# Canonical recap data for Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Explosion (1986)
# Source: https://recap.at/1986/chernobyl-disaster
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: chernobyl-disaster
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1986/chernobyl-disaster"
title: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Explosion
subtitle: Catastrophic reactor meltdown in Ukraine kills dozens immediately, contaminates vast territory, and accelerates Soviet Union's legitimacy crisis.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1986-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1986
decade: 1980
country:
name: Soviet Union
slug: soviet-union
summaryShort: The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, also called the 30-Kilometre Zone or simply The Zone, was established shortly after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union.
summaryLong: The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, also called the 30-Kilometre Zone or simply The Zone, was established shortly after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union.
lede: On April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine exploded during a safety test, releasing massive amounts of radiation across Europe. The disaster killed dozens immediately and forced the evacuation of 116,000 people from nearby towns. It remains the worst nuclear accident in history.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Checkpoint_ditkatky_chernobyl_zone.JPG/1280px-Checkpoint_ditkatky_chernobyl_zone.JPG"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Chernobyl exclusion zone"
importance: 88
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_exclusion_zone"
  title: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- disaster
metaDescription: "April 1986: Chernobyl's Reactor 4 explodes, releasing massive radiation. 116,000 evacuated. Worst nuclear disaster ever."
wikidataQid: Q1050926
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260529101127/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_Exclusion_Zone"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-29
  label: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_exclusion_zone"
taxonomy:
domain: environmental
eventTypes:
- natural_disaster
canonicalClasses:
- collapse
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: accidental
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: death
