Triggering, but would we get warning if there was a Nuclear attack?

[shineanight]

Or would we not?

I thought there was about 5-6 minutes I'm sure I read somewhere, from when officials know it'll happen to when it hits

Would we be warned via breaking news? Or would everyone just lose control, including news reporters, and make a run for it in blind panic?

Always wondered. Completely hypothetical obviously as almost 0 change of ever happening

@shineanight How would it feel? Rumbling?

Yes it was! Tell your mum it really did happen😁

Ooh! Bloody good point!

I like your style.

You mean you don't already have a lead lined understairs bunker? Tsk. Some people!

What worries me is North Korea 'play ' with nuclear weapons all the time, setting them off into water. Testing them out

One day I worry their actions will prove fatal to millions

Depends on how far you live from one of the primary strike targets.

If you live in central London - no warning.

If you live in the middle of the north-yorkshire moors, dartmoor, or the scottish highlands you'll a get a bright warning flash a few seconds beforehand.

Unlikely - check out nukemap.....

The highest yield weapon in the Russian arsenal is 800kt which has a potential immediate lethal radius of 2.5km, moderate blast radius of 6.5km, thermal burns radius of 11km and a light blast damage of 18km - so you'll be well outside of the area from a direct hit....

I'm from Coventry and remember the siren going off in the 80s. There was a real backlash from residents who had been told after WW2 that the sirens would never be heard in Coventry again. I can imagine for those elderly residents who went through the Coventry Blitz that it must have been terrifying to hear.

There's a reddit thread here full of peoples experiences when the Hawaii False Nuclear Missile Alert happened. The system was tested but no one expected it and there wasn't a "THIS IS A TEST" warning with it and the whole island thought it was real.

Gives a really good insight on how people would react @shineanight - think the most beautiful and heartbreaking for me is the Mum and Dad who got their kids and just all got together in the parents bed. They made it a fun, sweet moment for the kids so they didn't get scared and all just cuddled in together. I'd like to think I would have that opportunity.

In reality, if a missile is going to wipe us out within 5-6 minutes what's the point of a warning to cause a massive panic? Just let it hit and we won't even have time to register it.

Thank you.

I*t gives you time to get a bottle of wine down your neck.
*
Stuff the wine I'm going straight for the gin and some crappy snacks for 1 Then me and DCat will snuggle up in bed together whilst I talk to my OH on the phone who will possibly be miles away in his Truck.

That reddit thread is amazing. Perfect example of how humans react- from the shrug 'I kept getting ready for work' to the guys who said they immediately lost 1/3 of the workforce as people scrambled to go get their children.

I had never heard of that entire event until this thread.

MotherOfDemonss 😲 That is interesting.

@CentrifugalBumblePuppy Thank you, that was really interesting.

I think I would probably have the mother of all panic attacks and miss the opportunity to do anything meaningful. My DP lives 5 minutes from where I work, I wonder if I could run to his quickly enough or if I'd be better staying at work. There's more food here and I could probably find shelter. Sorry DP.

I'm not sure I believe half of the "whatever, lol" posts. I suspect they were far less cool than they're saying.

Thanks @Appalonia & @charabang I shall let mum know (albeit some 40 years after the event) that she didn't dream it!

God I bet that relief was the best feeling that they'd ever felt 🤯

I spent most of the 80s believing we'd all be vaporised in a nuclear war. I don't worry so much now, but I think any warning we did get wouldn't make much difference.

Naaah, I’d want to see how long I could survive.

Trigger warning ….

I can’t the only one humming this now

I know, sorry.
I'll nip down to B&Q for the materials tomorrow and make a start on it.
I don't think they sell lead though, so I'll have to liberate some from the church roof.

I grew up in a spot in the world that was apparently a prime target because it was a communications hub. We were taught growing up that we would have at most a few minutes warning, but likely none since we would likely be the first strike and this was a long time ago. We would be dead no matter where we were. Shelter would be pointless.

other kids got duck and cover lessons. We got told we would be melted. Honestly, i didn’t envy the people outside of the impact zones after we got a few lessons on radiation.

Yes I would like to know so I could say my goodbyes, I'm sure God would be smart enough to save the good without the necessity for them to pray. We have no control so forget it, it's been a possibility since the seventies? But annihilation is assured with the latest weapons.

It didn't do much to help that couple in When the Wind Blows. Pointless . It won't happen anyway because of MAD.

What would more likely happen would be invasion like in the Ukraine. Missile strikes . Would there be sirens? Maybe.

I don't think a warning would help much. No much time to do anything other than run about like a headless chicken.
There are a few ways of dispatching oneself very fast, instead of living in a post-nuclear apocalypse. I will go for that.