LOS ANGELES - 'How to Survive' is a series where experts explain how to survive everything from natural disasters to everyday issues that affect us all.The peril of nuclear war — and its aftermath — has been an ominous threat looming over mankind since the 1940s.
While the politics and the players may have changed through the years, the one constant has been the sheer destructiveness of the weapons.Now, many Americans are, for the first time in their lives, contemplating the possibility of a nuclear attack and how to survive it."If anything like [a nuclear attack] does happen – defense systems fail, nukes that large hit the United States – it's going to be really, really terrible," said Thomas Coyne a professional survival instructor who teaches courses at and owns California Survival Training.Nuclear bomb blast. (Photo by Lambert/Getty Images) In the event of a nuclear attack, the initial explosion may actually be the least of your worries.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, when a nuclear weapon is detonated aboveground, radioactive materials are sent high into the atmosphere up to 50 miles.
Those radioactive particles that fall back down to Earth are called fallout. If a nuke were to ever hit a city, or cities, the fallout could envelop the planet with help of weather patterns that would spell doom for humanity.