Original subtitles

Narrator: annihilated, Contaminated,

Or simply abandoned In the furthest reaches

Of the planet.

Some of the buildings look As thought they're clinging on

To the rock for dear life.

If you walk out Of the front door,

It's just a sheer drop.

Nusbacher: This is one of the most Inhospitable places on earth.

Why would you build this?

Narrator: casualties of war, Natural disasters,

Narrator: casualties of war, Natural disasters,

Or events far more surprising.

What was left behind Was so strange and eerie.

This town was now covered In a layer

Of something really mysterious.

It's the victim of something That most of us

Couldn't believe could happen.

Narrator: these are the world's 10 strangest ghost towns.

Engineering marvels Now abandoned,

Engineering marvels Now abandoned,

Ruins shrouded in mystery.

Within these decaying structures Are the echoes of history.

They speak of death And destruction,

But also human ingenuity And endeavor.

Each haunted shell Ready to be unmasked

And tell its own unique story.

-- captions by vitac -- Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

*

*

The earth is littered With eerie ghost towns,

And 10 sites still baffle The modern world.

The first of these is found In the heartlands of argentina.

Gough: it looks like A post-apocalyptic landscape.

The only access is down This pothole track.

The only access is down This pothole track.

It really gives you This feeling of, you know,

"This place is creepy."

Meigs: everything Is dusted with white,

The remnants of trees Look like something fossilized.

You really can't tell What created this strange ruin.

Somara: It has this really eerie, Ghostly feel to it --

Staircases that lead to nowhere Or kind of corroded structures.

Staircases that lead to nowhere Or kind of corroded structures.

Narrator: The tortuous landscape holds the Secrets of what this place was.

But the real clue To the town's demise

Is the white substance That clings to every surface.

Gough: you know, it looks like It could be ash.

You have to wonder, you know, Was it bombed?

If so, why? By who? Did anyone survive?

What happened here?

Meigs: there was swimming pools,

And you can see the remnants Of cafés and hotels.

And you can see the remnants Of cafés and hotels.

So, clearly, this was not a, You know, a military site

Or something like that.

It was, apparently, A lovely place in its day.

Narrator: so was this place Burnt to the ground

Or could that white substance

Reveal an altogether Stranger ending?

*

Today, the streets appear Haunted and desolate.

Today, the streets appear Haunted and desolate.

But while this place remains Largely abandoned, incredibly,

One man still dares To call this ghost town home.

*

I am pablo novak, the only Resident left in the ruins.

I was born here, My two brothers also.

On the 25th of january I turned 88 years old.

On the 25th of january I turned 88 years old.

Narrator: bravely refusing To accept defeat,

Pablo was the only resident Unwilling to flee the area.

Novak: I stayed, and I was sure someone Would come back eventually.

It used to be so famous.

So many people used to come From all over.

Narrator: with the town's Origins back in the 1920s,

Narrator: with the town's Origins back in the 1920s,

What appears scarred And torn today

Was once seen as A luxurious retreat

That catered to the elite Of buenos aires.

For decades, these streets Were filled with people

Escaping the city.

Meigs: by the mid 20th century,

It had grown into A lovely little resort.

You would have as many as 25,000 People a year coming to visit.

Narrator: What they all came in search of Is still visible today --

Narrator: What they all came in search of Is still visible today --

The legendary waters Of a nearby lake

And spring that have since Crept into the heart

Of the settlement.

This is all that remains Of the town of villa epecuen.

*

Meigs: Throughout history, humans have Gravitated towards hot springs,

Waters with a lot of minerals In them

Waters with a lot of minerals In them

With the idea that this Is good for your health.

The therapeutic powers Of the lake

Had been famous for centuries

And it is said that the spring Could cure

All sorts of things From depression to rheumatism.

Somara: it started off As a sleepy village

But then grew to this Bustling tourist resort.

Narrator: But while the belief in the Healing power of the water

Drew people in,

Few recognized the truth Destructive force it contained.

Few recognized the truth Destructive force it contained.

So the town kept on growing With hotels for the visitors,

A slaughterhouse To feed everyone,

And all kinds of attractions.

Novak: this was started as a [speaks native language]

A dance hall.

And because the room was small And lots of people came,

They also used it for a theater.

The theater companies coming From buenos aires.

The theater companies coming From buenos aires.

Narrator: The town was flourishing.

The growth appeared sustainable.

But disaster Was about to strike.

In november, 1985, It started to rain,

And the thing is It never stopped.

The rainfall Was reaching record levels,

And the lake was threaten To burst its banks.

Narrator: The very thing that was This town's lifeline

Narrator: The very thing that was This town's lifeline

Was about To become its downfall.

Jerram: a particular problem Where you have big water bodies

That are bound by land Is a phenomenon called a seiche,

And it's very much like When you're in a bath.

You know, you're sort of playing Around in the bath

And occasionally...

Up in your face, You get this freak wave,

And that's because You got all of these

Different waves interacting, And eventually

They all come together And make a much larger wave,

And that's thought to be what Caused the demise

Of the flood defenses In this particular town,

Of the flood defenses In this particular town,

And once the flooding started,

Then essentially the sort -- The floodgates were open.

Narrator: the towns occupants Had no choice

But to head to higher ground.

Meigs: Fortunately for the residents, The water rose slowly enough

They had time to get out But not a lot of time.

So 1,500 people just had To pack up

And move in a matter of days.

Gough: The flood waters gradually, Slowly consumed the entire town,

Gough: The flood waters gradually, Slowly consumed the entire town,

And by 1993 it was submerged Under 30 feet of water,

Effectively becoming A modern-day atlantis.

*

Everything that you can see now Hadn't been seen for 20 years.

Narrator: Over the course of decades,

The water slowly Began to recede.

However, instead of showing Its supposed healing powers,

It has inflicted A lasting scar upon the land.

Meigs: when the town Was exposed again,

Of course a lot of The buildings had collapsed,

But everything was covered with This eerie coating of white.

Gough: and the twist is This highly saline water

Left the town covered In a thick layer of salt,

Left the town covered In a thick layer of salt,

Giving it this unique appearance

As though its been bombed And overed in ash.

Meigs: The same minerals that had drawn People to the hot springs

To soak their aches And pains away now coated

All the buildings Of the village.

*

Narrator: with the remains Of villa epecuen now

Standing above water once more, It feels like the worst is over.

Standing above water once more, It feels like the worst is over.

But pablo is still battling To remain here.

Novak: when I turned 70, My daughters gave me money

'cause they thought I couldn't Live here alone anymore.

But I'm 88 now and still here, And as long as I can walk, talk,

And have a good memory, I will stay here.

And have a good memory, I will stay here.

*

Narrator: At the other end of the americas Lies our next abandoned town,

At the base of a rugged, Steep-sided gorge

In the mountain state Of west virginia.

*

Jerram: the town itself Is set sort of deep

Within a sort of risen gorge,

And so in some ways It's kind of almost protected

By the rocks Around it quite hidden.

By the rocks Around it quite hidden.

Narrator: despite the feeling Of isolation,

It's a strangely familiar scene.

Meigs: you kind of feel like You're walking into a movie set

From a late 19th-century, Early 20th-century scene

Where maybe there should be Some poker dealers,

Maybe a few ladies Of ill repute.

Jerram: It really is as though people Were there yesterday,

And now things have stopped And they've moved on.

And now things have stopped And they've moved on.

Narrator: a strip of stores Flanking a railway line

Look almost totally intact.

Meigs: it's not like your Typical ghost town

Where everything's falling down Or in ruins.

The buildings look like someone Could move in and fix them up

And turn the lights back on.

Narrator: spooky interiors Reveal gold-lined walls,

Elaborate flooring, And a hefty safe.

Door open as if raided Only yesterday.

Door open as if raided Only yesterday.

Other buildings have Clearly fared less well.

Meigs: when you go up On the hills around thurmond,

You see these Ruined old houses.

They look like something Out of a horror movie.

Narrator: Yet the occasional train Still flashes past,

And clues point To a once bustling town.

Bell: in the distance, Through the mist,

Bell: in the distance, Through the mist,

You can just about make out A strange structure

Protruding above the trees,

And that gives you a clue As to why this town is here.

Narrator: how did this Innocuous-looking place

Become a notorious district That met a suspicious end?

*

Narrator: Deep in the mountains of West virginia is a ghost town.

It's appearance today belies Its once notorious reputation.

Over 100 years ago, This town was thriving as

Leah perkowski of the new river Gorge national park explains.

Perkowski: the overwhelming Feeling for many

Is that it is The end of nowhere,

When in truth In the early 1900s

It was the beginning Of everywhere.

Narrator: the chesapeake and Ohio railway company

Built a depot here in 1904.

With rail the only way In or out of the gorge,

Just two years later there were 36 stops over a 53-mile route,

Just two years later there were 36 stops over a 53-mile route,

And the busiest of them All was this -- thurmond.

Perkowski: thurmond was really A transportation center

As well as a social center For the new river gorge.

You know, There were multiple stores,

Avenues for entertainment, And transportation.

Narrator: hard to imagine now, But up to 20 passenger trains

Narrator: hard to imagine now, But up to 20 passenger trains

Once stopped here every day,

Their engines fueled By the mighty coal station

That still dominates The town today.

*

In 1910 alone, the depot Served 76,000 passengers.

Local newspapers referred to it As "The biggest little town."

Its boom was driven By black gold.

Its boom was driven By black gold.

From the mid-19th century, To the mid-20th century,

The american economy Really ran on coal.

You had the steel industry,

You had coal-powered trains Traveling all over.

All that coal had to be mined,

And the new river gorge was one Of the best places to mine it.

Bell: through the gorge Seams of coal

Have been exposed In the mountainside,

But this isn't just Any ordinary coal.

This is top quality, Smokeless coal.

This is top quality, Smokeless coal.

Narrator: Thurmond's trains enabled This precious resource

To be swiftly moved From the local mines

To customers across america.

And wealth started to flood in.

Jerram: once you've built up A lot of infrastructure,

Then come the banks, Then come the people,

Then come the hotels.

Narrator: the banks here became The wealthiest in the state.

Narrator: the banks here became The wealthiest in the state.

Yet this was very much a railway Town, by its nature transient.

And transience went hand In hand with debauchery.

Meigs: you got all these workers Moving through.

You had all the support staff For mines,

So the town needed everything That a major city would have.

You needed butcher shops And stores and shoe makers,

And they even had A red-light district.

And they even had A red-light district.

Narrator: w.D. Thurmond, Founder of the town,

Ran his territory according To his strict baptist beliefs,

Banning alcohol on his land.

Yet to his dismay, The hotels of his town

Became synonymous with alcohol And much more besides.

The most notorious was located Just across the river.

The dunglen hotel was kind of The hub of everything.

The dunglen hotel was kind of The hub of everything.

Perkowski: And it was pretty extravagant For the time period.

There were three stories, 100 rooms,

A lot of businessmen Stayed there.

Narrator: this was the social Core of the town,

Where coal barons and laborers Alike partied hard.

Around this beating heart Developed

The red-light district.

Bell: The dunglen hotel developed A notorious reputation --

Prostitution, gambling, And, supposedly,

It hosted the longest Poker game ever in history.

Narrator: it was rumored To have lasted 14 years.

As the dunglen became A nationally famous resort,

They flaunted prohibition laws, So police raids were common.

They flaunted prohibition laws, So police raids were common.

But in july 1930, That all came to an end

When the entire building Was burnt to a cinder.

The circumstances Seem suspicious.

In court, it was argued The owner of a rival hotel

Had conspired To burn down the dunglen.

*

There's serval theories Of why the hotel burned,

There's serval theories Of why the hotel burned,

But, really and truly, It is a mystery.

Narrator: thurmond was, In reality, on the decline

Long before this iconic hotel Burnt to the ground.

The effects of prohibition As well

As the rise of the automobile

Was compounded By industrial change.

Meigs: Gradually, technology changed.

There were other ways To mine coal.

Strip mining began to replace The kind of deep underground

Strip mining began to replace The kind of deep underground

Mining that was done In the new river gorge.

So over time, the mines Began to shut down.

The economic high tide Of that era began to recede

And with it went The fortunes of the town.

Narrator: The railroad kept thurmond alive Into the 1950s before

It was struck By yet another blow.

This one proved fatal.

Bell: what truly sealed the fate For thurmond

Bell: what truly sealed the fate For thurmond

Was the arrival Of the diesel engine.

This was a town built Around the steam around.

But now its many rail yards

And repair shops Were rendered obsolete.

Narrator: with little of the Town left around them,

The railroad offices Finally closed in 1984.

*

Today, trains still rumble Through thurmond's

Today, trains still rumble Through thurmond's

Haunting remains --

A distant reminder Of its once bustling past.

Meigs: Thurmond rode the boom and bust Of coal in the united states.

The reasons that a thriving town Grew up in this particular time

And place, those change, And with it, though, the people.

*

*

Narrator: Our next ghost town takes us 7,500 thousand miles away

To the west coast Of namibia in africa

Where a mysterious settlement is Preserved in an arid wasteland.

In the middle of a barren Landscape,

A cluster of buildings

Unexpectedly emerge From the shifting sands.

This place -- It's just super strange.

This place -- It's just super strange.

Jerram: You're clearly in a desert. You turn around,

And then there's This strange cowboy-type town.

But if you look a bit More in detail,

It's a bit more sophisticated Than that.

Gough: some of the architecture Is really quite interesting,

So it makes you wonder Where did the money come from

To build These lavish structures?

Jerram: It's definitely a place where People wanted to be at the time,

Jerram: It's definitely a place where People wanted to be at the time,

But why?

Narrator: the money and people Have vanished,

And mother nature Is reclaiming the town.

Scott: you've got bathtubs Full of sand.

You've got piles of sand As you walk into the houses.

The only thing that this is home To now is the desert.

Gough: And the only signs of life Are snakes and scorpions.

It makes you wonder who would Ever want to have built here?

It makes you wonder who would Ever want to have built here?

Narrator: Despite the searing sandstorms And lack of water,

A community not only survived Here but flourished,

Living in apparent luxury.

Jerram: Certainly, it was a place That was very affluent.

They created an ice factory On site

So they could actually Make their own ice.

They had butchers, They had everything

That you'd kind of want For a town.

That you'd kind of want For a town.

Gough: what drew them here In the first place,

And why has it become Such a haunted ghost town?

*

Narrator: Who went to such extraordinary Lengths to create a luxury town

In the most inhospitable Of outposts?

*

Narrator: in the arid desert Sands of western namibia

Lies a bemusing settlement.

A once wealthy town now ghostly In its emptiness,

Swallowed up by the desert.

In the early 1900s,

Namibia was part of German south west africa.

Namibia was part of German south west africa.

Over 500 miles from the busy Port of cape town,

This area still lay bare With nothing

But a solitary railway Track passing

Through to the german Harbor town of luderitz.

Jerram: these areas were remote Areas under exploration,

So to make an area that's remote In the desert somewhere

That's a place that people Can live, you need a commodity.

Narrator: soon that commodity Was unearthed.

Narrator: soon that commodity Was unearthed.

Gough: In 1908 a local railway worker Made a discovery.

He found diamonds in the sand, And that changed everything.

Narrator: This settlement, slowly being Swallowed by the desert

Was build by these Precious minerals.

It is namibia's ghost town -- Kolmanskop.

Surprisingly, For such a remote location,

Surprisingly, For such a remote location,

The residence enjoyed A wide range of luxuries

As local expert William thompson reveals.

So what caused this vibrant Oasis to simply disappear?

So what caused this vibrant Oasis to simply disappear?

At first, it couldn't have been Easier for german prospectors

Who flocked here To make their fortune.

Gough: we think of diamond mines Being complex structures,

But that wasn't How they started.

Really, you had men crawling On their hands

And knees under the moonlight

Looking for a glistening Precious stone in the stand,

And they found them.

And they found them.

Jerram: there's tales Actually from the time

Where they would dig trenches,

And the diamonds were So proliferous on the ground

You could sweep them Into the trenches,

You'd sweep the dust Into the trenches,

And then have people Move along the trenches

Picking out the diamonds.

By 1912, this area was home

To one of the richest Diamond deposits in the world.

Gough: kolmanskop Rapidly developed

Into a thriving Diamond-mining town.

Into a thriving Diamond-mining town.

You know, at its peak,

12% of the world's Diamonds were mined here.

Narrator: With this deluge of wealth,

A town grew to support The industry.

Despite that, the harsh climate And the very isolated setting,

The town actually had many European luxuries.

It had a theater, A performance hall.

It quickly developed

Into a lively little Haven of german culture.

Narrator: but there was one Overriding problem -- water.

As kolmanskop grew rich,

As kolmanskop grew rich,

It could buy its way Out of water shortages

Thanks to this british supply.

But with the clouds of war Rumbling across europe,

How long could This arrangement last,

And would a lack of water Spell disaster?

While the money flowed, Kolmanskop became a center

For cutting-edge technology.

Scott: A window into what was the most Important thing in this town

Is highlighted by the fact That it was the first place

Is highlighted by the fact That it was the first place

Ever in southern africa To have an x-ray machine.

Gough: but that wasn't just To check for broken bones.

It was to check to see if Somebody had swallowed a diamond

And was taking it home After work.

Narrator: what could possibly Cause this community

To turn their backs On such wealth and splendor?

Did a lack of water

Or some unexpected calamity Drive them out?

*

Narrator: in western namibia Is the ghostly shell

Of an old german boom town that Flourished in the early 1900s.

Driven by diamonds, This community enjoyed wealth

And luxury, But it was short-lived.

The beginning of the end

Came with the cataclysmic Events of 1914.

Came with the cataclysmic Events of 1914.

Scott: the inhabitants Of this town,

On hearing that they could have Something bigger and better --

Just literally Dropped their tools,

Left all their possessions, And joined the rush south.

Narrator: Kolmanskop struggled on,

But in 1956 with the supply Of diamonds exhausted,

The final resident left,

And the town was abandoned To the desert.

*

*

Today, kolmanskop is Ghostly silent

And preserved By the arid climate.

Yet discoveries are still Being made in the region.

Jerram: diamonds are still being Mined in namibia,

And, interestingly, Not so far from here.

They're actually finding Diamonds on the sea floor.

*

*

Narrator: Some ghost towns only witnessed A short burst of life,

While others have Centuries of history

As found in a ruined site In turkey.

*

Selwood: as you come inland From the coasts of anatolia,

Through the pine forests, A vista suddenly opens.

But as you approach closer,

But as you approach closer,

You realize there's something A little wrong with it.

Corum: This is a devastated village.

It's clearly been abandoned For a long, long time.

It just keeps on going. It is absolutely huge.

Narrator: carved into the side Of this valley

Are hundreds upon hundreds Of deserted buildings.

Scott: You've got trees growing out Of where there once was roofs.

Scott: You've got trees growing out Of where there once was roofs.

You've got just undergrowth Everywhere.

This place is clearly just A shadow of its former glory.

The level of destruction here Is on such a scale

That some major event Has happened.

This is not a one-off, Small occurrence.

Scott: was it some kind of Natural disaster?

Was it war?

People fled en masse, but why?

People fled en masse, but why?

*

Narrator: spread far and wide Across this hillside,

The ruins here not only tell A story of abandonment,

But also of a long, Rich history.

Corum: this town goes back Almost 1,000 years.

It's clearly moderately Prosperous.

It's clearly moderately Prosperous.

This town was clearly important At some time.

These aren't temporary shacks They built.

It's very well located for local And even international trade.

You feel here that this was A place that had strong,

Deep roots.

Narrator: The inhabitants nurtured A close relationship

With the farmers In the valley below,

But there was a key difference Between these two peoples.

Selwood: The architecture reveals A lot about the people,

But it's not only houses That are part of this village.

But it's not only houses That are part of this village.

There's one key building That still survives

And gives the clue To who this community were.

Narrator: For centuries, this area had Been part of the ottoman empire,

A predominately Turkish-muslim society,

A predominately Turkish-muslim society,

But one that encompassed Different nationalities

And cultures, Including those who lived here.

These are the remains Of the town of kayakoy,

The home of a greek-christian Community

Who have long Since disappeared.

*

In many parts of the world, Identity, ethnicity,

And culture often form No part of daily life.

Communities cohere And undertake the project

Of building their lives.

Of building their lives.

We also know that those Very same factors

Can be the basis for some of the Bloodiest conflicts in history.

Narrator: for over 500 years,

The two communities lived And worked side by side,

Often coming together In the maze of streets.

Here you had these two Communities working

Together And forming friendships.

Narrator: while this vibrant Town had flourished

Over hundreds of years, As the ottoman empire

Over hundreds of years, As the ottoman empire

Began to struggle at the start Of the 20th century,

Cracks began to appear.

So what destructive force Would obliterate this town?

And what happened to the people

That once called This place home?

*

Narrator: The disintegrating remains Of the ghost town of kayakoy

Tell of the desperate years

Following the first world war As the ottoman empire collapsed

And ignited a heated battle

Between two opposing Nationalist movements.

In greece, you have a movement Towards a greater greece.

In greece, you have a movement Towards a greater greece.

From the turkish side, They wanted to create a republic

For all The turkish ethnic people.

These two powerful National forces collide.

Narrator: As the conflict enveloped Modern-day turkey,

Many small rural communities Were rapidly drawn in.

Selwood: Despite the centuries of harmony Within these communities,

Selwood: Despite the centuries of harmony Within these communities,

The arrival of war

Meant that all the horrors Of war came with it --

Torture, atrocities, Intense cruelty on both sides.

Corum: we know about the abuses

That the greeks Carried out on the turks.

We're talking murders, We're talking destructing homes.

Now we have reports

About the turks Carrying out revenge attacks --

About the turks Carrying out revenge attacks --

Burning greek properties, Killing greeks.

Narrator: by 1922, Hundreds of thousands of turks

And greeks had been killed.

Both sides agreed Upon a so-called

"Compulsory exchange Of populations."

And even communities that Had remained on good terms

Were forced to leave.

Half a million ethnic turks

Who were living Within greek territory

Are simply deprived Of their property.

They are shipped out to turkey.

They are shipped out to turkey.

About a million-and-a-half Ethnic greeks who had lived,

In some cases in majority Greek villages, are expelled.

You've got this once Beautiful town

With these communities thriving Side by side and a joyful town,

And then it's abandoned.

Its soul is ripped out of it.

Its soul is ripped out of it.

Narrator: In 1957, the abandoned remains Suffered a final insult

As an earthquake struck, Pulling down roofs and walls.

But the true damage Had already been done.

It's hard to overestimate The seriousness

Of the effect Of these kinds of actions.

Effacing The culture of a people,

Which is what this is doing, Is seen as on or par

Which is what this is doing, Is seen as on or par

With effacing actual people,

Because if you take away culture And history, you leave nothing.

Ultimately, that's all Communities have.

*

Narrator: in a remote forest In northern ukraine

Lie the remains of a once-modern

And technologically advanced Town of the former soviet union.

*

*

Overgrown and slowly being Consumed by nature

Is a haunting site Of over 150 buildings

Spread across 15 square miles.

This elaborate And rich metropolis

Seemed to have everything it Needed to survive and to thrive.

Yet this area became linked

To one of the most infamous Disasters in living memory.

To one of the most infamous Disasters in living memory.

In the 1970s, this was meant To be a showpiece city

That would help power The future of the soviet union.

Places like this were built To attack the brightest minds

And the most devoted workers.

It was a purpose-built town,

Able to cater for up To 50,000 people.

And one of those who hoped To be counted

And one of those who hoped To be counted

Amongst its inhabitants Was sergey chernov.

It was very well planned With a beautiful environment

And technological services.

It was a city of young people.

The average age of those living Here was just 26 years old.

Narrator: All around the town are clues To what made this place

So important to the soviets,

So important to the soviets,

But also to what ultimately Caused its catastrophic demise.

Chernov: right now, we're in The central square,

And this building right in front Was the so-called

"Cultural building," Which was called "Energetic."

Over there on that five-story Building

There's an emotive Slogan that says

"Let the atom be a worker Rather than a soldier."

It didn't manage to follow Through on that idea,

It didn't manage to follow Through on that idea,

As you know.

Narrator: this is pripyat, The town built to service

The infamous nuclear Power plant of chernobyl.

Man: reactor number 4 exploded,

Spewing radiation Over much of europe.

Radiation levels were expected To rise over the ensuing weeks.

Narrator: the entire population Was quickly evacuated.

Man: as many as 8,000 have died As a result of the world's

Man: as many as 8,000 have died As a result of the world's

Worst nuclear accident.

Narrator: the whole area Was cordoned off.

It signaled the end For this town.

All that remained was this Ghostly, deserted wasteland.

*

Chernov: it was dangerous, As you know,

To build a town in the vicinity Of a nuclear plant,

But that was common practice.

The case of pripyat proved how Disastrous this practice was.

The case of pripyat proved how Disastrous this practice was.

*

Narrator: Still to come -- the haunted Remains of the wild west,

A ghost town that is all But disappeared,

And sights that continue To confuse and intrigue.

*

Narrator: coming up on "The World's strangest ghost towns,"

A frozen relic From the cold war...

The crumbling towers Of an ancient settlement...

And scenes of pure evil And devastation.

*

But first, near the border Between california and nevada

Are the ghostly remains

Are the ghostly remains

Of a once-dangerous town Built on greed.

*

Gough: it's like you've just

Walked onto the set Of "Westworld."

*

You're expecting to see Outlaws and gunslingers

Coming around the corner.

*

Meigs: there's something spooky About seeing a town

That looks like the buildings Are intact,

But there's nobody around.

The wind just blows through.

The wind just blows through.

*

Scott: and you can just see This big layer of dust

Over the tables and chairs

That have been Left there for years.

*

Meigs: some parts are Buildings just falling down

Or shacks that Have kind of collapsed.

Other sections, You could move in

To some of these buildings.

*

Scott: on the edge of town,

You've got what looks Like the guts

You've got what looks Like the guts

Of some kind of industry.

And I think that is the clue

To what happened in this town.

Narrator: but for everything that is here,

It feels like something more Is missing.

Scott: what's interesting About this place is,

You come to this point Which seems like it should be

The start of the main street,

But there's no buildings on it.

Gough: you get the sense that The structures that do remain

Gough: you get the sense that The structures that do remain

Were part of A much larger community.

So that begs the question,

What happened To the rest of them?

Where did it go?

*

Narrator: defined by Its eerie emptiness today,

In the late-19th century,

These streets were filled

With the hopes and dreams Of prospectors

Exploring the open lands Of the west.

*

*

You're really in the middle Of nowhere.

Even today, you are miles And miles away from anything.

Gough: the motivation For coming to such a remote

And desolate location, Clearly, it was money.

It was all about finding Something precious,

And then selling it.

Narrator: the dusty remains Of this town show something

Was clearly worth Sticking around for.

But this could be A deadly place to set up shop.

But this could be A deadly place to set up shop.

*

The west was Unchartered territory.

There was no law enforcement.

This was the wild west.

Everyone for themselves.

*

Preserved for decades By the dry climate,

The remaining structures

Only offer a glimpse Of the town's true scale,

As park ranger catherine jones Explains.

*

What we see today is Only 5% or so

Of what was here.

So there was many homes left,

But there would have been Many, many more,

As far as you can see.

Especially down to main street,

Which would have been virtually

Wall-to-wall buildings For over a mile.

*

Narrator: the resource That transformed

This empty wilderness

Was gold.

This is the ghost town of bodie.

This is the ghost town of bodie.

*

It was once home To around 10,000 inhabitants,

Filling this landscape with A feverish level of activity.

*

What's really interesting Is not what's left,

But what's missing.

Clearly, a lot is gone,

But where did it go and why?

*

Jones: after bodie's Initial discovery,

There wasn't much activity.

There wasn't much activity.

Probably wasn't A whole lot of hope

Of discovering A lot of gold here.

They were mining up On the hillside.

You can see the rock piles Up on the hill

Indicate where mines were.

Narrator: but these early mines Offered up little gold,

Until 1875,

When a dangerous collapse Changed everything.

Jones: they went to investigate

And found that the collapse Had exposed

A very rich vein of ore,

A very rich vein of ore,

And that's what started The boom here in this area

And formed the town of bodie.

*

Meigs: all of a sudden, Bodie was on the map.

Everybody heard about bodie.

Everyone wanted to get there

And be part Of this exciting operation.

*

Narrator: but as the masses Descended upon the town,

A trail of vice, death, And destruction

Soon threatened to bring it All crashing down.

Soon threatened to bring it All crashing down.

*

*

Narrator: in 1875,

The discovery of a rich Vein of gold in bodie

Sent mining operations Into overdrive,

And processing plants, Like this one

From a later date, Began running nonstop.

That building On the edge of town,

That is what really Gives you a clue

As to the scale of the operation

That was happening in bodie.

That was happening in bodie.

*

This is the main processing room Of the stamp mill.

The gold and silver ore Makes its way into these boxes

That contain The 1,000-pound stamps.

Each of these stamps is Lifting and dropping

90 times a minute.

Narrator: operating 24 hours a day,

6 days a week,

This was the sound of money Raining down on bodie.

*

*

It's rumored the boom years

Earn the mining companies Around $100 million,

And every day, 10 new people Would arrive here,

Seeking their fortune.

By 1879,

There were over 2,000 buildings In this town.

But the lust for gold Had a dangerous habit

Of bringing out The worst in people.

*

Bodie had become the sort of Las vegas of its day.

Anything that you could sell, Anything that you'd want to buy,

Anything that you could sell, Anything that you'd want to buy,

You'd find it here.

Outlaws, they looked At bodie and said,

"Here's an opportunity

To make a lot of money Very fast."

*

Meigs: it was so wild That one year,

The newspapers reported The amazing news

That no one had been killed In the entire previous week.

Apparently, that was a first.

*

Narrator: In the northern end of town

Was the red-light district,

Was the red-light district,

Filled with brothels

And opium dens.

This lawless settlement Appeared to be

On a path to destruction.

And in 1892,

A devastating fire broke out.

*

Gough: somehow, fire started,

And it spread quickly.

These are wooden buildings, And as one began to burn,

The one next to it Began to burn,

And before long, there wasn't Much left of that part of bodie.

And before long, there wasn't Much left of that part of bodie.

*

Narrator: but this Wasn't started

From the kind of debauchery That bodie was famous for.

Times had changed.

*

Scott: with these boomtowns,

They are literally Erected overnight.

But as soon as somewhere where Gold is easier to find is found,

People go.

So what you're left with are Abandoned wooden buildings

In an extremely dry climate.

That's a recipe for disaster.

That's a recipe for disaster.

Jones: by 1881,

Thousands of people Were leaving.

So when the fire happened In 1892,

A lot of abandoned buildings Burnt down

And were never rebuilt.

The fire was the first disaster, But there was more to come

That would eventually wipe Most of bodie off the map.

*

Narrator: the gradual demise Continued until 1932

Narrator: the gradual demise Continued until 1932

When a raging fire Consumed the town,

Ripping out the heart

Of this faltering Wild west settlement.

That fire just traveled Down main street

And wiped out almost everything.

*

Narrator: a hearty few continued Living in bodie until the 1940s,

And the remaining structures

Still bear the marks Of those final days.

*

*

Jones: this is only a small Portion of what was here.

It's just a small glimpse,

But it's like their lives Were frozen in time.

*

Narrator: over 4,000 miles away, In the arctic ocean,

Is the norwegian archipelago Of svalbard,

Home to a ghost town

With a hidden agenda.

*

Somara: to find something On this scale,

It's amazing.

It's amazing.

Bell: everything seems to be In pretty good condition.

It's all very well built.

What strikes you is, The backdrop to this town

Is this quite strange-looking,

Pyramid-shaped mountain.

It gives the whole place A kind of mystical feel.

*

Narrator: although beautiful, This breathtaking scenery

Can also be deadly.

This is miles away

From any other kinds Of civilization.

It's subjected to such brutal Environmental conditions.

It's subjected to such brutal Environmental conditions.

Bell: this is quite A dangerous place to be.

Cut off from the rest Of the world,

Freezing temperatures,

And long, dark winters.

Narrator: the brutal conditions

Would have most people Running scared,

But this was clearly No ordinary outpost.

*

There's something more to this Town than just functionality.

There's something more to this Town than just functionality.

There was a certain air Of grandiosity or showiness.

Nusbacher: it's engineered.

It's built. It's decorated.

The piano is waiting To be played.

All that is lacking Is a population.

*

Narrator: so, why construct Such an elaborate settlement

Miles from anywhere?

And did this extravagance Somehow cause its downfall?

*

*

For almost a century, The islands of svalbard

Have been a part of norway.

*

But everything on show here

Suggests a different Occupying force was in control.

*

Bell: everywhere you look, There's a flavor

And a really strong hint Of the soviet union,

And a really strong hint Of the soviet union,

Down to the signs, The architecture,

And the bust of lenin

In the town central square.

*

It's astonishing to see The head of lenin

Still looking boldly Across a town

Just as though the berlin wall Never fell.

*

Narrator: named after The strange-shaped mountain

That looms over the buildings,

This is the soviet town

This is the soviet town

Of pyramiden.

*

At its peak,

This was home To over 1,000 people.

Today, just a handful Of individuals,

Like galina nosachenko, Tend this site.

But they are not alone here.

*

*

Curiously,

The disappearance Of its population

Has made the town even deadlier.

*

*

*

So, what could possibly make Living out here worthwhile?

*

In the beginning, at least,

It seemed the answer Lay underground --

Coal.

*

Somara: there were Lots of countries

That were interested In this place

Because of the coal.

But when you weighed up All the options,

Many people thought It wasn't worth it.

But the soviets felt it was.

It's such an incredibly

Inhospitable environment To live in,

Inhospitable environment To live in,

Let alone mine in.

How do you create A settlement there

And turn a profit?

Narrator: but was coal really What the soviets were after?

Or was this town built For a very different purpose?

*

*

Narrator: in the freezing Wilderness of svalbard

Sits the ghost town Of pyramiden.

The u.S.S.R. First obtained Mining rights here

In 1927.

And by the middle Of the century,

During the cold war era,

They were pouring money Into this settlement.

*

But the extravagance on display

But the extravagance on display

Suggests this was about Something more than just mining.

*

As an engineering project,

It wasn't just The basic necessities.

There was a level of luxury To this place

That suggested that there were

Other reasons for being here.

Nusbacher: they don't only bring

Coal-mining equipment and sheds.

They build first-grade Accommodation for everybody.

They build first-grade Accommodation for everybody.

They make it So that it's easier to live

At this mining station In svalbard

Than it is to live In the u.S.S.R. Itself.

*

Narrator: located over 700 miles From the u.S.S.R.,

Narrator: located over 700 miles From the u.S.S.R.,

The first-class facilities Were above and beyond those

Of a mining town Behind the iron curtain.

*

It seems coal wasn't The only interest here.

Bell: some people believe

That there was never Enough coal there

To sustain a prosperous Town and community.

In fact, its real purpose All along was

To gain a foothold In the west.

To gain a foothold In the west.

Narrator: in the stalemate Of the cold war,

Any access to the west Could provide the soviets

With an opportunity to exploit.

But this wasn't built for spying

Or for the military.

This was something different.

*

This was an opportunity For propaganda.

An opportunity to show To the west --

In the west -- How communism actually worked.

In the west -- How communism actually worked.

Nusbacher: building A showpiece city in svalbard

Meant that on Norwegian territory,

In a place, theoretically, Visible to the entire world,

Everything that was the best About the soviet union

Could be put on display.

*

Narrator: while the money And support lasted,

Pyramiden was a beacon

Of communist glory.

But when the iron curtain Finally fell in 1991,

But when the iron curtain Finally fell in 1991,

Reality began to set in.

*

Somara: the original threat Caught up with this place.

To get to the lucrative coal,

You had to dig deeper,

And it just wasn't worth it In the end.

Narrator: as the mine slowly Edged towards abandonment,

A disastrous scene involving Many of the town's inhabitants,

Suddenly accelerated Its decline.

*

*

Tragically, in 1996, A plane flying from moscow

Crashed on descent

To the island.

Newscaster: Searchers say wreckage

Is spread across the top Of opera mountain,

And there's speculation They may have been trying

To keep below the cloud cover.

Narrator: in total,

141 people lost their lives.

The community never recovered From this disaster.

*

*

Narrator: With the last ton of coal

Finally extracted On march 31, 1998,

The last occupants fled the town For good.

*

Somara: what pyramiden shows us Is that you can pour

A huge amount of money Into an engineering ambition.

If that engineering ambition Doesn't support itself,

It will eventually disintegrate.

*

*

Narrator: in a very different Part of the world,

In the arch Of the famous boot of italy,

Overlooking a lunar landscape,

Is a truly epic sight.

*

Selwood: this rock sits In the middle of an area

Known as the badlands.

It's an unpopulated area,

Empty as far as the eye can see.

Narrator: yet, a town grows out Of an imposing mountain.

Narrator: yet, a town grows out Of an imposing mountain.

1,300 feet above The surrounding plains.

Meigs: it's a stunning sight.

You can hardly tell Where the cliff face ends

And the masonry begins.

It's almost as if They've organically

Integrated their town

With the rock itself.

Gough: some of the buildings Look as though

They're clinging onto the rock For dear life.

And in one instance,

If you walk out Of the front door,

If you walk out Of the front door,

It's just a sheer drop.

Jerram: it's really quite An impressive site.

How the hell would you build Something up there?

Narrator: as you get up close, Another layer is added

To this mysterious, Dramatic-looking site.

*

Gough: when you look closer, You can see that

The buildings Have been battered,

And light is streaming in

Through the missing church dome.

The whole thing is Virtually flattened,

And it makes you wonder, What happened here?

And it makes you wonder, What happened here?

Was it bombed? Did anyone survive?

*

Narrator: although empty, The weather-beaten buildings

Suggest this settlement Was occupied for many centuries.

*

At the top Of the town's imposing tower,

Local guide saverio grippo

Explains what made this location So special.

As you can see, we are On the top of the tower,

And you can understand How important was this location,

To have a wide view

And dominate All the territories.

In fact, from here,

We have a 360-degree Panoramic view.

*

Narrator: this is craco.

Set high on a steep mountain,

Built in the middle ages,

This settlement's Stunning location

This settlement's Stunning location

Is no accident.

*

Selwood: the heavy tower,

With its arrow slits And fortifications,

Gives a hint When this village was built

Because it was at a time When islamic pirates

Roved the mediterranean And frequently raided inland.

This was a defensive village.

*

Narrator: however, Further inspection shows

This is not simply A sacked medieval town.

This is not simply A sacked medieval town.

*

Gough: a modern community Lived here.

It's something that was Destroyed recently.

The question is, How and why?

*

*

Narrator: clinging To the precipice

Of an imposing rock In southern italy

Is the battered Settlement of craco.

It appears ancient,

Yet clues suggest it was home To a modern community.

The seeds of its destruction Were sown

By its own economic success.

By the 15th century,

By the 15th century,

Wealthy local landowners Were moving into the town,

As craco mayor Pino lacicerchia explains.

[ lacicerchia speaks italian ]

Interpreter: the economic And commercial growth

Developed the urban center.

That grew and expanded Around the tower,

Which was, itself, Surrounded by the houses

That belonged to the landowners.

Narrator: In the following centuries,

Craco's infrastructure Continued to extend...

*

...As buildings sprawled down Onto the surrounding slopes.

*

Yet today, they have vanished.

*

Selwood: a striking feature is That large parts of the new town

Have completely disappeared,

But the old town Remains largely intact,

Which begs the question, Why, then,

Which begs the question, Why, then,

Does so much of it resemble An area from a war zone?

*

Gough: there's a line where The old, medieval settlements

Meet the new town,

And in that new town square,

It's actually sunk about 10 feet From where it used to be.

The whole place has Been decimated.

*

Narrator: the answer To this odd situation

Can be found underground.

Can be found underground.

While the medieval site is Built on solid rock,

The new town sits On less-stable ground.

*

This land sits on layers

Of different types of clay,

And new infrastructure Works were putting

Ever-greater pressure On this unstable ground.

The result was landslides.

Jerram: a landslide is a mass Movement of rock and debris

That usually forms on Some sort of weakness

That usually forms on Some sort of weakness

That might be a weak bed

Or a join between two different Types of rocks, really.

Landslides are Lubricated by water.

*

[ speaks italian ]

Interpreter: the community here

Always co-existed With landslides --

Fixing buildings That were damaged

And carrying on.

*

Narrator: by the early 1960s,

Craco was experiencing Landslides so powerful

That retaining walls

That retaining walls

Were constructed to keep The new town safe,

But the earth continued to move.

*

Selwood: by 1963, The landslides

Had caused untold damage.

The entire new parts Of the village

Had slipped away down the hill.

The football pitch Had disappeared,

And even the retaining wall

That was meant to guard Against landslides had gone.

*

Narrator: remarkably, These worsening landslides

Narrator: remarkably, These worsening landslides

Were largely self-inflicted.

[ lacicerchia speaks italian ]

Interpreter: they reinforced The area with concrete,

Which is extremely heavy, And required drilling,

And as a result,

The added weight Sped up the landslide.

*

Jerram: they found That it was actually

Leaking pipes and sewers And so on

That were contributing To the water

That was fluxing and feeding The landslide.

That was fluxing and feeding The landslide.

So, it's actually A manmade problem

That caused the landslides,

That caused the evacuation Of the town.

*

Narrator: landslides may have Wiped out the new town,

But what caused Such extensive damage

To the medieval parts of craco?

*

Jerram: the other problem That you have

In this part of the world

Are earthquakes.

And you can imagine A solid building

Attached to solid rock --

When that shakes, It's gonna start falling apart.

When that shakes, It's gonna start falling apart.

And there was A big earthquake in 1980,

And that caused Major destruction of the town,

And it eventually really kind of

Tipped it right over the edge

To make it almost uninhabitable.

And this is the last Abandoned house of craco.

The last family lived here Until the beginning of '90s.

Inside, you can still Have signs of life --

An oven, Some chair on the floor,

An oven, Some chair on the floor,

And even bottles On the fireplace.

*

After standing Nearly 1,000 years,

Craco finally got hit With a series of calamities

That it really couldn't survive.

*

Narrator: today, Craco is an empty shell,

A haunting destination For curious tourists.

However, the town's suffering

However, the town's suffering

Has not all been in vain.

Jerram: given all of the things

That have happened To this village,

It's become a big of a mecca For scientists

To try and understand Exactly how you can

Mitigate against such problems.

How you can go from A perfectly working town

To a destroyed town.

And, hopefully, we'll learn Something from this,

From the science Into the future.

*

Narrator: on the northern Fringes of germany

Narrator: on the northern Fringes of germany

Is the baltic island of rugen.

*

Emerging from Its thick pine forest

Is an epic structure.

It's innocuous appearance Belies its sinister purpose.

*

What lurks within

Are the echoes of a dark And chilling past.

*

In the mid-1930s,

In the mid-1930s,

Hitler's nazi propaganda machine Was in full flow.

He needed millions of germans To buy into his vision

Of a great empire befitting The superior aryan race.

Central to hitler's plan was "Strength through joy" --

An organization that worked To raise the status

Of german workers And buy their loyalty.

The most visual legacy Of their work is this --

The most visual legacy Of their work is this --

The coastal town of prora.

*

In 1936, construction Began on what was

One of the longest buildings In europe.

Designed to accommodate 20,000 loyal germans,

It would include

A movie theater,

Bowling alleys, swimming pools,

And at its heart,

An almighty auditorium.

An almighty auditorium.

Yet, this was no Typical beach resort.

Beneath the veneer Of peaceful tranquility

Lay a sinister motivation.

[ speaks german ]

Interpreter: people were to be Manipulated and influenced here.

The idea behind that Was that people were

To get maximum rest and recovery

Without having A single moment of spare time.

Narrator: gestapo spies ensured Everyone toed the party line.

A barrage of propaganda Films and lectures

A barrage of propaganda Films and lectures

Would leave holidaymakers Well and truly indoctrinated

With the nazi creed...

With one ultimate aim.

Interpreter: to get fit And strong for the war.

To achieve better work results

And actually, also, To be conditioned

For mass murder.

Narrator: when war came in 1939, Holidays were forbidden,

"Strength through joy" Mothballed,

And prora became a ghost town

And prora became a ghost town

Before it was even a town.

*

Today, prora is being remodeled,

Set to once again become A holiday town.

Yet, it remains a stark reminder

Of hitler's ruthless Totalitarian rule.

*

Still to come, An american community

Almost wiped off The face of the earth,

But still hiding A burning secret at its heart.

But still hiding A burning secret at its heart.

*

*

Narrator: from america To the arctic ocean,

Through scenes Of natural disasters

And manmade catastrophes,

Across continents And centuries of history,

These are the strangest Ghost towns in the world.

*

Finally, we come to a town

Virtually wiped off The face of the earth,

Virtually wiped off The face of the earth,

And it's found in Columbia county, pennsylvania.

*

Jerram: It's clear that there's been

Some massive time break here,

You know, something's gone on.

Meigs: it's the victim Of something

That most of us couldn't Believe could happen.

*

Bell: there are no people there.

It's eerie.

*

Narrator: roads neatly laid out In a grid-like system suggest

Narrator: roads neatly laid out In a grid-like system suggest

This was once A typical american town.

*

Meigs: most of the buildings Themselves are gone.

In a way, it's a ghost town Without the town.

*

Narrator: foundations, Yet no houses.

A police station, But no police force.

A settlement that has vanished.

*

Clues hint at some kind Of natural disaster.

Clues hint at some kind Of natural disaster.

Jerram: it's almost as though The tarmac's all cracked up.

Has the ground heaved?

Was there an earthquake?

Was that the reason Why there's nobody there?

It's really rather strange.

Meigs: a person visiting For the first time

Might think that the town

Was a victim of some kind Of volcanic activity.

There was cracks visible.

There was steam coming Up out of the ground.

It seems like some kind Of a volcanic wasteland.

Narrator: why has this town Been erased from history?

Narrator: why has this town Been erased from history?

*

It's hard to believe now, But this desolate site

Had been part of the history Of american industry

Since the 1850s.

Connected by road and rail,

This was once a thriving town Of 1,400 people.

It was called centralia.

Local author david dekok

Remembers it As a very different place.

Remembers it As a very different place.

*

Dekok: this shot was taken In october of 1983

Looking up toward The top of town.

And you can see, There was an entire town

There that's now gone.

So, it really drives home,

I think, how much was lost here.

*

Narrator: how the town vanished Is a tale stranger than fiction.

Back in 1979, At the local gas station,

They started noticing Something odd.

They started noticing Something odd.

Dekok: john coddington's Gas station had to shut down

Because the gasoline

In the underground tanks Was very hot.

So the state police said,

"Sorry, john, You've gotta close."

And he didn't fight it.

I mean, his family lived Above the station,

So he had a lot of skin In the game there.

*

Narrator: coddington wasn't The only centralia resident

Experiencing strange phenomena.

*

*

Bell: a local kid by The name of todd domboski

Was walking in the backyard When suddenly,

A sinkhole opened up, And he fell in.

He was able to grab hold Of a tree root

And keep hold of it Until a friend could come

And rescue him, pull him out.

But this brought National attention

To this town's bizarre plight.

Narrator: and soon, It got worse.

The earth began to erupt.

The earth began to erupt.

Dekok: when they first Saw these cracks,

People just wondered,

What could possibly cause this?

It's maybe 3-feet wide, 2 1/2-feet deep,

And maybe as much as 20 to 30 feet long.

*

Narrator: what was responsible

For these gaping holes And cracks?

*

*

*

Narrator: In the town of centralia,

A few scattered foundations

Are all that remains Of a community struck

By a series of strange phenomena

Through the 1980s and 1990s.

*

Initially, Speculation was rife.

For a while, at least, For several years,

You would see steam coming out

You would see steam coming out

Of this gigantic highway crack.

People wondered What was causing this.

They may have thought It was some kind of volcano

Down there, maybe.

Narrator: the source Of the steam, however,

Was something no one Could have guessed.

What's actually happening

Is something That sounds impossible,

Which is a fire Burning underground.

And it's been burning For more than 50 years.

It's venting gases through Any cracks and seams

It's venting gases through Any cracks and seams

In the ground.

You imagine if you had Cellars in the houses.

They could be potentially Targets for escaping gases,

And those gases Could be poisonous.

You can imagine that fire Is moving in different parts.

The fire moved Under the highway.

There was voluminous Clouds of steam

That would come Out of the ground

Either side of the highway.

*

Narrator: the highway May have closed in 1983,

But the fire still burns today.

But the fire still burns today.

So this is a bore hole, And if we unscrew this cap,

We are going to see what The fire is like underneath.

Ooh, nice and hot.

That's heat coming up To the surface.

I can smell the distinctive kind Of sulfurous smell of the fire.

You see these little Beads of water

Just jumping and floating In the air.

Just jumping and floating In the air.

When I talk to one of The state officials recently,

He said that, When they last tested it,

It was about 140 degrees

Maybe down 25, 30 feet.

*

Narrator: so, what caused This raging fire

Spreading beneath the town?

*

So, this may look like just A clearing in the forest,

But back in 1962, There was a huge pit here

That centralia used As its landfill.

That centralia used As its landfill.

And they wanted To clean up the dump,

And the way they did that Was to have some guys

Form the fire department come And set it on fire,

Burn up the stuff That could be burned,

Wash it down with water From a tanker truck,

And then go away, and everything Was supposed to be fine,

But it wasn't.

Jerram: something really odd Actually happened,

Which is a phenomenon called A coal seam fire.

There's a coal mine underground, And what happened is,

Somehow, the fire Got into that coal area,

Somehow, the fire Got into that coal area,

And all of a sudden, It sparked a whole new problem.

Narrator: the fire would Quietly burn below centralia

For the next 20 years.

Bell: you don't see On the surface

Is that underneath this town,

And extending far and wide,

Is a giant labyrinth Of coal mines.

And it's these coal mines That are on fire.

Meigs: centralia Sits right on top

Of one of the richest

Of one of the richest

Coal-mining areas In the world,

So it's very difficult to figure Out how to put the fire out

Because the underground Environment is so complex.

Jerram: coal seam fires, Themselves,

Are a big problem in coal areas.

And obviously, as you burn Away bits of the coal,

And you destabilize The subterranean network

Of tunnels and coal seams And so on,

You can actually Cause there to be

Instabilities on the surface.

A sinkhole developed probably Due to this undermining

A sinkhole developed probably Due to this undermining

Of the stability Of the surface.

*

Narrator: with no way Of extinguishing the fire,

And the eyes of the world On centralia,

The federal government could Ignore the problem no longer.

*

Dekok: after todd domboski's Incident,

And it got all this attention,

And there were citizen groups In centralia saying,

"Hey, you gotta get us Out of here."

But they still took Almost two years

But they still took Almost two years

To come up with a solution.

Narrator: eventually, in 1984,

The entire population Of centralia

Was given the go-ahead To relocate

With the help of 42 million federal dollars.

*

All but a stubborn few of The town's previous inhabitants

Have been relocated,

And today, There is little evidence

That the community of centralia

Ever existed.

Ever existed.

Meigs: you see how quickly

Nature reclaims manmade space.

Even streets and driveways,

All of that gradually starts

Reverting to forest.

Narrator: but when will the fire Finally stop flickering

Beneath centralia's Empty streets?

Dekok: so, how long Could it burn?

I've heard figures like 200 years, 250 years.

But in the end, Nobody really knows.

It'll go until it stops burning,

It'll go until it stops burning,

Runs out of fuel, Runs out of air.

Neither of those are likely To happen any time soon.