A NEW YORKERS GUIDE TO CIVIL DEFENSE. WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO DO & HOW FAST TO DO IT.
and third-degree burns. Even at a distance of 45 miles, a reflex glance at the fire-ball might cause blindness.
“The center of the sun!” How hot is that?
The bomb produces heat in excess of 10 million degrees.
You can’t even escape by jumping into the water because those temperatures would cause the rivers to boil. All this takes place in the first three seconds after the explosion.
After three seconds, the second effect of the bomb is felt—blast. The air pressure suddenly increases 10 million times, acting as a million-ton fist crashing down. The pressure flattens reinforced concrete buildings and crushes brick homes for a twelve-mile radius. The winds produced by this pressure form a shock-wave. Cars, glass shards, metal and human bodies are blown through the air at up to 300 mph. As far as Kennedy airport, debris and people are propelled at speeds up to 100 mph.
Why won’t I survive? . . . I’m in a shelter twelve miles away.
Because just minutes after the explosion the combined effects of heat and blast produce a firestorm. A firestorm is a raging bonfire using the city as fuel. Gas-main breaks, exploding fuel tanks, collapsing buildings and flaming rubble add to the inferno. In a firestorm the temperature at street level melts steel, glass and skin. The fire consumes all the oxygen. Families hiding in shelters up to 25 miles away suffocate and/or roast to death. They do not survive.
It has now been 12 hours since the bomb exploded. 88% of our population is dead
