Nuclear fallout information

   / Nuclear fallout information #61  
With Russia yet again threatening the west with nukes, I thought it might be a good idea to spread some information that I've learned so far.

The blast will probably occur in a city, or all the cities. If they do it, they'll likely go all in with a 500 nuke strike. How many will actually make it to mainland or hit their intended target is another thing. We do have reasonable knowledge that most of their deployable nuclear weapons are ~150kt range. Surviving a direct hit isn't possible, but assuming you aren't hit, there's a few basic things you can do to survive the fallout.

Here's the most likely target map. The purple triangles are in a 500 warhead scenario, the black dots are in a 2000 warhead scenario.

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Fortunately for me, I'm in-between targets, but fallout would rain down considerably over my head. Unfortunately for me, my house didn't come with a fallout shelter. So I built one.

The thing about fallout is, once the bomb lands, it spreads in the air and follows the wind. If Baltimore, MD or Washington DC got hit, their fallout would make a bee-line for me.


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Fallout is tiny particles blasting radiation around in all directions. If it is outside, and you are inside behind a concrete wall, you have a degree of protection. However if you are inside and it lands on your roof, and your roof is made of shingles and wood rafters, you are not very protected. The key to protection from fallout is mass. Lead offers a high density per volume, but is expensive. Concrete and steel are good, followed by dirt.

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So, hiding in the sub-basement of a brick five story apartment building will leave you exposed to just 1/200 the amount of fallout radiation outside; hanging out in the living room of your one story wood frame house will only cut down the radiation by about one-half, which, if you are next to a nuclear explosion, will not do much to help you.

Fortunately, fallout typically runs it's course in 48-72 hours, but if you're seeking shelter, it's probably a good idea to stay a week just in case. So it's a good idea to have a week's supplies in your shelter. Personally, my shelter is in my basement, a 12x12 room with 8" solid concrete walls and roof. My house is made of concrete block, so leaving the shelter for a short period to use the bathroom is generally ok, making it easier.

As fallout particles are airborne, think of snowfall. Fallout will blanket everywhere snow does. If there are open windows or doors, fallout will come in them. So sealing your house to be as air tight as possible will be to your advantage. Close and tape all windows, door seems, anywhere that air can get in. Fallout will lay on the ground, roof, window ledges, anywhere snow can get to. And it will be blasting radiation in all directions.

If you have a direct line of sight to it, you are only protected by what is between you and it. Stand in your basement and look up, you are protected by the floor, carpet, ceiling drywall on first floor, plywood on the roof, and shingles. if you look at a wall, you're protected by the wall, and what the wall is made of. Don't count the studs or joists or trusses, they are not useful. If you stand in front of a window, you are protected by the glass in that window alone.

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I've attached some additional resources for extra reading time.

I'm open to constructive criticism, or any corrections, or if anyone wants to contribute to this they are welcome to.
It used to be part of my job in USAF to know these things.

How many Soviet missiles are aimed at how many targets, etc., etc. (Yes, I know the "Soviets" are no more, but most of their equipment is still in service aka "Russia").

Your map is extremely optimistic. The Soviet (remember them) era missiles were extremely inaccurate in their ability to get a center strike on a given target. So much so that the Soviet's plan included launching *MANY* missiles at a single target, to insure at least one of them hit and knocked it out. That was always why they had so many more than US/allies. So where you had a critical target that they determined MUST be knocked out, (think of NORAD Cheyenne Mountain) they would hurl many times more warheads at that target then necessary. Quantity over quality.

So the actual "map" of nuke strikes is going to be pretty much wall to wall warhead impacts. Any major city is a target all by itself. That's a logistics thing. Leave no available "reserve" forces to draw from if the war is a prolonged one. I've seen the real "map" with my own eyes, there's very little area left to hide in.

Also, an over-the-pole launched ICBM takes only 15 minutes from launch to target strike. A sea launched ballistic missile only takes 6 minutes. 1st wave is to take out critical targets, bomber bases, missile silos, radar sites, fighter bases. They need to knock out as many of those as they can in the first wave. Second wave is to knock out important infrastructure and major cities (New York, LA, etc). By the third wave (and likely last) is to knock out anything that's left, or that got missed in the first 2 waves.

By the end of wave 3, there will be nothing left for them to shoot at. There will also be no place to hide to survive. Even if you do survive waves 1-3, there will be radiation literally everywhere.

If you're on a remote desert island, or perhaps far out in the Canadian wilderness (but NOT near any of the radar sites or listening posts), you may survive waves 1-3. But what then? There will be NO civilization and no infrastructure left.

Since I live in one of the states that has the majority of the ICBM launch facilities in it, I will be ashes on the first wave. Better that (for me) than to "survive" to witness the end of mankind.

Unless you are on or living directly next to a military base (and depending on the base, maybe not even then) you will never know that nukes are inbound. No one is going to tell you. It is US military strategy to NOT tell the general public. There's no reason to notify us, all it may gain is more clogged highways and roads, as people panic and try to run "somewhere".
 
   / Nuclear fallout information #62  
Couple of things that particular map misses:

The chemical weapons depot at Richmond, KY
A number of hydroelectric dams on major navigable rivers.


In the movie 'On The Beach' (yes, fictional) about the only place left was Australia and it was in the process of being contaminated as I recall.
 
   / Nuclear fallout information #63  
If Russia launches 500 Nukes do you really think the world will be worth living in for 200 years anyway?

Oh I survived! Wait all vegetation, wildlife, and water sources on the planet are contaminated for the next 200 years! Is prepping really going to help? So you have 2 years of food/water....that wont be anywhere near enough.

What you need is a rocket to take you to Mars..its going to be move livable than Earth after a nuclear war. Start working on that.
Well, I guess you could look at it that way. Or, you could look at it like this:

What if I live through it and then have to survive? Yikes.

Kind of like retirement. 😂
 
   / Nuclear fallout information #64  
Spare nuke, what are you going to do with it?

I'm certain to get nuked, i got a starlink dish sitting outside and Putain is pissed at Elon.
I though Putain was a dish served in Michigan's upper peninsula?
 
   / Nuclear fallout information #65  
Hopefully the US has state of the art counter measure technology and hardware where no where near the number of possible launched missiles ever reach their target...
Nope.

They don't have anything actively deployed in the numbers it would take to defeat them. Antimissile systems were banned by both sides to ensure mutual assured destruction. Regan caused quite the stir with the start wars stuff. Don't you remember all that? He even talked about sharing the technology with them. The premise was to use antimissile systems to counter rogue nations. The Russians thought it would be used to counter their missiles. So nope.

 
   / Nuclear fallout information #67  
Does anybody remember having to duck and hide from nuclear drills in school during Cold War. Showing my age but I can recall it in elementary school and also the old civil defense signs on buildings as child. History repeats itself hopefully not to death and destruction but awareness we live in a balance. In 1984 we were at the closest time in history for mutual destruction but humanity awoke within ourselves to not do the unthinkable. Soon after a movie came out called the “day after” (Jason Rimbaud) showing what could happen in destructive scenario. This was presented to us in highschool for our generation to understand nuclear exchange was end game for society.

Sure some could survive nuclear war but many will parish from radiation poisoning, starvation break down of society. Any war is bad , period. Need to figure out peacefully how to end these threats without loss of life on either side. We all need to deep breath remember we are supposed to helping each other to live peacefully. History is there to remind us not repeat it.
See post #2 in this thread. ;)

I was born in 1961 and never had to do those drills.

I do remember air raid sirens. They tested them every Thursday. The Russians are coming!

Today, all of those air raid sirens are now tornado sirens.

And, unfortunately, they don't sound nearly as nice.

 
   / Nuclear fallout information #69  
See post #2 in this thread. ;)

I was born in 1961 and never had to do those drills.

I do remember air raid sirens. They tested them every Thursday. The Russians are coming!

Today, all of those air raid sirens are now tornado sirens.

And, unfortunately, they don't sound nearly as nice.

Ours are all electronic and there is one about a mile from us. Not only do they 'warble' but they can project voices as well and have in the past.
 
   / Nuclear fallout information #70  
Since I live in the Pacific Northwest, just a few miles away from JBLM (Joint Base Lewis McChord) and the state Capitol, I may live long enough to see the fireballs before the heat and shock wave vaporizes us. Don't think I will do a lot of prepping for it.
Not real interested in living on the planet afterwards anyway.
Yep... same situation in Olympia and even with Base Closings the SF Bay Area has always been target rich...

South Eastern Oregon, Maine and parts of Alaska look remote but maybe South America??? or that Rock in the ocean where Mutiny on the Bounty sailors settled?
 
 
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