

Built in 1923

this isn't the only
structure on the island

that displays terrible damage.

15 miles away in tai chung city,

an even younger
building lies in ruins.

You see a three storey building

with floors collapsed in

and what looked like
rooms of varying sizes,

it actually looks like
quite a functional building

but as you really peer in to it

you begin to see
what looked like chairs

and even blackboards.

An entrance gate collapsed,

a running track
twisted and cracked

and then it starts to dawn on
you this place was a school,

you only hope the
children weren't inside

when this
destruction took place.

This is guangfu
junior high school.

Many in Taiwan remember the day

that bought devastation
to the school and temple.

For luo weizhen,

September the 21st 1999

was a day that
changed his life forever.

I got back home around 11,

I went for a shower and
prepared to go to sleep.

Around 1am I suddenly
felt a severe headache.

Then I felt like I was eating
rocks, I was buried alive.

I thought was this
the communists?

Historically Taiwan
has had a complex

and tense relationship
with mainland China

so at first many people thought

that China's communist party

had launched a
military strike against...

What force decimated
these buildings?

Were the communists of
mainland China really to blame?

As luo weizhen made
his way out of the rubble

a different picture
began to emerge.

I climbed out of the ruins
and saw everyone was crying.

Then because there were aftershocks
all of the houses kept shaking.

Taiwan had not been hit
by a communist military strike

but a major earthquake.

Roads buckled,

Bridges collapsed

and landslides diverted rivers

causing formations of
completely new lakes.

The earthquake triggered a
process known as liquefaction,

soil became almost
fluid leading to mud flows,

land slides and avalanches.

In and amongst
these rolling hills

that almost looked like

they've been crumpled
up like a carpet,

you can see these buildings

that seem like they've
been sucked down

in to the earth.

As many as 2,500
thousand people were killed

and 300,000 people
were made homeless.

In Taiwan this was the
second deadliest earthquake

in recorded history,

it exposed nationwide
short comings

in the building and
construction industry.

Taiwan's construction industry
really took off in the 1990s,

there was a massive
boom in building

and what we're looking at here

is what happens
when design codes

and factors of safety,

they're paired down
to the minimum.

Lessons had to be learned.

Actually the 921 earthquake

is a collective pain
shared in Taiwan.

Even if we tried to forget it,
it's a lesson, a lesson in history.

We hope our government
will enforce education

and raise awareness
about natural disasters.

How to take preventative
measures and adapt.

Incredibly Taiwan has

between 20 and 30,000
earthquakes annually.

Only 20 to 30 of these
are strong enough

for people to actually feel

but it really highlights
the need to prepare

for future generations

so they don't suffer
in these events.

And the 921 earthquake

as it became known

offered a great opportunity
to do exactly that.

In 1996

a vast network of detectors

had been installed
across the country,

they collected huge
amounts of data.

It was the first
earthquake in history

to be recorded in
such precise detail.

Before the
earthquake was crucial

in informing the country
about earthquakes

and preventative measures.

It bought about huge change.

Chloe huang works
as a guide at this school

now preserved as a memorial.

The classroom was
built right on the faultline.

And this road was
built along the faultline.

As you can see

the impact these buildings
suffered was absolutely huge.

But the school
offers something else,

something totally unique.

This is one of
the fault lines in...

It strikes past the
playground of the school,

you can see here

there used to be a running track

but the track here
has been lifted up.

As the two plates
along this boundary

pulled apart and lifted up
the school was torn in half.

This was the first time
an earthquake fault line

could be seen and
analysed in such detail.

The running track also
protects the exposed fault line

from further erosion.

This was a huge moment
in the research of seismology

and the development
of earthquake proof

engineering and construction.

So, out of this massive disaster

came great civil
engineering challenge,

how do we keep
people safe in the future?

It was the dawn of a new era,

although the unstoppable
forces of nature

had taken a devastating toll,

Taiwan would choose
to tackle them head on.

The wreckage and
destruction sparked a new era

in research and
civil engineering.

The piece d'resistance was this.

Taipei 101 opened in 2004

and it was a real
statement to the world.

But to an extent

it was also thumbing it's
nose at mother nature saying

we can take whatever
you've got to throw at us

and they even built

some of the stories
in the pagoda style.

We're talking about

what was the highest
skyscraper in the world at the time.

It still represents a marvel
of cutting edge design,

it has isolators,

dampers and a shock absorber

that sits between the
88th and 92nd floor.

So, when the building sways

these dampers absorb

all of that earthquake
energy and reduce vibration.

In gigi the wuchang temple
sits frozen in it's destruction.

Like Taipei 101

it's design was inspired by
the ancient wooden pagoda's

found across this region.

As with many of
Taiwan's buildings

it's designers hadn't accounted

for the full potential of
earth's tectonic forces.

When the 921 earthquake
struck it collapsed in to the dust.

Today many still bear the
scars of that infamous day.

I haven't slept
well for 20 years,

the aftershocks remain,

they remain in our hearts.

And like all Taiwanese people
he's ready for the next warning.

When the government's
sensors pick up an earthquake,

a message is instantly sent to
everyone's phone in the system

it tells them where
the epicentre is

and it tells them the
magnitude of the quake

so they've got time to prepare

so it's a very sophisticated
government warning system

and it's a culture
that is preparing itself

for the worst.

Now they are abandoned
crumbling ruins,

many remind us of dark times

but some were once
beacons of hope and progress,

lasting testimonies
to human imagination,

enterprise and spirit.

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