During the industrial revolution, more people were needed in factories than in farms. This migration from farms to cities was known as the business revolution.
The entire cities were decimated. There was absolutely nothing left of them. There was a massive cloud that far and wide but it doesn't change the fact everything was demolished
i only brefily skimmed the paper so sorry if this doesnt help, but i think it would be cool if you acted as though you are a character investigating this situation kind of like jughead on riverdale lol