Want to Survive a Nuclear Attack? Just Chill Out

You can go back to being worried about being nuked. Except this time around, you don’t need to worry as much. The U.S. government has been making an aggressive push to prepare for an urban nuclear attack, publishing guides and getting emergency planners behind a public education campaign. 

They’ve also been conducting tests in major cities, setting off virtual 10-kiloton nuclear devices capable of engulfing 50,000 to 150,000 people with radioactive fallout and turning city centers into rubble. It’s like the ’50s all over again. Except a tad more relaxed.

There aren’t thousands of warheads aimed at us anymore. The threat may come more from smuggled terrorist devices. Which may or may not be as devastating.

And don’t think about the laughably friendly-but-frightening solution of “duck and cover” (see above). You just need to chill inside for a few days. From the Times:

Do not flee. Get inside any stable building and don’t come out till officials say it’s safe.

The advice is based on recent scientific analyses showing that a nuclear attack is much more survivable if you immediately shield yourself from the lethal radiation that follows a blast, a simple tactic seen as saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Even staying in a car, the studies show, would reduce casualties by more than 50 percent; hunkering down in a basement would be better by far.

The reason for the government’s new chillax (but still alarmed) approach: we the public tend to think survival of a nuclear attack is impossible. The report points at the ‘duck and cover’ campaign and more recent 9/11-era recommendation of ‘plastic sheeting and duct tape’ as reasons for public skepticism and a “sense of futility, fatalism, and hopelessness [that] severely impacts their desire and even their ability to absorb information and follow instructions.”

According to research by the Homeland Security Institute’s (HSI) Nuclear Incident Communication Planning, simply initiating communication regarding a possible nuclear detonation is “met with skepticism, concern about hidden intelligence information, and accusations of government propagandizing.”

The solution for now may be an “all-hazards” approach, one applicable to all types of emergencies, easy to remember, and action-oriented.

Still, a nuclear attack is no walk in the park, not unless the park is shrouded in fallout. Back to the things you should be keep in mind, according to the government:

• Wait at least 24 hours before venturing outside. That’s about how long it will take fallout to descend to the ground.
  
• The faster you protect yourself --ie, as soon as you see a flash-- the better. Injuries from falling debris are thought to be the most common. The thorax, abdomen, and head --and especially the eyes-- will be most vulnerable.
  
• Backup your files. Electromagnetic pulse effects are bad for your computers. Or just buy a nuke-proof Panel PC.
  
• Commit this graphic to memory :

Because it could take at least a day for the government to begin to rescue survivors suffering from traumatic injuries, radiation sickness, shock and flash-blindness, you’ll also need to have a kit of supplies. And probably some potassium iodide pills, which prevent your thyroid from absorbing radio-iodine and thus lowers the risk of future thyroid cancer. A radiation monitor wouldn’t hurt either. And hey, while you’re at it, a stylish, lightweight Demron™ torso vest and full-body radiation suit.

Look, I’m just trying to do a bit of a public service here. We don’t have to take the threat of a dirty nuke so heavily. It’s cool. Relax. Don’t worry. Lie down. Preferably in a room that’s underground and has no windows.

Also, watch this fun civil defense film from the ‘50s, which is still relevant. And, when combined with the government’s current messaging, it should strike in your heart just the right blend of coolness, comfort and terror.

Source :
www.motherboard.tv