A haunting photo essay over at Business Insider shows images of towns inside the quarantine zone around the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant that suffered catastrophic failure after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

In some ways, these pictures these pictures moved me more than the videos of the utter devastation around Sendai. It may be possible at some point for people to reclaim their homes, businesses, and lives – but radioactivity is nasty business, and as this post from PRI explains, the well-meaning officials of Japan are sailing in uncharted waters. Some of these areas may end up looking like the ghostly remains of Pripyat; only time will tell.

My heart continues to resonate with the Japanese people in the spirit of 2011’s kanji of the year, 絆 – kizuna, or “bond.” May they have strength for their forward journey.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

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