Updated Tips for Surviving a Nuclear Blast

Obviously, if you are too close to ground zero, it just isn't going to matter: you will be killed by the heat or other radiation, or by the overpressure from the blast. But if you are farther out, you might survive the overpressure blast depending not only on the construction of the structure in which you find yourself, but also where you are in the structure when the blast arrives, according to this article from Business Insider: "Sheltering miles from a nuclear blast may not be enough to survive unless you know where to hide, new calculations show."

    As the article notes, "[w]hen a nuclear bomb detonates, it generates not only radiation in the form of a bright, blinding light and scorching heat, but also powerful shockwaves that can travel for tens of miles," and "[i]t's these shockwaves that are potentially lethal for people at a safe enough distance from the fireball." The researchers in this case ran a simulation of a nuclear explosion from a 750-kiloton atomic bomb (equivalent to one of the current Russian warheads). "A warhead of this magnitude would likely obliterate everything within 2.5 miles," the article states, "but people beyond that radius may stand a chance if they're sheltering in the right location of a sturdy structure."

    The team used fluid dynamics to determine "the right location" within the structure. 

    Using these models, they computed how the shockwave would move through buildings — including rooms, walls, corners, doors, corridors, windows, and doorways — at distances of 2.5 miles to 30 miles from the detonation site.

    They reported that narrow pockets inside buildings like doorways and hallways could act like a windtunnel, accelerating the shockwave to dangerous pressures of up to 18 times a human's body weight — easily enough to crush bones.

    "The most dangerous critical indoor locations to avoid are the windows, the corridors, and the doors," said co-author Ioannis William Kokkinakis.

    The best location is in the half of the building farthest from the blast, in a room with no windows. But, "even in the front room facing the explosion, one can be safe from the high airspeeds if positioned at the corners of the wall facing the blast," Kokkinakis told Insider.

    It's also worth noting that the building itself is important. You don't want to take cover in a log cabin, for example.

    "As the paper noted, if you're too close to the blast there's not much that can be done. However, at a distance building structures particularly stone or concrete or other stout, noncombustible materials can provide some degree of protection from the blast," said Kathryn Higley, a professor of radiation biology at Oregon State University who was not involved in the study.