Are you tired of traveling
to the same vacation spot every year?
Many adventure seekers travel
to abandoned places
for the thrill of seeing unknown,
desolate cities and ghost towns.
But sometimes,
these ghost towns can be
a little too thrilling.
Sometimes they can even be deadly.
When you travel to an abandoned place,
it's important to remember that people
left these towns for a reason.
It could be due to dangerous
human activities,
especially mining,
which has polluted towns
and made them unfit to live in.
So now that you’ve arrived
at an abandoned place,
how can you tell if it's dangerous?
There are many regions
with abandoned places,
but today we're visiting
the top five most dangerous ones.
Grab a selfie stick and get ready.
This might be the last vacation you take.
Hashima Island is off the coast
of Nagasaki.
It once had about 5,000 people,
many of whom worked in the mines.
In 1880, the Mitsubishi corporation
bought the island as a potential place
for coal mining.
In the 1890s,
many coal mines opened on Hashima.
They closed in the 1970s.
And without them,
the people lost their jobs
and their way to earn a living.
So all of them moved away.
The island itself looks dystopian.
Tourists often see
“giant twisted girders,
crumbling brick structures,
and shrubbery”.
Now, nature is reasserting itself
on Hashima.
Some of the most eye-catching sites
on the island are the Stairway to Hell
and Black 65.
To visit this island, you will need to take
an organized tour
that takes about 30 minutes.
You must stick to the tour routes
to avoid collapsing buildings.
You cannot enter the mine shafts.
And it is important to take snacks
and sunscreen as it can get hot there.
The town of Centralia
is dangerous because it suffers
from subsidence.
Subsidence means the ground is sinking
due to underground material moving.
This is caused by taking too much
of something out of the ground, like oil,
natural gas, or minerals.
We do it by pumping, fracking or mining.
In 1990, only 63 people lived in Centralia.
In 2012,
only 10 people lived there.
Always use the roads and paths.
And keep away from areas
with venting steam or gas.
Be alert and aware of how
the ground feels.
If it feels soft or unstable,
get away from there.
Otherwise, the ground may collapse.
On Valentine’s Day in 1981,
a 12-year-old boy
named Todd Domboski
fell into a steaming hole in Centralia.
He had noticed wisps of smoke
coming from the grassy ground
while walking.
Todd investigated it,
and the ground suddenly collapsed.
He was up to his knees
in a muddy, smoky pit.
And as he tried crawling out,
he kept sinking further.
The pit released more gasses as he sank.
Eventually, he was
“several feet below the surface”.
Todd managed to grab onto
an exposed tree root and kept screaming.
Finally, someone heard him
and pulled him out.
If he had been stuck there
for a few more minutes,
he could’ve died from asphyxiation.
Dallol is in the Danakil Depression,
in a region called Afar.
It is one of the hardest places to live.
Its daily temperatures average
higher than 34 °C (93 °F),
and it regularly tops 50 °C (122 °F).
Dallol is 125 m (410 ft) below sea level
and receives very little rain
throughout the year,
so it's basically a desert.
It has multiple rock formations,
springs and geysers.
Danakil is not abandoned
as the Afar people still live there.
But you will need a guide to help you
negotiate with the Afar people
so you can pass any roadblocks.
Prepare for the excessive heat by bringing
an ample water supply,
and wear sunblock
and a hat.
Geamana is an abandoned mining village.
The mine released about 11,000 tons
of copper at its peak,
and a significant amount of toxic waste.
Now, of the initial 1,000 inhabitants,
only about 20 people remain.
The mine builders created
an artificial lake that kept growing
and almost submerged the village.
The lake is highly acidic
and contains cyanide, so this is not
the place to stop for a drink.
If you fall into it or get exposed to cyanide,
you must get treatment right away.
The cyanide will make your body unable
to use oxygen.
You will slowly start feeling dizzy,
exhausted, and short of breath.
You may also start vomiting
or even fall into a coma.
You will need to immediately call for help,
or get to a hospital or emergency service.
That's a problem,
the closest hospital is about a one hour
and 45-minute drive.
Also called Ilha Queimada Grande,
this island is about 90 miles
off the coast of Sao Paulo.
Its green forests and rocky shoreline
almost look like an exotic destination
for an awesome surfing
and beach vacation.
But in reality,
it's home to the most dangerous
snakes in the world.
The island is about 45 hectares (110 acres)
in size,
which is smaller than 0.6 km2 (0.25 mi2).
The snakes that live here
are golden lanceheads.
They are golden, and their heads
are lance-shaped, hence their name.
Although lanceheads are common
in mainland Brazil, the golden lanceheads
on Snake Island
are about five times
more venomous.
Their venom could be worse
than the black mamba's.
According to one molecular biologist,
death from a Snake Island lancehead
is extremely painful,
and “You’re going to die screaming”.
They are the ground
and hang from trees,
so the island is closed off to the public.
There are about 2,000
to 4,000 lanceheads on Snake Island.
That means there are 1-5 snakes
per 0.1 m2 (1 ft2).
To go to Snake Island,
you'll need the Brazilian navy's approval.
And you'll probably visit
part of a research team.
Usually, you must bring a doctor with you.
In addition to the danger of lanceheads
attacking you,
you are also in danger of acting
irrationally when you feel frightened.
For example, many people are
terrified of cockroaches and locusts.
They could feel startled, afraid
or even hysterical
when seeing them on Snake Island.
If you are camping here,
you'll need to clean up after yourself
at all times.
Otherwise, you’ll be covered
in cockroaches in the morning.
You may survive a trip to Snake Island
if you don’t get bitten
by a golden lancehead.
If you get bitten,
you have a tiny chance of surviving.
It's almost zero.
The closest medical center is in
mainland Brazil.
It's about eight hours away by boat.
And remember,
traveling by boat can be perilous.
If you're in one that capsizes,
we have you covered
here on How to Survive.