# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 7
**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, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/121 "2024-08-27T17:38:09Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > A policy like that would enable an errant squirrel to start WW3. I mean that they would go “uh-oh” and immediately try to confirm the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/122 "2024-08-27T17:43:27Z")
We went through a pretty good war scare a year or two ago. I thought we were all going to die due to tension related to the invasion of Ukraine. It was our generation’s Cubana Missile Crisis. So I gave it a lot of thought. My wife and I came to the conclusion that we (roughly all of humanity) would die in the event of a nuclear exchange. That being the case, we kept the car full of gas so we could drive to New Jersey and die with the grandchildren. Other than that, no plans. ---
**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, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/123 "2024-08-27T17:48:37Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > > [@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. > [@Lumpy](#): > > I mean that they would go “uh-oh” and immediately try to confirm the situation. “Try to confirm the situation” is pretty much the opposite of “presume the worst.” To presume the worst is to act as though a nuclear strike on your territory has occurred. To try to confirm the situation would be to try to obtain more information without making any such presumption. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/124 "2024-08-27T18:05:48Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Out here in the badlands of Arkansas, I think we’d live thru an initial barrage. > > It’s according to how thorough a job the baddies want to do and how deep inland they could get. > I’d assume if baddies lived thru the rebound they’d get they’ll take over. > Then there’s fallout to get thru. > Nuclear winter will probably kill everyone left. > > Yeah it’s not gonna be a pleasant world to live in after that. > Instant death will be easier Little Rock Air Base in Jacksonville AR and the Barksdale Air Base in Shreveport LA would be targeted. I can only hope the Soviets updated their missile targeting list after the Titan missiles were decommissioned. Arkansas hosted a lot of them in Northern Arkansas. The silos were capped wirh concrete. I’m not sure there really is a safe place. The rural areas would quickly be over run by panicked people. All the food and gas would quickly be used up I’d take a camper truck and go to Degray Lake and fish. It’s 75 miles from the Little Rock Air Base and 160 miles from the Shreveport base. Maybe that would save me from the bombs. I wouldn’t leave unless NATO and Russia began a war. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/125 "2024-08-27T20:02:35Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > I thought we were all going to die due to tension related to the invasion of Ukraine. It was our generation’s Cubana Missile Crisis. Since you said your plan was to drive to New Jersey it seems you are in the US and not near the war in Ukraine so that is a very bizarre thought. It was absolutely **not** “this generation’s Cuban Missile Crisis.” ---
**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, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/126 "2024-08-27T20:07:51Z")
I can’t say for certain today, but back when I still a crew chief for the B-52 D back in the late 70’s, there were approximately seven times y’all should have had your bags packed, and two times a sudden trip to visit those long lost relatives might have been prudent. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/127 "2024-08-27T20:53:36Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Since you said your plan was to drive to New Jersey it seems you are in the US and not near the war in Ukraine so that is a very bizarre thought. It was absolutely **not** “this generation’s Cuban Missile Crisis.” Whatever helps you deal with the realities of a nuclear exchange. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2024, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/128 "2024-08-28T01:09:11Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > When the missiles start flying I plan to go there: > [https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/berlin-germany-december-berlin-television-tower-berliner-fernsehturm-night-iconic-metres-tall-structure-was-opened-270460220.jpg](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/berlin-germany-december-berlin-television-tower-berliner-fernsehturm-night-iconic-metres-tall-structure-was-opened-270460220.jpg) > Want to have a good look. Just give me 20 minutes to get there, that’ll do. > > BTW: Am I the only one who sees a distinct '80s vibe in this thread? Definitely getting a “Miracle Mile” vibe. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2024, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/129 "2024-08-28T07:34:03Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > > [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > > > I thought we were all going to die due to tension related to the invasion of Ukraine. It was our generation’s Cubana Missile Crisis. > > Since you said your plan was to drive to New Jersey it seems you are in the US and not near the war in Ukraine so that is a very bizarre thought. It was absolutely **not** “this generation’s Cuban Missile Crisis.” Maybe not Cuban Missile Crisis as the Ukraine war doesn’t directly involve the US. But in the early days, it was definitely in the back of my mind that the Ukraine invasion sounded a lot like how every 80s WWIII movies begins. With the USSR invading some seemingly innocuous European country, creating tension with NATO leading to direct conflict with NATO which at some point results in the EBS siren followed by instructions to proceed to your nearest shelter. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2024, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/130 "2024-08-28T09:37:39Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > the Ukraine war doesn’t directly involve the US. Remember how World War One started? A chain-reaction of mobilizations with each government being forced to mobilize in order to not allow the other guy gain an advantage. While it is possible to imagine a small nuclear attack on an non-nuclear nation, it is easier to see a chain reaction of launches by nations each trying to us their nuclear weapons before they are destroyed on the ground. The danger of a nuclear attack becoming a general nuclear exchange is very great. A general nuclear exchange would roughly destroy the world. Nothing you can do about it once the missiles launch. Strategic defense is still a fantasy. ---
**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 28, 2024, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/131 "2024-08-28T14:43:42Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > Remember how World War One started? Remember the dozens of proxy wars with Russia since WWIl? Did you have nuclear anxiety about all of those, too? ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/132 "2024-08-28T21:08:21Z")
I’m not going anywhere. My situation following a nuclear exchange and possible social collapse, desperate as it may be, will not be in any way improved by being away from my home. Here I have shelter (depending on the extent of damage to the fabric of my home), some limited supplies of food, and various resources including tools and other items that may be of use or value, and neighbours. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/133 "2024-08-29T07:19:30Z")
I’ve answered this before and made a thread about it. > [@Incoming missiles!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incoming-missiles/982599): > > North Korea apparently launched a ballistic missile which should (by now) have come down somewhere around Hokkaido, where I live. The kids had just left for school, I was getting some coffee and wondering if I should prepare for classes or read the Dope and I get an alert on my phone to take shelter immediately, followed by phone calls from my wife, who is in Tokyo now, and other parents. My son was walking to school with a friend, and his mother went and got them and brought them back, but … So, of course it wasn’t a nuclear missile, and we weren’t blow up, but what I did do during the time period before I found out that we weren’t dead: - Drank some coffee - Posted on the Dope - Talked to my friends As I live in a small town in Japan, nowhere close to any major targets, I presume things won’t be headed my way. We are a fishing village so there should be some protein available. I do keep enough coffee on hand although if Armageddon occurs, I presume the Dope won’t survive. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/134 "2024-08-29T10:17:23Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Remember the dozens of proxy wars with Russia since WWIl? Did you have nuclear anxiety about all of those, too? No. Thank you for asking. In those others, there was not talk about the Russians popping a nuke in an “escalate to deescalate” play. In those other wars the Russians were not talking about wiping out Nato members. Thank you for your question. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/135 "2024-08-29T12:07:00Z")
> [@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 The area I grew up in was heavily bombed during the Blitz despite having little strategic value. Local legend is that the Germans just looked at a map and targeted places with the word Port in the name. Dudley Port was a canal port and of huge value in 1840, but not so much in 1940. The truth is probably that they were aiming for the plane factories nearer to Birmingham and just got a bit lost. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/136 "2024-08-29T12:16:43Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > We went through a pretty good war scare a year or two ago. I thought we were all going to die due to tension related to the invasion of Ukraine A few weeks after the invasion Putin was rattling his sabre against the UK saying he would nuke us if we didn’t keep out of it. I was outside one evening looking up at the sky and watching the bats fly around. A huge meteor fireball streaked across the sky leaving a trail and for a few seconds I thought the end had come. Fear was quickly replaced by resignation as if it had been a missile there was nothing I could do about it. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/137 "2024-09-11T16:32:28Z")
A post was merged into an existing topic: [Keyhotea Cornfielded Posts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keyhotea-cornfielded-posts/1007125/46) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/138 "2024-08-30T21:23:54Z")
“Kids today”'s fingers will be on the button tomorrow. It’s not like this problem will go away if ignored. Nor did all those GBSDs spontaneously come into existence. ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162/139 "2024-09-02T14:09:16Z")
I live in a very small town with major cities nearby in the US so I’d be safe from any potential nuclear strikes. Going anywhere would only put myself closer to danger and chaos. I’d still be affected by the ensuing societal breakdown if a full exchange happened. I have no desire to live in a world like that so I’d likely just shoot myself in my house once the exchange was over. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-scare-what-would-be-your-get-out-of-town-threshold/1006162.md?page=6)