23 Places Where Nature Has Reclaimed Abandoned Cities

7. Plymouth, Montserrat: The Pompeii of the Caribbean

Unlike most abandoned cities, Plymouth, the former capital of Montserrat, was lost not to economic collapse or war, but to nature’s fury itself. In 1995, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupted violently, burying much of the town under thick layers of volcanic ash and lava flows. The city—once a bustling Caribbean hub—was permanently evacuated, leaving behind a ghostly ruin, frozen in time beneath a hardened layer of ash. In the years since, lush tropical vegetation has begun to reclaim what the volcano destroyed. Palm trees and vines creep through the skeletal remains of abandoned hotels, government buildings, and homes, while birds nest in the hollowed-out shells of cars left in the streets. Parts of the city are still dangerously unstable, and some buildings remain half-buried, their rooftops barely peeking out from beneath the ash.