Chernobyl Exclusion Zone,May 2012 Villages in the zone. Besides the larger-known towns, there are many rural villages in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. It is estimated that combining Pripyat's 49,000 residents with that of Chernobyl city and surrounding villages brought the total evacuee estimate to approximately 116,000 people. Some villages were razed and buried, while others were left to decay.In the days and months after the accident, there were many residents of the outlying villages who slipped passed border patrols and illegally moved back into their homes. These people are known locally as samosely, which means self-settlers or squatters. Babuska Hanya is among of them.