Disasters strike without warning, leaving behind stories of loss, resilience, and recovery. Through the lens of photography we can witness the stark contrast between what once was and what remains.

You’ll see the silent streets of Pripyat after the Chernobyl explosion in 1986, the flooded neighborhoods of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the collapsed buildings and shattered lives following Haiti’s devastating earthquake in 2010, and more; each image captures a moment when ordinary life was transformed forever.

These before-and-after photographs do more than document destruction; they reveal the human cost of catastrophe and the enduring strength of communities determined to rebuild. As you move through this collection, consider how quickly the familiar can become unrecognizable and how, even in the face of unimaginable tragedy, the spirit to recover and remember endures.