Extremely High Levels of Radiation Detected at Japan’s Fukushima Plant

This aerial file photo taken in Aug. 2013, shows No 4, 3, 2, 1, 5 and 6 reactors, from bottom to top, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Futaba town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. (AP Photo/Kyodo News, File)

After quake-triggered reactor meltdowns, 20-kilometer no-go zone was set up around the plant. Residents were evacuated, never to return.

Photographers who got inside the evacuation area took pictures of abandoned homes, cars, and wilderness reclaiming the land from civilization.

The Japanese government in December estimated that the total costs of decommissioning and decontaminating the plant will cost 21.5 trillion yen ($190 billion), AFP reported, in a process that will take decades.