Staying Safe During and After a Nuclear Attack

Staying Safe During and After a Nuclear Attack

Weird world where a matcha company is posting something like this, but here we are in such a world while wanting our customers to stay as informed and safe as possible. We don’t expect you to ever need this article, but it isn’t a bad idea to have some basic plans in your head if it were to happen, just in case.

During

Avert Your Eyes – You’ll have only a moment to do this after the initial strike. Turn away, close, and cover your eyes. The flash can temporarily blind people ten miles or more away.

Get Down – Lay flat on the ground away from windows and loose objects if possible. Stay there until two shock waves have passed.

Tuck In – Keep your arms close to your body and hands underneath you to keep them from being struck by debris or burned.

Open Your Mouth – Opening your mouth during the initial shock waves will help keep your eardrums intact. If you are outside, you want to cover your mouth with a cloth at the same time if you can.

Immediately After

Dust Off – That dust on you may be radioactive. Shake or brush it off in a ventilated area with a covering over your mouth and nose.

Get Inside – If you were outside during the blast, it is time to get indoors. You want to ideally get into a shelter or basement, but anywhere is better than outside until you know where fallout might land. If a basement isn’t an option, you want to be in the center of a building without windows and not on the top or first floor. Essentially you want layers between you and the radiation.

Change Clothes – If you were outside this is especially important. Seal your old clothes in plastic and place them away from wherever you are sheltering.

Shower – Rinse the radioactive dust off your body and hair with warm water and soap. Do not use conditioner. Be careful not to scrub hard. You do not want to damage skin, especially if it is already damaged from the blast.

Shortly After

Seal Off – Close and tape off vents, doors, and windows until fallout has passed. Unseal these once it has passed to allow air flow.

Gather Supplies – If you didn’t have warning, quickly grab food, water, and essentials from inside. Stay low and avoid windows and open doors. Food and liquids in a pantry or fridge are ideal as they will have been protected from much of the radiation. Do not go outside for supplies, not even your own garden. This is when a go bag or 72 hour kit comes in handy.

Build a Bunker – If you do not have a basement, you can make a mini bunker out of things on hand. Stack books, cinder blocks, file cabinets, furniture, metal doors, and other dense materials around a central location in your building. The denser the better. You only need to go as high as a person sitting up, but you can cover the top with a door and more materials too. Hunker down inside this structure. This will offer you far more protection from gamma particles than open air.

After

Stay Tuned – Get access to local news if possible and wait for the okay to leave. Radiation dissipates by around 80% after 24 hours, so that is a rough idea of the minimum amount of time you should expect to stay put.

Stay Covered – Keep a cloth or mask over you nose and mouth while you wait to avoid breathing in fallout dust. Stay low, away from windows, and between dense materials as much as possible.

Take Care – Treat wounds while you wait. Clean and cover any wounds sustained during or after the blast. Eat and drink what you have. Try to keep your morale up.

Leave with Caution – If you must leave for any reason, cover your mouth and nose with a wet cloth, remove your clothing when you return, and rinse skin with uncontaminated water if possible before entering your shelter once more.

Evacuate – Listen to authorities on safe evacuation routes and destinations. When it is time to leave, take only the essentials, like a go bag. Do not grab items that may have been exposed to fallout.

Be Kind – Be considerate of those around you. Many of your neighbors may be elderly, have young children, or other needs. Do your best to offer what assistance you can. Meanwhile, we will all hope it never comes to any of this. But let’s be kind along the way anyway.