# Nuclear bug out



## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

What do you do if you are in the fallout zone of an atomic blast? Well first of all thank God that you were not in the blast zone!

But next you need to find shelter. Underground is best. Partially underground if you can block windows. Remembering that it is density that blocks radiation. Office buildings are not bad so long as you are at least two floors from the ground and from the roof. Particularly if you are in a building with a lot of paper making a shelter from file cabinets and reams of paper provides good protection so long as the paper was are thick enough.

All that being said once you know what to look for in a shelter how much time do you have to find the best shelter possible? I came across this article about seeking shelter in case of an atomic blast and how survivability is impacted by risking exposure in order to seek a higher quality shelter.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014...er-to-run-away-from-nuclear-detonation-blast/

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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

That made me laugh, read the comments from the article.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

*I'm going in here..*

We are ready...


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## moondancer (Dec 21, 2013)

I live in an area where there are lots of caves and I would try to make it there but the closest one is 18 miles so on foot it prob wouldn't be doable in a fall out situation but if the vehicle was still operable it would be . To me nuclear is the absolute worst case and I am not prepared enough but will and can never be prepared enough in my mind GOD HELP US in that case. I need as much info as pos on it so thanks for the link / thread


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## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

moondancer said:


> I live in an area where there are lots of caves and I would try to make it there but the closest one is 18 miles so on foot it prob wouldn't be doable in a fall out situation but if the vehicle was still operable it would be . To me nuclear is the absolute worst case and I am not prepared enough but will and can never be prepared enough in my mind GOD HELP US in that case. I need as much info as pos on it so thanks for the link / thread


Depends...if it is a attack on just one or two cities then you need to survive the blast and fallout and then move...like Fukashima. If it is a case of all out thermonuclear war then the S has really hit the fan and you are unlikely to get to safety without getting a serious dose of rads.

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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Padre said:


> ... then the S has really hit the fan and you are unlikely to get to safety without getting a serious dose of rads.


Only a very few.

The world would be a very, very very different place when they re-emerge.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

What they left out of their thinking process is what if you take off going away from the blast and then end up going right into another blast in another town and you are now completely exposed with no place to go.

If you live an the east coast, there is a real possibility that numerous blasts will occur in close proximity and any direction you go could put you right into another blast zone. If that happens to you, you will be having a very bad day!

Remember that to get the maximum effect from a nuclear attack would be to get every body on the road for a hour, and right when they estimate that the crowds would be going through another metropolitan area (while trying to escape the first blast) to hit that area with a another blast.

The smartest person will live where the chances of a nuclear blast are not near you and then you can just sit tight for 48 hours and see how it pans out!


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

The problem with running from a blast zone has more to do with getting caught in panic flight of all the other poor souls trying to get away. If you are in the suburbs of a major metro forget the roads as they will be a clogged up mess. Just remember what it is like in a hurricane evacuation out of a place like New Orleans or Houston. 

Decisions will have to be made on the run so to speak if you are caught in a blast zone. The most likely scenario is going to be a single or series of dirty bombs in a major metro area. Coastal cities are at big time risk from their shipping channels where a terror group has the ability to bring in a bomb or bomb by ship. 

The best thing any of us can do is to have a plan with multiple options for staying in place or running depending on how much TIME you have. 

In our case we have moved both our travel trailer and our enclosed trailer to our house. WE have them ready to hook up and leave if we have to. We walked through our trailer today to be sure everything was okay. A plan is no good if your equipment fails you when the time comes. GB


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## InThought (Jan 19, 2014)

It's too bad that unlike other countries, who's governments have built comprehensive, if not elaborate tunneling system between shelters, a person could walk underneath the ground towards the destination in question without threat of exposure. At present, we can stick a fork in us. Why walk - a meg lev system sounds better! just dreaming.


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

A movie called "The Day After" 1983 had some interesting ways on how people dealt with this a nuke exchange. Some that where in a non target city hid in the university basements for 2 weeks. Others in hositpal and storm cellers. They put together old ham radios (not sure if that would work in a real situation) that they found in the university basements and over time talked to others around the country who survived. Some of the students put together a meter to count the rads so they knew when it'd be safer to come out...( in the movie I believe it was like a 2 week period). Some of the characters still recieved enough of a dose to die or became very sick. Course this is all hollywood but many folks have no idea how to deal with that. Most folks think were all toast...unless we all have SPF 5000, crispy critters we are?? I guess I'd hunker down as much as possible for as long as possible creating as much density around me as possible untill I have better knowledge. I'd think anything east of the mississippi is gone for sure with all the power nuke plants out there going into meltdown mode...out west itd be some of that and stragetic nuke targets areas to avoid..but I'd think regardless of where anyone is at..life spans just got alot shorter...


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

bunkerbob said:


> We are ready...


Yumpin Freakin' Yiminy!!!!!!!

I feel so inadequate!

:eyebulge:


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## northstarprepper (Mar 19, 2013)

I have studied the nuclear scenarios quite a bit. In a full out exchange with either Russia or China, it is likely that a high percentage of the population will die in the devastation. Nuclear power plants would only be an issue in some sort of terrorist attack, which would be scary enough. In an actual war though, I think I might just walk outside and watch the end of the world. Whatever would be left after that would be hell on earth...literally. Radiation would poison the air, the dirt, the water, and the plants. Radiation would be absorbed throughout the food chain, poisoning the survivors slowly. You would need years of food, water, and safe shelter to survive. I can't say I would want to live that bad.


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## InThought (Jan 19, 2014)

*Shelter Visit*

Living in the Baltimore area, I should have researched whether there is a preservation society for the old shelter system, as found for WDC: http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2010/todays-news/saving-fallout-shelter-signs.html - it aint much to look at but knowing where they "were" may be helpful. I would like to see one of the shelters in the area if someone would have me come by: 240 593-0322. I feel like a nut digging up the back yard of a townhome and could use better mental vision of what to expect. Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them"


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

I just want some of the school desks we had when I was a kid. I figure they have a decent shelf life and they did protect us when we hid under them back in the 1960's.

For those that mentioned traffic jams and bugging out, wouldn't the EMP disable most every vehicle on the road and therefore negate the opportunity to drive out of the affected area?


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

ZoomZoom said:


> wouldn't the EMP disable most every vehicle on the road and therefore negate the opportunity to drive out of the affected area?


It depends, *no one* really knows for sure. 
Best case scenario: the vehicle quits, but can be restarted with no ill effects.
Worst case: ECU is fried and no restart possible.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Winds will blow the radioactivity. It depends on the wind direction and where you are from the blast zone. If Chicago was one of the major cities that was nuked we would probably be OK in NE Wisconsin unless it was summer and south winds blew the radioactivity north. Likewise, we would most likely be safe from an east coast nuclear attack. If Seattle was nuked that might be a real problem for us given that the prevailing winds are west to east.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

northstarprepper said:


> I have studied the nuclear scenarios quite a bit. In a full out exchange with either Russia or China, it is likely that a high percentage of the population will die in the devastation. Nuclear power plants would only be an issue in some sort of terrorist attack, which would be scary enough. In an actual war though, I think I might just walk outside and watch the end of the world. Whatever would be left after that would be hell on earth...literally. Radiation would poison the air, the dirt, the water, and the plants. Radiation would be absorbed throughout the food chain, poisoning the survivors slowly. You would need years of food, water, and safe shelter to survive. I can't say I would want to live that bad.


From what I have read, that is the feeling of some of us here. I am prepared to hunker down and ride out a year of whatever. I am not prepared to live forever on what I have or can produce, that is not possible in my situation. I am also not prepared to live in a bunker for 20 years and find out what is left. I can accept that.


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

northstarprepper said:


> I have studied the nuclear scenarios quite a bit. In a full out exchange with either Russia or China, it is likely that a high percentage of the population will die in the devastation. Nuclear power plants would only be an issue in some sort of terrorist attack, which would be scary enough. In an actual war though, I think I might just walk outside and watch the end of the world. Whatever would be left after that would be hell on earth...literally. Radiation would poison the air, the dirt, the water, and the plants. Radiation would be absorbed throughout the food chain, poisoning the survivors slowly. You would need years of food, water, and safe shelter to survive. I can't say I would want to live that bad.


I would suggest the article The Good News About Nuclear Destruction. While I'm no expert and I don't claim to know enough to verify all of the information given, enough of it makes sense to me to warrant reading.

IMO Nuclear plants would be a real and present danger, due to them needing outside electricity to keep running safely. It seems that I've heard of some types of reactors that would be able to shut down safely, but I believe the majority are older types. Couple that with personnel deciding that taking care of their family is more important to them than the job.

Most of the doomsday stuff you read about surviving a nuclear "incident" is just patently false, and was put out there as scare tactics by the anti-nuke people. In theory this tactic was a good idea, but the problem is that the people in countries that are most likely to be our adversaries have been told the truth and those countries have been preparing for the possibility.

"Radiation would poison the air, the dirt, the water, and the plants."

I'm pretty sure that the air will not be poisoned. There will fallout in dust form that may be suspended in the upper atmosphere for a long time, but the vast majority of the larger particles should "fallout" within a short enough time to make sheltering tough, but doable. I believe that some radiation will enter the food chain, and some types of plants are more susceptible to pick up radiation than others, but personally I'd rather get myself and my family through the event and worry about developing cancer 20 years down the road. Water will not become poisoned. Filter out any fallout and the water is fine.

You are right about the whole "Whatever would be left after that would be hell on earth". It would be an extremely tough world to survive in and it would require knowing the truth about radiation and how to best deal with the long term effects.

As I said earlier, I don't know enough about the subject to claim to be an expert. I base most of my *opinions* on my time as an Navy Electronics Tech in the Nuclear field, and that was longer ago than I care to admit.


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