Inside the abandoned homes of Fukushima: Haunting images of the tsunami-ravaged exclusion zone

They are images that reveal the devastation and panic inside the Fukushima exclusion zone.

Homes rocked by the earthquake, the body of a victim of the devastating tsunami, and animals abandoned by panic-stricken owners fleeing the region as the scale of the nuclear disaster emerged.

They are the first pictures of the impact on the lives of those living inside the 12-mile exclusion zone around the crippled nuclear plant.

But the eerie snapshots of a town deserted in a hurry leave one question: will anyone ever go back?

The exclusion zone around Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union - the scene of the worst nuclear disaster in history - remains a derelict wasteground 25 years on.

And it is hard to believe that this decimated area around Fukushima, where the nuclear disaster was today put on the same threat level as Chernobyl, will not be left similarly abandoned.

Derelict: A restaurant kitchen in Minamisoma, Japan, sits empty, a pot still on the burner, within the exclusion zone, some 12 miles from the Fukushima nuclear power plant

Humanity deserted: The body of a tsunami victim lies amid the rubble in Minamisoma, inside the exclusion zone some 12 miles from the Fukushima nuclear reactor on April 7


Ghost town: Metal chairs arranged in a deserted street in Minamisoma, awaiting no one

The treasures left behind: An old black and white photograph still in its shattered, blackened frame, is left behind in the rubble

No time to clean: Mats and rubbish still litter the floor of an evacuation hall emptied after the order to leave the area was given

Take only what you need: Shoes left behind in a shop, their owners hopefully miles away and safe from the disaster

No man left behind: Japanese police covered in protective suits carry the body of a tsunami victim recovered from within the exclusion zone

Facing the horror: A policeman stands guard as the careful hunt for tsunami victims continues inside the exclusion zone


Not a living soul in sight: An empty street under the surreal light of an evening in the exclusion zone

Domestic nightmare: Pictures still hang from the walls but the rest of this house within the zone has been reduced to rubble



The Ukrainian town of Pripyat, which was built to house Chernobyl workers, has remained a ghost town in the decades since the nuclear disaster

The town of Pripyat had a population of 50,000 before the Chernobyl accident. It was evacuated in two days and has remained desolate since 1986