# Could you survive a nuclear strike? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477 "2015-08-10T20:28:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/61 "2015-08-13T00:59:25Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > It’s really quite surprising how little damage an A-bomb will even do to military ships. Something the atoll tests showed. It didn’t even sink a single ship. What’s really surprising is how easily you could have googled the fact that the the Crossroads “Able” test [sunk 5 ships](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossroads#Able_target_array). > [@](#): > > In addition to the five ships that sank, fourteen were judged to have serious damage or worse, mostly due to the bomb’s air-pressure shock wave. All but three were located within 1,000 yards (914 m) of the detonation. Inside that radius, orientation to the bomb was a factor in shock wave impact. For example, ship #6, the destroyer USS Lamson, which sank, was farther away than seven ships that stayed afloat. Lamson was broadside to the blast, taking the full impact on her port side, while the seven closer ships were anchored with their sterns toward the blast, somewhat protecting the most vulnerable part of the hull. And here in the Baker shot, in the stem of the mushroom cloud, you can see a black smudge representing [the USS Arkansas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Arkansas_(BB-33)#/media/File:Operation_Crossroads_Baker_Edit.jpg) which now lies on the bottom of the ocean at the Crossroads test site. So, yeah. Nuclear weapons? They pack a punch, wear your earplugs. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/62 "2015-08-13T05:56:25Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > When are we supposed to know about the nuclear strike in this hypothetical? We know in advance that a nuclear war is possible? We hear about the incoming strike 15 minutes in advance? We realize it happened when we see the atomic mushroom? > > Also : there’s a single North-Korean strike exactly 20 miles away? How big? I believe North Korea has only small yield nukes, so a single explosion 20 miles away might not be very threatening, in fact. Being 20 miles away from Hiroshima was quite safe, for instance. Real world, you would have had roughly ten days notice. When the call up notices start going out and leaves and furlough’s canceled. Declan ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/63 "2015-08-13T12:06:38Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I grew up right outside DC, so since I was a little kid I’ve known what would happen if we got hit. I was pretty alarmed that we didn’t have a fallout shelter. Luckily in school we could crawl under our desks. Those things were indestructible. **We should have just built a huge school desk to put over the entire metro area.** Dammit, **TriPolar** , now there are wet toast crumbs all over my laptop! ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/64 "2015-08-13T14:46:51Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Whether we could survive the aftermath depends on whether we still have a working car (and clear roads) in which to flee the area, and/or on how soon organized relief efforts arrive. I wouldn’t count on clear roads to flee an urban area. Everyone tends to have the same idea. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/65 "2015-08-13T17:09:34Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > I wouldn’t count on clear roads to flee an urban area. Everyone tends to have the same idea. Per the Plan, our city’s Public Works Traffic Section is supposed to coordinate with Caltrans to impliment any freeway entry metering that needs to be done. Yeah, I’m not expecting that to go down easy. Personally, I wouldn’t scramble until I knew where I could evacuate TO. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/66 "2015-08-13T17:18:48Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > I wouldn’t count on clear roads to flee an urban area. Everyone tends to have the same idea. When I used to live near Indian Point I wasn’t all that worried about the roads if there was a meltdown. They were going to send helicopters for us. The rest of you would have to make your way through traffic. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/67 "2015-08-13T18:08:06Z")
I live pretty near to Cheyenne Mountain/NORAD and while it isn’t quite the hot target it once was, it would probably still be a first-strike target. I’m no spring chicken, I’ve lived a good life, and I’m not sure I’d have the energy to deal with the aftermath of a nuclear war, even if I did survive it. So, in my case, I’d take no extraordinary measures. I would put my fate in God’s hands. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/68 "2015-08-13T18:19:25Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > I wouldn’t count on clear roads to flee an urban area. Everyone tends to have the same idea. Yeah, I agree with you. This is part of why my plan is staying put at my house. I have other advantages, like being in a low-fallout zone, but no matter how bad fallout would be at your house, it will be worse if you’re stuck on blocked roads miles from home. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/69 "2015-08-13T18:30:50Z")
We used to live a quarter mile from a weapons depot entrance. Pretty sure that would have been instant incineration. We’re now about ten miles from that base, and about two miles away from a bridge, so it’s still not a cheerful future. Where would I go? Probably onto the roof for a better view. Traffic here is horrible all day long without an accident or mass hysteria to clog things even worse. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/70 "2015-08-14T00:33:05Z")
We’re about 16 miles from the Capitol building. My approach to surviving a nuclear attack anywhere in the District of Columbia would be to get out of the house and head straight toward it as fast as I could. No sense postponing the inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477/71 "2015-08-14T00:45:57Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Nuclear weapons? They pack a punch, wear your earplugs. And sunglasses! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-survive-a-nuclear-strike/727477.md?page=3)