# Nuclear War scare: what would be your "get out of town" threshold? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2024, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162 "2024-08-24T22:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/101 "2024-08-26T22:13:19Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Here’s a book about the bunkers designed for Congress and other DC-area VIPs. TL : DR - many of them have said over the years that they wouldn’t want to go there unless they could bring their families with them. Many of them know that to say otherwise would lose them votes. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/102 "2024-08-26T22:14:03Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > > Their arsenal is likely decrepit and exaggerated. > > Quite likely, but even if only 1 in 100 of their missiles worked/got through that’s still 50-60 nuclear bombs, any one of which can really ruin your day. Just the US bombs will ruin our day a couple of weeks after any attack on Russia. Sooner for those we throw at China. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/103 "2024-08-26T23:44:16Z")
Our interceptors are pretty damn good, and their computer guidance in most places are “radioshacked” at best (that’s Russia for the most part-China is still iffy). ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/104 "2024-08-26T23:56:05Z")
I was referring to fallout from US nuke attacks on Russia and China. I doubt we have anything that can intercept the prevailing winds. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/105 "2024-08-27T00:06:21Z")
Last knowledge I had back then was that the U.S. had a lot more of the smaller tactical nukes, where the targets would be destroyed but the fallout would be average to minimal, limiting greatly the amount (and length) of fallout. Remember: We are an industrialized nation, and we can’t take what we can’t use. Other larger nations are aiming for a broader and long-lasting attack more in retaliation than anything else, and the smaller nations are (usually) threating their local neighbors to keep them at bay, knowing that in the thick of things we will ignore them for the most part. Russia and China are aiming mostly for missile silos, and the main problem is that they believe the U.S. when they say they are empty about as much as we do. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/106 "2024-08-27T00:14:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > …the U.S. had a lot more of the smaller tactical nukes, where the targets would be destroyed but the fallout would be average to minimal… Maybe so but ISTM a lot of “little” bombs still add up. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/107 "2024-08-27T00:25:17Z")
They can, if not aimed properly. Back when Strategic Air Command was still a thing calculating what was put where, and why, and which way the wind was blowing that particular day was constantly being plugged into the system. While our computer system isn’t quite up-do-date, which means we get the job done (but slower), it is still better than the Russian system where essential parts just disappeared when the U.S.S.R. broke apart. it is next to impossible to do a major overhaul and replacement while also loudly proclaiming that everything is fine and dandy…which the Russians are still doing to this day. The main Russian threat is “We don’t know _what_ the fuck is going to happen…,but neither do you, so leave us alone or we’ll _both_ find out!”. Their mega-incompetence is their strongpoint. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/108 "2024-08-27T01:45:10Z")
Crap. That’s scary. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/109 "2024-08-27T01:54:06Z")
Basically it is: U.S.- “I have some well-placed people with sniper rifles;” Russia-“We got who knows how many people throwing sticks of dynamite, and they are all bugfuck crazy.” China-“We hate you all. You get _nothing_. Fuck off.” Smaller Countries-“They hit me back first, but what happens to them depends on the day of the week and some random person’s horoscope, so…good luck?” ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/110 "2024-08-27T02:07:08Z")
You have a point. “Do they have a chamber for mistresses?” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/111 "2024-08-27T04:31:41Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Our interceptors are pretty damn good, and their computer guidance in most places are “radioshacked” at best (that’s Russia for the most part-China is still iffy). No. There are 44 interceptors and several hundred incoming ICBMs and SLBMs. And the interceptors are NOT good. I strongly recommend you read _Nuclear War A Scenario_ by Annie Jacobsen. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/112 "2024-08-27T08:33:58Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > if I remember correctly what I heard years ago was that the Western intelligence agencies discovered that 90 percent of the USSR’s missiles weren’t aimed at anything important or even populated areas because their target info was decades out of date … is that still the case? Um… I don’t recall moving any “populated areas” to a different geographic location. Washington DC, NYC, Chicago, LA, etc. are all where they were decades ago. _Some_ of their targeting info might be out of date, but I’m not sure that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/113 "2024-08-27T08:59:00Z")
> [@solost](#): > > But guess what else you often find in otherwise remote, sparsely populated areas? Military bases. I eventually came across a website showing Soviet-era maps of potential nuclear missile targets, and pretty much the entire U.P. and much of the upper L.P. would have been literally carpet-bombed in overlapping patterns, because of all the military bases that are up there (or were, several have since closed). The U.P. would have ended up as one big chunk of glass. Rumor has it that there is also [some equipment up there for communicating with submerged submarines,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Sanguine) something that an adversary would be very interested in eliminating. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/114 "2024-08-27T15:41:16Z")
I wonder if it’s USA missile sub doctrine to immediately presume the worst if some signal transmitted 24/7 suddenly goes silent. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/115 "2024-08-27T16:34:17Z")
Put me in the column of people who would just stay put in my (residential, but larger metro area) house. What’s the point of leaving? The resources are here. The people are here, including experienced and trained people who can do things I can’t. Sure, there will be a lot of disruption and confusion, but people do tend to pull together and cooperate in times of emergency. I sincerely doubt that things will be better at “wherever I manage to get to in my car on the jammed up highways.” I doubt I’m going to stumble across an unoccupied homestead with a flourishing garden, a generator, and a full storage tank of gas. This isn’t a Stephen King story. Plus, who knows how accurate the weapons delivery systems will be? “Ooops…we actually meant to hit that military base about 60 miles south of your cabin. Sorry!” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/116 "2024-08-27T16:45:46Z")
That’s a good point about resources. I live reasonably close to grocery stores, there’s a doctor across the street, and i have a stockpile of useful things like clothing in my home. Maybe i should buy some iodine tablets. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/117 "2024-08-27T17:24:43Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I wonder if it’s USA missile sub doctrine to immediately presume the worst if some signal transmitted 24/7 suddenly goes silent. A policy like that would enable an errant squirrel to start WW3. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/118 "2024-08-27T17:30:34Z")
Where _does_ one get iodine tablets? ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/119 "2024-08-27T17:34:05Z")
[Where does one get _anything_ these days?](https://www.amazon.com/ThyroShield-Potassium-Iodide-Tablets-Supplement/dp/B0BSG3X956/ref=sr_1_5?crid=F2RT1144RNGV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KARvaJOsF3yvX75K6uIpadgEfLTTF8MIVouLeAhoLCg7QzGGaaLzILzoa6YRcsiv1twb9kHMhyMk9ucWXQl6gTkb22NEAIhnL9FV5nJBgYapyVbIAZE81h6rfIBUmdWLyyibks3DeHSLYqGc43q8mcSBPqIsPV87Wj3Ld8sZKfLN49jMWM_Bzib3cjCGgkrrwhu-Ai0gqiCU1ltG_ftwK-OEDXGAHo-fbC9SLPYr_y3w9JRT-FNv769ZKczlIz7Mw6jwPLvPh2IwM1T4Zww6b9fzyrF4pHRIO-uw_8qX9So.u-nGluxQvVdPhxiPg8QPNWX4cGbssZ2_cddywKCRF10&dib_tag=se&keywords=iodine+tablets&qid=1724779991&sprefix=iodine+t%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-5) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/120 "2024-08-27T17:38:08Z")
Thank you. Should have known. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162.md?page=7)