The safest place: the corners of a room, author Ioannis Kokkinakis of Cyprus' University of Nicosia said in a statement. “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 added.
The safest place in your home during an radiation emergency is a centrally located room or basement. This area should have as few windows as possible. The further your shelter is from windows, the safer you will be.
GET INSIDE: After a detonation, you will have 10 minutes or more to find an adequate shelter before fallout arrives. If a multi-story building or a basement can be safely reached within a few minutes of the explosion, go there immediately. The safest buildings have brick or concrete walls.
Ultimately, the best option is to hide in the corner of a room, away from any openings such as a window or door, where air speed is higher. The authors stress that the time between the explosion and the arrival of the blast wave is only a few seconds, so quickly getting to a safe place is critical.
The only good news is that research has shown that Australia and New Zealand are among the best places in the world to survive a nuclear apocalypse. Australia scored well as it has a good infrastructure, a huge energy surplus, high health security and abundant food supplies.
“On balance, because of a light population density, its remoteness from major population centres on the east coast, Darwin would probably be the safest place. “Without water, you're a refugee.
According to the classic post-apocalyptic fiction On The Beach by Nevil Shute, Melbourne is an excellent bet. The plot suggests that if nuclear war breaks out in the northern hemisphere, the Victorian capital is likely to be one of the last places the radiation cloud reaches.
THE NEXT 48 HOURS
You have been sheltered because of the potential for dangerous levels of radiation in the first 24 hours following a nuclear detonation. After 24 hours, outdoor radiation levels will have fallen significantly but may still warrant protective measures in your area.
The resulting inferno, and the blast wave that follows, instantly kill people directly in their path. But a new study finds that some people two to seven miles away could survive—if they're lucky enough to find just the right kind of shelter.
The study published in the journal Risk Analysis describes Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as the island countries most capable of producing enough food for their populations after an “abrupt sunlight‐reducing catastrophe” such as a nuclear war, super volcano or asteroid strike.
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.
Irwin Redlener at Columbia University specialises in disaster preparedness and notes that there are six cities in the US that are more likely to be targeted in a nuclear attack – New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC.
The best locations are underground and in the middle of larger buildings. While commuting, identify appropriate shelters to seek in the event of a detonation. Outdoor areas, vehicles and mobile homes do NOT provide adequate shelter. Look for basements or the center of large multi-story buildings.
To seal a room:
Seal all windows, rooms and air vents in one room with 2-4 mil. thick plastic sheeting and duct tape. You might want to measure an duct the plastic sheeting in advance to save time.
The damage caused would be internal, with the injurious effects appearing over many years. For the survivors of a nuclear war, this lingering radiation hazard could represent a grave threat for as long as 1 to 5 years after the attack.
Recovery would probably take about 3-10 years, but the Academy's study notes that long term global changes cannot be completely ruled out. The reduced ozone concentrations would have a number of consequences outside the areas in which the detonations occurred.
But the vast majority of the human population would suffer extremely unpleasant deaths from burns, radiation and starvation, and human civilization would likely collapse entirely.
Ward's claims for Starlite were impressive and subsequently verified in tests: Cables coated in Starlite were unbothered by heats of 10,000° Celsius — about the same as a nuclear blast — when tested by the British Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)
Packed earth insulates against radiation and blast waves, but don't go deeper than 10 feet; if your exits (make two) become blocked in the blast, you may need to dig yourself out.
Beta particles travel appreciable distances in air, but can be reduced or stopped by a layer of clothing, thin sheet of plastic or a thin sheet of aluminum foil. Several feet of concrete or a thin sheet of a few inches of lead may be required to stop the more energetic gamma rays.
Removing the outer layer of clothing can remove up to 90 percent of radioactive material. Take a shower or wash with soap and water to remove fallout from any skin or hair that was not covered. If you cannot wash or shower, use a wipe or clean wet cloth to wipe any skin or hair that was not covered.
Australia and New Zealand fared best in the analysis, partly because, they are far removed from places that would spark nuclear war. Other than this, Australia scored well as it has a good infrastructure, huge energy surplus, high health security and more.
Does Australia Have or Want Nuclear Weapons? Australia does not possess any nuclear weapons and is not seeking to become a nuclear weapon state. Australia's core obligations as a non-nuclear-weapon state are set out in the NPT.