++The Devastated City++

 Hiroshima, devastated by the atomic bomb, was reconstructed. It was on August 6th, 1945, 54 years ago that only one bomb crashed everything into pieces.
   There were many photos taken immediately after the explosion and of things affected by the bombing such as glasses, clothes, and so on. They'll make you realize what happened on that day and how strong its power was. 
++Victims Hovering Between Life and Death - Diorama with wax figures of A-bomb victims++
jiorama
The bomb briefly flashed at a height of 580 meters and then erupted into an enormous fireball like the sun. All buildings were completely destroyed within a radius of two kilometers from the hypocenter, which testified to the enormous power of the blast. The clothes of the victims were burnt by the heat. Bloodstained and in tatters, the survivors fled the devastated city.
Their hands were badly burnt by heat rays and their skins were peeled off by the blast. They were forced to flee with their hands held out. Some survivors say injuries of these wax figures are slighter than those who were closer to the hypocenter. People within a radius of one kilometer were burnt to death and their faces were unrecognizable. People within 500 meters were burnt black.
++Panorama of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945++
panorama
   This is a one-thousandth model of Hiroshima on August 6th with a diameter of 5.5kilometers. It can be seen that most buildings were demolished within a radius of two kilometers and the city was reduced to a burned-out area.

++ Victims of the Direct Effects'
   On the day of the atomic bombing, August 6, 1945, it is estimated that a total of 350,000 civilians and military personnel suffered from the direct effects of the bombing.
   These victims of the atomic bomb included tens of thousands of Koreans.
   They had been forced to come to Japan and worked at the military factories.
   In addition, exchange students from China and Southeast Asian countries and American prisoners of war died from the bombing.
   Even today, it is difficult to grasp the precise situation.

++ Damage due to the Atomic Bomb
   The damage was amplified by the composite effect of the heat rays, blast and radioactivity. 
   It is estimated that a total of 350,000 civilians and military personnel suffered from the direct effects of the bombing.
   We have no way to estimate the precise extent of the damage, but it is thought that around 140,000 people died by the end of 1945 alone.


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