what do you really do in case of a nuclear attack?

Question

i was just wondering what we should do if a nuclear attack happens. since nowaday they dont teach us any of that stuff in school, like what we should do during before and after the attack.....with all these crazy dudes and bombs i just wonder why the gov't doesnt educate us to all, how we would communicate, get information, even find out (like a civil defence siren), literally should we go into a storm cellar or get into the tub?

Answer 1

I hope I die with it, because how do I find food, shelter, care, my family and friends, ... ?

Answer 2

As a precaution, don't live in a heavily populated city. Cant do that? If N. Korea flips out a lobs a big one at us (the continental U.S.), you have somewhere around 6 minutes to get underground, assuming you were alerted once the shot was fired. During that 6 minutes, you want to get as much water and food as you can grab. Get a cellphone or metal pipe to tap for help later. Take your bible - you'll probably need it if you survive. Get underground and use a metallic tape (like duct tape) to seal up any openings. During your 6 minute hustle, you have 3 hopes.
#1: They are not aiming at the city you are in. It's tough to tell for the first minute or so after launch.
#2 The military has a few semi-reliable defensive measures that might knock the missile down.
#3: N. Korean engineers couldn't design a missile to fly more than 40s, so the odds of flying 6 minutes and hitting the intended target are slim to none.
Either way, if the dipstick leader gets lucky, the U.S. military is unlucky, your city is the target, you cannot get underground, and you are in the blast radius, you will never know it. The blast will hit you before the sound or quake reaches you. If you're not in the blast radius, you're hosed. Radiation poisoning and blindness are your best option, but it won't last more than a couple excruciatingly painful days before you die. If you make it underground - prepare to stay there for a few days until help arrives. If help never comes, it'll take atleast a month for the air to be clean enough to breath for a short time. Not sure what you do when you get outside your bunker, but you better get the hay out of dodge.

Answer 3

Hi Heart,
What do you do in case of a nuclear attack? Well it depends on whether you really want to be a survivor of a nuclear war or not. There is really nowhere you can hide (except maybe like the military in the middle of Cheyene Mountain.) Even if you hid in a storm shelter, if the initial blast didn't vaporize you from incredible heat, radiation sickness would give you a horrible slow death with radiation burns and nausea. I grew up when we did have practices in school-- sirens and hiding under desks--people building bomb shelters in their backyards. I think many people have resigned themselves to not even thinking about it. Even if you did survive Heart, life as we know it would not exist. When a nuclear blast occurs it disables electronic and electric equipment of all types--making communications of all sorts impractical--even the telephone system which relies on microwave links and satellites would be disrupted. Highways would be clogged, trucking would not be able to get through to stock the grocery stores, banking which relies on high speed computer communications would come crashing down because electricity would cease on a nationwide or even world wide level. I think people would resort to a very primitive instincts type of life style-- in the big cities I think there would be rioting and looting as people tried to get what little food was left. What would you suggest in those circumstances Heart? Even if you live in the country, many scientists believe there would be a 'nuclear winter' where all the dust and smoke and debris from the explosions and fires would block out the sun and cause world wide temperatures plumeting and crops couldn't grow. I don't mean to sound gloomy--I just think the chance of survival in the case of a nuclear war are so slim -- that "authorities" have realized there would be so much chaos-- that really nothing can be done to prepare for the general civilian population. Personally, if I knew there were missles on the way, I would try to phone my children and I would pray. (I realise not everybody believes in God). I would hope that the first blast would be right above my head so that I wouldn't know what hit me and wouldn't have to survive only to die a slow death like that I wrote of above. That is why Heart I don't think there are "drills" any more. North Korea getting nuclear bombs and working on missles that can reach the U.S. really bothers me--especially when that guy is a vowed enemy of the U.S.A. Then there's China, Pakistan, India who have tested nuclear devices. I think your question is a good one and that your concerns are valid.
-Spec

Answer 4

Heart, 20 years ago that would have been a dumb question.

today it is a GREAT question!

back-in-the-day, they had "duck and cover". which was totally useless close to the blast site, but of some usefulness, the farther away that you got. they also had much info on how to prepare a fallout shelter, to survive during the long period after the blast, when radioactive particles would be present in the local atmosphere, in lethal concentrations.

once we reached a state of M.A.D. (mutually assured destruction) the arsenals of the superpowers were not nearly as likely to be used. and if they WERE, it wouldn't matter. virtually all life on earth would have ceased to exist. although some say the cockroaches would have survived.

now, with the increasing possibility of terrorists getting their hands on nuclear devices, the possibility of an individual or a few blasts becomes a threat worth considering.

but, they probably won't be announcing their intentions.

and since they aren't likely to be delivering them by ICBMs, you won't have even a few minutes warning from civil defense.

still, surviving the fallout afterward, if you are lucky enough to be far enough away to survive the initial blast, would be possible if you were prepared.

Answer 5

The danger of nuclear war? Possible, but hopefully not particularly likely as all of the countries with nuclear weapons should realize that such a war would cause widespread destruction. As for your second question, there's really not much you can do if you get caught in a nuclear attack.

Answer 6

Probably no need to get into the tub, or change clothes or makeup. My guess is that it would be a casual dress affair. The main thing to remember it to look at the sky and when you see the vapour trail of the incomming missile then assume a squatting position with your head between your knees and kiss your asss goodbye.

In the unlikely event of surviving the blast you don't need to worry too much about availability of fresh food as it will at that point have been sufficiently irradiated to keep fresh until the nuclear winter deep freezes it. Finding food at night should likewise not be a problem as it is likely to glow in the dark.

Answer 7

It depends. If it is a localized explosion, then by all means get on the next thing that burns petroleum thats headed in a direction opposite the blast. If it is a large scale war I would try to find the nearest target and hope the bomb/missile lands on me as the world would pretty much suck in the aftermath.

Answer 8

It depends, really.

The stuff they taught children in the 50's was actually useless; none of it would have helped them in the event of an attack. The reason they went through the exercises they did was to instill confidence in the public; it made them feel safe even though they weren't safe.

If you're in a city when it gets nuked, you should just curl up and kiss your a ss goodbye. You won't survive. If you don't get vaporized instantly, you'll get incinerated shortly thereafter. And if you're unfortunate enough to avoid being killed instantly, you'll get killed by flying debris, collapsing buildings, and/or radiation poisoning.

If you live just outside a city that gets nuked, you might be able to survive. Grab food and water as quickly as you can, and drive as quickly as possible away from the city, and into the wind (to avoid radioactive fallout).

If you're not very close to a city that gets nuked, but still within easy driving range, get away as fast as possible...again, into the wind if you can.

If you're nowhere near a city that gets nuked, get to the store right away. Hopefully you can beat the ensuing mob, and grab food, water, solar powered/hand cranked short wave radio, and other such things. Just think of it this way: if all of civilization suddenly dissapeared, what would you need to survive?
Oh, and a gas mask/NBC suit couldn't hurt. Those are pricey, though, and you'll have to buy one ahead of time; they'll obviously be in short supply after the country gets nuked.

If we get nuked, you'll know. It's called the "emergency broadcast system". It's a national emergency address system whereby the government can basically override television channels and radio channels to broadcast information to the public.

Answer 9

~~~unfortunatly we do live in a world that when we wake up in the morning we listen to the news and it is a scary place out there,,,,also as with any disaster preplanning,,,its always a good idea to have necessities on hand like food, water and medical supplies, radio with plenty of batteries . But to put your mind to rest,,,even though there is a country or two that may have there missals pointed at us,,,,we have our own that can detect and shoot down incomming enemy missals,,,,,so I thnk it would be safe to say that our govt is watching 24/7 for any nuks that could ever be headed our way.....

Answer 10

With warning,, get into a subway, or put a large hill between you and the blast. w/o warning,, get as far away from the area as possible, as the fallout is the danger at that point, and by far I mean al least 50 miles or more, the farther the better.any country that would launch a nuke against the USA would face certain annihilation anyway, so they won't.any strike by terrorists would result in a retaliation on Iran, so they won't either..

Answer 11

What to do afterwards. is the way to think. if your not emmediatly hurt,are if you are. you should go underground . as best you can. basements, are where ever there is shelter. as close to the ground as possible, wth as much material.above you as possible... make sure you allready have food stuffs water. guns. ammo. blankets radios medicin. duct tape to tape up the windows , think about of what you will need... cash.silver dollars is what I collect.plenty of gasoline. extra cloths.warm cloths. maps..etc etc. where will you go.?if you need to. friends homes. family?a gas mask is good to buy. I have one.I even have a chemical suit.you never know..