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1.Pripyat, Ukraine
Flooded by the construction of a dam
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Nuclear power plant disaster
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Destroyed by forest fires
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Destroyed by Russian forces
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Pripyat was evacuated after the Chernobyl disaster.
2.Pyramiden, Norway
Flooded by the construction of a dam
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Destroyed by forest fires
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Abandoned by a Russian mining company
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Lost to the sea
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Pyramiden, on Svalbard, was sold to the Soviet Union in 1927. The state-owned Russian mining company Arktikugol Trust abandoned the village in the 1990s when the mine closed.
3.Beaumont-en-Verdunois, France
Destroyed by an avalanche
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Flooded by the construction of a dam
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Destroyed in World War I
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All inhabitants were murdered by German forces in World War II
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Beaumont-en-Verdunois was destroyed during the Battle of Verdun in 1916, and never rebuilt.
4.Pleasure Beach, United States
Textile factories closed down
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Coal mines closed down
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Oil fields dried up
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Fire destroyed the bridge to the mainland
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In the late 1990s Pleasure Beach peninsula was cut off from the rest of Connecticut by a fire destroying the bridge connecting it, after which it was abandoned. It now is a tourist attraction.
5.Saint-Pierre, Martinique
Destroyed by a hurricane
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Repeated flooding
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Abandoned by the French
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Destroyed by a volcanic eruption
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Saint-Pierre was fully destroyed by the eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902, leaving (according to the legends) all but 2 residents dead.
6.Codrington, Antigua and Barbuda
Destroyed by a hurricane
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Abandoned after creating a nature reserve
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Economic decline
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Lost to the sea
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Hurricane Irma destroyed 95% of the village on 6 September 2017, after which it was abandoned.
7.Jonestown, Guyana
Mass murder-suicide
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Destroyed during clashes between Venezuela and Guyana over disputed territory
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Economic decline
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Destroyed by forest fires
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Jonestown was established by the Peoples Temple Cult. The cult committed "revolutionary suicide" on 18 November 1978, after which the few survivors were relocated and the town was sealed.
8.Caraíbas, Brazil
Destroyed by an earthquake
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Destroyed for economic development of the area
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Abandoned when economic activities relocated
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Destroyed by forest fires
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Caraíbas was located over a geological fault. After a strong earthquake on 9 December 2007 the village was evacuated and abandoned.
9.Armero, Colombia
Destroyed by a volcanic eruption
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Destroyed by FARC forces
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Flooded by the construction of a dam
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Destroyed by forest fires
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Armero was covered by volcanic lahars from the Nevado del Ruiz volcano on 13 November 1985.
10.Agdam, Azerbaijan
Destroyed by landslides
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Economic decline
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Destroyed by an earthquake
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Destroyed by Armenian forces
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Agdam was captured in July 1993 by Armenian forces. The population was forced to flee, and the city partially destroyed.
11.Old Goa, India
Wiped out by plagues
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Lost to the sea
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Destroyed by the Portuguese
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Destroyed by a hurricane
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Old Goa was the second capital of Bijapur, and the administrative seat of Portuguese India. The population of 200,000 was ravaged by malaria and cholera epidemics, after which the last 1,500 residents were moved away to a nearby village in 1775.
12.Old Ayutthaya, Thailand
Economic decline
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Destroyed by Burmese forces
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Destroyed by forest fires
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Abandoned after the influence of the Ayutthaya Kingdom declined
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Old Ayutthaya was the capital of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in modern Thailand until it was destroyed by Burmese forces in 1767.
13.Paoua, Central African Republic
Flooded by the construction of a dam
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Destroyed by forest fires
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Destroyed by government and rebel forces
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Abandoned after the mines ceased operations
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Paoua and many villages in the region have been abandoned after heavy fighting and killings by both government and rebel forces between 2005 and 2008.
14.Kolmanskop, Namibia
Abandoned because of the harsh desert climate
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Abandoned after the Germans moved all economic activity to Windhoek
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Destroyed by rebel forces
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Abandoned after the mines dried up
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Kolmanskop was a German diamond mining settlement created in 1908. It was abandoned in 1956 after the diamond supply dried up.
15.São Martinho dos Tigres, Angola
Abandoned after the mines dried up
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Destroyed by rebel forces
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Severed water supply due to rising sea levels
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Lost to the sea
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São Martinho dos Tigres was a fishing settlement on Ilha dos Tigres. Its water supply came from a nearby town on the mainland, but as sea levels rose the supply line was severed. São Martinho dos Tigres was abandoned shortly afterwards.
16.Kelso, New Zealand
Abandoned after the mines ceased operations
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Destroyed by a volcanic eruption
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Repeated flooding
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Destroyed by landslides
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Kelso was repeatedly flooded by the Clutcha river. After a major flood in 1980 it was decided to move the settlement entirely.
17.Farina, Australia
Unsuitable soil for farming
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Abandoned after the mines ceased operations
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Flooded by the construction of a dam
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Economic decline
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The town was established in 1878 when rain was plentiful as a farming community in the outback of South Australia along a newly established railway line. It was abandoned when inhabitants discovered crops did not grow well under normal rain conditions.
18.Venture, New Zealand
Economic decline
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Flooded by the construction of a dam
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Abandoned after the mines ceased operations
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Destroyed by landslides
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Venture used to process beech bark, but as the value of bark declined and costs of transport rose the village was abandoned.
19.Lindenfeld, Romania
Lost to the sea
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Flooded by the construction of a dam
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The last inhabitant died
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Destroyed by landslides
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The last resident of Lindenfeld, Paul Schwirzenbeck, died in 1998.
20.Bommenede, Netherlands
Destroyed by forest fires
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Abandoned after the creation of a nature reserve
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Lost to the sea
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Economic decline
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Bommenede was flooded multiple times, with the last flood in 1682 leaving the village too destroyed to rebuild. It was left in the water, and can still be seen in the Grevelingen lake.