New York, London Among Cities That 'Rose From the Ashes'

The world as we see now has top ranked cities which are second to none and are the epitome of modernity. Some of the major cities in the world that are known for their impeccable planning and infrastructure have had tryst with large scale destruction, which literally reduced the cities to ashes. And like the mythical bird Phoenix, which is reborn from its ashes, have the cities risen from those ashes to leave behind the destruction and rebuild themselves into the world cities that they are now adding landmarks to their skyline.

New York City, New York, U S

Known for its skyscrapers, giving it the sobriquet, The City of Sky Scrapers, New York has come a long way from the destruction it faced in the fire of 1835. The city went up in flames when the fire broke out in a five-storey warehouse in Downtown Manhattan. The fire spread to 17 city blocks. At the time of the fire, both, East River and Hudson River were frozen. Thus the rescue operations were delayed as there was no source of putting out the fire. Finally, the Marines had to destroy the building in the course of fire, to stop the fire from spreading.  The present day New York doesn't even remotely remind of the destruction it has faced, with its brick and stones building.  Today the city is home to some of the tallest structures in the world. The city's skyline is marked by structures like One World Trade Centre, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Plaza and Chrysler Building.

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London, England

The city marked with the iconic structures like Tower 42, Leadenhall Building, 20 Fenchurch Street and The Shard, the capital of Great Britain is one of the most developed cities in the world.  Present day London was redesigned after the Greta Fire of London, with wider streets, better hygiene and buildings constructed of bricks and stone. The London as we know today was totally different and at one point was destroyed by fire. The Great Fire of London, in the year 1666, had claimed over 13,000 buildings and destroyed many churches. The fire started in the Pudding lane Bakery, where the embers from the oven escaped. The locals as well as the mayor, paid little attention to the fire until it spread to other buildings and street.

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Dresden, Germany

Recorded as one of the most destructive bombing in the history of Second World War, the city of Dresden was bombed by the Allied forces. In a single bombing 3, 400 tonnes of explosives were dropped on Feb 13, 1945. The resultant firestorm killed more than 1,00,000 people. The restoration of the city has revived the city to its previous glory. Dresden is home to one of the largest universities in Germany, the Dresden University of Technology.

Hiroshima, Japan

Nobody has ever shown the grit to recover from death and destruction, like Hiroshima. The present day city of Hiroshima doesn't even give an inkling of the past that the city has experienced. From total extinction from the world's map to resurrecting from the ashes. Hiroshima was bombed by atomic bomb called the Little Boy on August 6, 1945. Nearly 69 per cent of the city's buildings were destroyed. The city's had prepared for the fire damage due to the bombings, but those preparations were insufficient. The city of Hiroshima in the present day is also called the City of Peace. The city was restored after the war by the help of government and the international communities. It is now a metropolis teeming with life and home to a million people.

Moscow, Russia

The city is known for its artistic buildings and architecture. The landmark of the city, the Kremlin and the onion-domed St. Basil's Cathedral are world famous. But the city has also has had its share of destruction. In the year 1812, a massive fire broke out across the city which continued to burn for three days burning down over two-thirds of the city.

Nagasaki, Japan

Mere three days after the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, the plutonium bomb was dropped on Nagasaki by the Allied forces. The whole city was engulfed in the resultant fire. All the buildings were destroyed as they had wooden frames that provided kindle to the rising flames. As compared to the restoration of Hiroshima, was slow. The city, after the bombing was rumoured that nothing would grow, but the spring after the bombing flowers bloomed and the people returned to the city. Temples, churches and bridges were built. Nagasaki is now home to almost half a million people.

Texas City, Texas, US

Texas is an industrial city of US. It is a busy port and has petroleum and chemical refineries. Grandcamp a French ship carrying highly inflammable ammonium nitrate blew up resulting in a huge industrial explosion. The explosion on April 16, 1947 was the deadliest industrial accident. The explosion resulted in a chain of explosions and fire, destroying the nearby oil-storage facilities and other ships. The city rose from its ashes of the explosion and still remains the busy deep water port to this day. The economy of Texas City is based on heavy industries and most of the people living in Texas City work in these refineries.