WASHINGTON — How would you fare during a nuclear war? It’s a good scenario to anticipate, particularly for as attractive a target as the WTOP listening area.
A new website maps out the blast and effect radius of six kinds of nuclear explosions. Attacks range from an 18 kiloton device such as the products of the Manhattan Project, to such a meteor that would kill the dinosaurs, like last week’s 2005 YU55 that blew by at a distance nearer than the moon.
Say, for example, a 1 megaton LGM-30 Minuteman struck the D.C. area in the heart of the National Mall. That missile, the only land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missile currently in service in the U.S., would send a shock wave as far as Annandale, according to WouldISurviveANuke.com.
For Capitol Hill residents: “You’re Dead! Congratulations, You never saw it coming. Consider yourself lucky that there was no suffering. Not even the cockroaches survived,” according to the site’s analysis.
Arlington would fare better, but still not great: “You’re alive! …But not for long. The heat from the blast has caused head to toe second degree burns. You’ll probably die within the coming weeks from radiation sickness.”
Hyattsville residents could make it: “Alive! But your lifespan suffered. The heat from the blast has caused 1st degree burns. Cancer is just a matter of time for you.”
Springfielders are in the clear: “Alive! But do you want to be? You live in the middle of nowhere or are lucky. The planet isn’t looking good though. Get ready for some great skiing in the incoming nuclear winter!”
Check out the website for more information on where is best to position yourself in the case of a series of nuclear attacks.
And rest assured. If a meteor like YU55 were to have hit D.C., everything from northern Brazil to the top of Greenland would be toast instantly.
WTOP’s Paul D. Shinkman contributed to this report. Follow Paul D. Shinkman and WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2011 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
