It’s been four years since the meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and to this day, some areas near the site remain uninhabitable. The grounds surrounding the plant appear to still be experiencing repercussions as suggested by an image of deformed daisies posted to social media in May.
That photo, which has become quite popular on the Internet, was reportedly taken about 70 miles outside of the nuclear site. It shows a patch of the flowers resembling a Salvador Dali painting.
Some look joined at their centers, with petals jutting out at an obtuse, and decidedly unnatural, angle.
According to experts, such deformities occur when flowers experience hormonal imbalances, which rumor-busting site Snopes.com says could be caused by a variety of factors. The site notes “daisies showcasing similar mutations have been found at locations far away from nuclear radiation.”
They are the latest among many publicized mutations occurring near the Fukushima plant, with previous reports and images showing deformed produce and altered animals. Despite such occurrences, airborne radiation levels in the town of Naraha, which is about 2 miles from the nuclear plant, have been deemed low enough for its evacuated residents to return.
