Then and now images: A modern Hiroshima 70 years after it was destroyed by the A-bomb

In this 1 July, 2015 photo, a visitor photographs the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan. On 6 August, 1945, a US plane dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the first nuclear weapon has been used in war. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II. The Atomic Bomb Dome, now a UN World Heritage Site, has become the iconic image of Hiroshima. AP Two people walk on a cleared path through the destruction resulting from the 6 August detonation of the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, western Japan.  An estimated 140,000 people died in a city of 350,000, including those who succumbed to severe radiation exposure through the end of 1945. AP A new city rose from the ashes, however, and it is now a buzzing modern metropolis. AP Photo In this 8 August, 1945 file photo, soldiers and civilians walk through the grim remains of Hiroshima, two days after the atomic bomb explosion of 6 August, 1945. The building on left with columned facade was the Hiroshima Bank. To its right, with arched front entrance, was the Sumitomo Bank. AP The explosion instantly killed more than 60,000 people, with ten of thousands others dying later from effects of the radioactive fallout. By the end of 1945, 140,000 people had died as a result of the bomb, out of a city of 350,000. Today, the population of Hiroshima has risen to 1.2million.  AP Photo It was rumoured nothing would grow in the city at first, but then, the next spring, the flowers began to bloom again - and people decided to return to the devastated city and rebuild. AP Photo