5 Preparations to Survive a Nuclear Attack & Fallout

A nuclear fallout might not be in people’s mind right now if it’s not because of the new Fallout game which is going to be released on November 10, 2015. But what can you do if a nuclear fallout does happen? Would you be able to survive it and do you know how to increase the chances of survivability?

The basics of basic on how to survive the attack is to go into the nearest fridge. Cough but in all seriousness, you would need to know where you can go for shelter and how to reduce yourself from radiation exposure. So here are the list of things to plan for in case of a possible attack:

1. Shelter or Evacuation
Because most countries that have nuclear weapons are in the northern hemisphere, there are more likely chances of it happening in that part of the world. So evacuating the country to somewhere furthest from the possible attack would be the best chances to survive the fallout.

If you can’t evacuate, finding a shelter would be the best bet for survival. Deep underground would block most of the radiation from fallout and make sure to not turn on any ventilation system such as the windows and air-conditioners as it may bring in all the harmful radiations that you want to avoid.

So building a shelter is the best thing you can do next to evacuation as it prepares you for the attack and all you need to focus on after is to survive rather than worry about your survival. Also, don’t forget a place for the bathroom. I mean even in dire situations, if you need to go, you need to go.

2. Storage in shelter
If you have evacuated you wont need to worry much but for those building the shelter you would need to store some stuff in them. This is because, after the attack, during fallout, you should be ready to stay in it for 48 to 500 hours depending on how far you are from the centre of attack. The nearer you are the longer you’d have to stay in the shelter.

Thus, you would need to have food and clean water stored. Get non perishable food such as listed and make sure you keep your water in a container that doesn’t leach or rust. You would also need to have medical supplies and learn a few first aid techniques that might not just help yourself, but others as well.

Then get other miscellaneous items such a radio, phone, cooking utensils, batteries, flashlights, dust masks, extra clothes, garbage bags, duct tapes and other necessities you could think off.

3. Places to avoid
There are places that you should avoid at all cost during the time of crisis as they are most likely to be hit. They are:

Airfields and naval bases, especially those known to house nuclear bombers
Commercial ports and runways over 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) long.
Centres of government.
Large industrial cities and major populated centres.

So, if you still had to work at these places. All I could say is good luck and if they do have shelters for it, I hope you make it in time or have enough clearance to not be left out.

4. Checking the news
You should always keep yourself up to date with the situation of the country you’re in and the current political situation. Because a nuclear attack will definitely not happen out of the blue since that is technically the last option any country would take.

It will happen between nations that have nuclear weapons and are in a war that is extended for so long and escalated to a point of no return. When the tension of either one of them gets too unbearable just be sure to get ready for an all-out nuclear war to happen.

Also keep an eye out for where the nearest shelters or decontamination areas are built for future reference.

5. Educate yourself on the different type of nuclear weapons
They are the fission and fusion bombs which are known as an atomic and hydrogen bombs respectively.

Fission is when the nuclei of a heavy element are split into 2 different nuclei which releases a huge amount of energy while the other is when two light nuclei undergo nuclear fusion to combine and form a single nucleus which also releases a lot of energy.

You would also need to learn about the product of the fallout which are the alpha particles, beta particles and especially the gamma rays which can contaminate an area and not just burn your skin but might even burn your insides whether through the skin, ingested or even inhaled.

So, by knowing how they contaminate things, you should use that knowledge you acquire to get proper protection from them and how to decontaminate yourself to ensure a better survivability.