07 January 2024 , 14:39
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A elderly man is the sole inhabitant of a ghost town that was engulfed underwater nearly 40 years ago.
Pablo Novak, 93, has been described as the world's loneliest man. Epecuen, which sits 300 miles southwest of Argentinian capital Buenos Aires, re-emerged in 2009 as flood waters that had submerged it finally evaporated. The receding waters revealed something similar to a war zone, with ruins bleached white by salt and sunlight.
Pablo grew up in the town and returned when it re-emerged, settling in an abandoned house with a garden. He has described how he was "totally alone. All day, every day". Around 1980, the town had a population of 2,000 and was a popular lakeside holiday resort, attracting 20,000 tourists every year.
Old photos show visitors in swimsuits enjoying the blue waters of the lake, Laguna Epecuen - which some believed had healing powers. They would flock from miles around in the hopes the waters could combat ailments from rheumatism and skin conditions to diabetes and depression.
Ruins of the town of Epecuén, submerged by the overflow of a lake in 1985 (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Jewish residents of Buenos Aires were also drawn in due to the lake's buoyancy, which was said to be similar to Israel's Dead Sea. A train station was built in 1972, complementing around 280 businesses including hotels, museums, and a hippodrome. But disaster struck in November 1985 when a rare weather pattern arrived.
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Rain lashed down and a dam burst, and within a fortnight the town was submerged in three metres of water. The majority of residents fled and never returned. Over the years the water levels rose, peaking at 33ft in 1993. Then it re-emerged in 2009.
Pablo returned after the water levels finally submerged (Alamy Stock Photo)Pablo told CNN: "Until about four or five years after the flood, when the waters were still high, nobody came around here at all. I was totally alone. All day, every day. I spent time looking for a 20-year-old bottle of whiskey and, eventually, I found one that I drank all by myself. As for good wines, they did not leave anything behind."
During the interview in 2015, he explained that his wife did not come back to the town with him and his family lives in a neighbouring town. His house is small and dusty, and full of rusted chairs and old newspapers. There is not even any electricity. He said: "At my age, I simply enjoy life, by walking through the ruins of Epecuen, hoping that someone will ask me something." He added: "I saw this town be born and I saw it die. It does not affect me anymore."