DISASTER! - Homeland Security and Emergency Management ...

By learning about potential threats, we are all better prepared to know howto react if something happens. Earlier we covered nuclear power plantaccidents and RDDs (dirty bombs) explaining both scenarios would bepretty localized. We also listed sheltering tips and suggested items to beincluded in Disaster Supplies Kits for several days (in Section 1), howevera nuclear attack could create more extensive damage and longer shelteringrequirements meaning more preparation is needed.In this topic we’ll explain a nuke scenario, give some tips on sheltering andsupplies, and suggest what to do BEFORE, DURING and AFTER anattack. Please realize this topic is being written with small nuke devices inmind (like a 1-kiloton to 1-megaton device - similar to what a terrroristgroup may try to obtain and use). A much larger device or a nuclear warwould cause more wide-spread damage but some of this data could still behelpful. Again, these are some very basic things you can do to prepare yourselfand your family so you can survive the unthinkable.What happens when a nuke explodes?A nuclear blast produces a blinding light, intense heat (called thermal radiation),initial nuclear radiation, 2 explosive shock waves (blasts), massfires, and radioactive fallout (residual nuclear radiation). And, if a nuke islaunched over our continent and explodes miles above the earth, it couldcreate an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Let’s break this down a littlefurther...• fireball - a combination of heat and light so intense theflash can be seen for hundreds of miles. Just looking at theflash can cause temporary or permanent eye damage.• thermal radiation - an intense heat that could cause firesfor several miles around ground zero. The heat flash couldcause severe burns from direct exposure or from burningobjects like clothing, buildings, etc.• initial nuclear radiation - penetrating invisible rays thatcan be lethal in high levels• blast - explosive shock wave that happens a split secondafter the fireball. The blast could destroy most buildingsfor several miles depending on the size of the nuke andstrength of the structures. A blast can also cause serious orlethal injuries to people from being thrown by the shockwave or getting hit by flying objects or debris.• radioactive fallout (residual nuclear radiation) - createdwhen the fireball vaporizes everything inside it (includingdirt and water). Vaporized materials mix with radioactivematerials in the updraft of air forming a mushroom cloud.Fallout can be carried by winds for hundreds of miles andbegin falling to the ground within minutes of the blast or114 www.itsadisaster.net or call 1-888-999-4325