How to survive nuclear fallout? Being prepared for the worst is never a bad thing. In the unlikely event of a nuclear blast, you need all the information you can get to stand a chance of surviving. You may think that this is excessive but nuclear fallout can be completely out of human control.
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986 happened during a safety test. The test was simulating a power failure in the power station. Design flaws in the reactor caused a huge steam explosion and the nearest town of Pripyat had to be completely abandoned. It had a population of nearly 50,000 people, and now it’s a ghost town.
More recently, in 2011, a tsunami caused by an earthquake in Japan caused an incident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Surrounding towns and villages were evacuated. Around 100,000 people fled the disaster. A 30 mile exclusion zone around the plant exists and very few people have been there since.
Not only that, but international relations have gotten so frosty recently, that the idea of a nuclear attack isn’t completely out of the question anymore. As the generations who witnessed the damage and destruction of nuclear weapons first-hand have passed, we seem to be getting altogether too casual about the ‘big red button’.
How Can I Protect Myself From Nuclear Fallout?
If the unimaginable occurs, you need to know what to do. You won’t have much time! So you need to be able to spring into action to stand a good chance of survival. If you’re outside the one-mile blast zone, then you stand a very good chance of surviving the initial explosion. You have 15 minutes from then until nuclear fallout kicks in.
Do not seek shelter in a vehicle as they do not offer protection from blasts or fallout. Look for a building, preferably a large one but any will do. Anywhere inside is better than being outside. Once in the building, you need to try and gather any supplies that are lying around and get to the deepest part of the building. Avoid doors, windows and external walls and try to get to a place that is protected from the contaminated air.
This infographic from Vivid Doors will give you lots of handy information that will serve you well in such an event. From the things you need to what you can eat if your supplies run out, this nifty little guide could end up saving your life.
There’s three main things to remember to survive nuclear fallout. Get inside, stay inside and stay tuned. You’ll have a long road ahead of you as in the event of a nuclear war, the outdoors could be uninhabitable for a number of years.
We hope you never need to use this information, but that it comes in handy if you do. It’s never a bad idea to be prepared.