this is a subject that the USA gov and China even agree on. It is such a shame westerners have such a negative reaction to nuclear energy. but it isn't as profitable as fossil fuels/selling new electric cars so :meow-shining:
https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/advantages-and-challenges-nuclear-energy
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202106/1227103.shtml
tldr: not really, the USSR had a very slow initial response and the only real danger was a second explosion in the coolant system that would have caused what you are talking about. Any modern designs can not behave in this way unless intentionally brought to do so
basically, the design of the emergency reactor shutdown and the backup coolant system were both REALLY bad if they needed to be used. When the emergency shutdown was used it increased the reactivity for a split second instead of decreasing it, the result was the reaction’s entire expected power output in its lifespan produced in a split second. Then the emergency cooling system was damaged from this and nearly caused a second explosion, which was stopped by 3 volunteers who exposed themselves to lethal doses of radiation.
You got me, my entire understanding of Chernobyl was from watching the HBO series and a YouTube video talking about how the scientist guy was a :LIB: :deeper-sadness: