The life of a Californian is stressful to say the least! Not only do I have to worry about random freeway shootings, but now I have to worry about some megalomaniacal dictator dropping the bomb on my ass simply because I am within range.
Asked by Senator Hillary Clinton whether North Korea had the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear warhead, [Vice Admiral Lowell] Jacoby responded:
“The assessment is that they have the capability to do that, yes, ma’am.”
He said North Korea also had the ability to deploy a two-stage intercontinental missile that could successfully hit US territory. [Yahoo News]
To stress me out even further, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said this morning that we are overstretched in case we have to fight another war. The LA times reports:
The strains imposed by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made it far more difficult for the U.S. military to beat back new acts of aggression, launch a pre-emptive strike or prevent conflict in another part of the world, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff concluded in a classified analysis presented to Congress today.
Feeling rather afraid and hopeless, I made my way over to the website of the ONE institution that I can always rely on to make me feel safer. I wanted to know what I should do in case of a nuclear attack. This is what my government advises me:
I was confused. According to the picture above I can survive a nuclear blast that occurs less than a block away from where I’m standing?? Unlike the United States which (perhaps until now) has not been seriously threatened by ICBMs since the fall of the Soviet Union, India and Pakistan live under constant threat from each other. How do they advise their populations to prepare for nuclear hellfire? What advice does the government of India have for its citizens? Well I’m not exactly sure. I couldn’t find an official website (no surprise). I did however find this document on the feasibility of nuclear civil defense in South Asia:
We have looked at the effects of typical nuclear weapons believed to be in the arsenals of India and Pakistan, if used against a city. We showed that there is a combination of blast, thermal and prompt nuclear radiation that creates an inner zone around the nuclear explosion, out to distances of 1.5 km for a 10-20 Kt weapon, and about 3.5 km for a 200Kt weapon. Our analysis shows that for people unfortunate enough to be within this inner circle and exposed to the full impact of the explosion, there is no defense.
Sh*t. That’s not very comforting AND it flies in the face of what the Department of Homeland Security is telling me. The plot below that I found in the South Asian assessment didn’t assuage my fear either. “Human Organs…destroyed?”
The life of a Californian sure isn’t what it used to be. Maybe I should just find a nice girl and make use of what’s left of my time.
We don’t have an official policy in Karachi, but my understand has always been “Get on a bloody plane and get thee to a visa-free country.”
Ummm, I hate to do this to you, but my 10th grade chem teacher did it to us years ago so I have to pass on the abuse:
If there’s a nuclear attack (not a dirty bomb…a real bomb) on your metro area, you’re pretty much dead. If you’re near, you die right away. If you’re far, you die of cancer later. See details at PBS, which is almost always more reliable than the U.S. government.
Embarassingly, I cite India Abroad for a desi example:
Lahore, for instance, is completely wiped out as the whole city falls within the “lethal zone” of a nuclear attack. And for 140 square miles downwind – assuming a windspeed of 15 miles per hour – the fallout would be high enough to kill the entire population over the next few weeks.
This is why it’s very, very, very bad that the U.S. government is developing new nuclear weapons, throwing out the anti-ballistic missile treaty, developing the thus-far unworkable and highly internationally unpopular missile shield, and generally not doing all that it can and is necessary to deal with this huge problem.
Official Indian policy in case of a nuclear attack: “Put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye” Living in Delhi, where the citizenry get by on a diet of dal-chawal, there are times when I wonder whether an atom bomb would be preferable to the “natom”(translation available with your nearest mallu) bombs that are inflicted on us daily.
“See details at PBS, which is almost always more reliable than the U.S. government.”
Seconding Saurav wholeheartedly on that one…
Thanks for the post Abhi. I’m especially feeling the diagram that looks more like a map of how to exit your local target store on Broadway and Main than to survive a nuclear blast with your organs intact.
Also, I’ve apparently been living under a rock and have only recently discovered SepiaMutiny. I’m loving the entertaining, frighteningly up-to-date and well-written and well-researched posts. Yup, shameless praise. Kudos to all of you.
Abhi: As a Senior Structural Engineer at the Government Agency (you know which)in washington, DC, let me tell you a thing or two about nuclear blasts and protection of Homo Sapiens and occasionally “structures”. I have a certificate from Department of Defense (DOD)issued to me in 1970 (six years before you were born)proclaiming me an expert in “Fallout Shelter Analyst”. Remember these were the hay days of “Cold War”. Nothing is really effective to save you. You can increase the distance from ground zero, and/or put barriers between you and the radiation. There is no known substance which will prevent “Gamma” radiation completely. Given time it will pass thru even a ten foot thick concrete wall. Alpha and Beta are harmless and you can even “drink” Beta. It is the “Gamma” which will get you. Do not panic, and remember what “Omaar Khyyam” has said: “Here with a loaf of Bread beneath the bow, a flask of wine, a book of verse, and thou….and the wilderness is paradise anow….” Enjoy the life while you can, and forget about the nuclear blasts. Love….Dad
Won’t God save us?
I was told that saying <strong>Whai Guru Sat Naam protects you from all disasters.
I remember reading Barefoot Gen back in the day and it was the most vivid description I had ever seen of what really happens when a nuclear bomb detonates. I still can’t believe the world doesn’t listen to the hibakusha — survivors of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings. Yo dad is right, no concrete walls will protect you if you’re hanging out near ground zero.
Reminds me of the UK govt’s ‘preparing for emergencies’ website and its funny spoof from last year.
Abhi: This can happen in a normal detonation too. For explosives that detonate(RDX, C4, TNT etc.), which means a supersonic chemical reaction and explosion, your interal organs will get pulverized if one is close enough but not necessarily on top of the blast.
For example, if a 1000lb bomb drops close enough, but not directly on someone, it will still destroy internal organs via the shockwave. However the shockwave is much smaller therefore, the blast distance will be significantly shorter.
Blank, I was joking of course. I was the designated weapons expert in several mercenary armies from the Falklands War to the insurgency in Kablokistan. I know all too well the horrors of explosives. Plus as you can see by comment number 5 above I get lectured at home all the time.
My favorite Nuclear Preparedness poster, which my High School Chemistry teacher found when he was renovating his basement, asked people to, as a last resort, jump in a ditch. I can’t recall the last time I saw a ditch, but maybe the point of the advice is to make less work for the gravediggers who will inevitably come through later.
Abhi: I know your post was meant to be humorous. But I can’t resist being a ammunution/weapons nurd. Live long and prosper.
I ain’t gonna argue with your Bapuji dude.
the one part of this poster that is (unintentionally?) scientifically reasonable is that the diagram shows the dude running at a right angle around a city block rather than the shortest direct path (straight down the block).
Running @ right angles, around buildings, helps mitigate shockwave effects (although not the radiation).
Now whether or not he’d have enough of a headstart to get out of the way of a superheated wall of air moving at 700mph is another story…
Yea, I don’t think anyone can out run a nuke. At that point, thank the Lord and run straight into the fireball.
I ain’t taking chances. I’d rather be evaporated than die of severe radiation poisoning.
Embrace the Fireball for it is the Rapture! Brother Bush! Call down the wrath of God that we might be saved and leave these liberals to die of radiation upon their precious planet.
My inaugural address at the Great White Throne Judgment of the Dead, after I have raptured out billions!
At: http://www.angelfire.com/crazy/spaceman/