Practical questions about prepping for nuclear fallout shelter

[newproblemnewname]

OK, recent news is making me think once more about adding to my prepper stash, which I started when Trump first got elected.

I've got a cellar under the house, with loads and loads of junk in it including lots of camping gear, so far so good. Got 50 litres of bottled water and a few tins, cous cous etc down there.

The cellar gets damp and has air bricks in it i.e. HOLES in the walls to let fresh air in. I guess I need to hang covers on the walls near the air bricks which I can put in place to seal the place up if we know there is going to be fallout. Any ideas how to do this? What sort of materials should I use given that I can't really stick massive bits of stone or brick to the wall? How to best get them air tight?

What dose of iodiene tablets should I and my 2 year old take, and are you supposed to take them preventatively?

Am I right in thinking that fallout is like dust, so will blow in and settle on things much like dust does? But a cotton sheet, for example, isn't enough to protect against it - would it go through a sheet or destroy the sheet? Anything to help me visualise the stuff please, I can't get my head around it. I assume it is invisible?

I also need more ideas for non-perishable things to eat cold please, although if the electricity is still on I may be able to bring the microwave down there on an extension lead. Don't know if I should assume I'd be able to pop back up to the kitchen for things like that or not...

I do. There are no friends after something like that. There will always be someone who will take from you if they can whether they were your friend before or not.

The problem is you can protect your pad all you want, but if you are joined on to other houses it'll just take a fire or explosion next door to kybosh that.

It takes a lot of prep and money to enable you to survive comfortably. you can just do your best I think.

You are right there, do the best with the knowledge, skills and resources available to you.

Personally I don't think that NK is stupid enough to start a nuclear exchange with the US. However I think he's much more likely to launch a nuclear missile into the upper atmosphere over North America for a EMP strike.

I wouldn't bother. (Unless you can have 'Twofers' with you.)

Kursk how do we know what the likely targets of a nuclear attack. Major cities, military bases? Ive just put London into the nuclear secrecy thing and played round with that, I assume London would be a target.

Oh Yes.

ThroughThickAndThin01

No one knows for sure what the targets would be, London would be high up the list as it is the home of the government.

After that large military targets like shipyards, main airbases and big army bases.

Lowest on the list would be industrial targets like big oil refineries, gas plants etc

Taking those things into account I would guess places like Plymouth, Portsmouth, Brize Norton, Aldershot, Faslane, Bovington, Drax, Mildenhall

Rules of war state that you can't bomb a civilian target so a town or a city with no big military or industrial footprint wouldn't be hit

What about perfecting your survival skills - like sewing, knitting, catching and gutting fish? Not just 'omg i'm all out of mungbeans and jam'.

Well those skills are sensible to acquire/maintain for any sort of ........difficulty.

Ah my lotto dream. A fishing village somewhere remote, fill it with people who know the 'old' skills and advertise it as a retreat for those wanting to get away from the modern world and learn the old ways.

Then it's somewhere to go when the shit hits the fan

Kursk thanks for info. Would North Korea and Russia really stick to rules of war though?

I don't know, but North Korea have a limited number of missiles, therefore they will prioritize important targets.

Russia, has the ability to target as many targets as they want. However they will prefer military targets so the U.K. Couldn't retaliate

Tinned fruit.

Duct tape is the number one prepping tool when the WD 40 and duct tape run out, that's when all us preppers will be doing a Captain Oates.

Stupid question, what would blocking the holes in the wall achieve?

In theory it would prevent the radiation exposure. In reality the cellar probably wouldn't be airtight anyway and if it was you'd need a ventilation system with a proper filter.

Stops the fall out getting in

And if it was airtight you'd die of suffocation!

I read an article recently saying that the Protect and Survive information was surprisingly accurate and that if you weren't within a few km of a blast you would do ok with it. So the cellar sounds sensible. Don't forget the body bags and a spade.

Having said that, I would prioritise a shotgun and learning to shoot.

Yes that's what I was trying to work out. If you're keeping the air out, well then you'll suffocate. Radiation will pass through most bunker material surely.
Dust and debris, maybe

The nuclear fallout is dust and debris which has been exposed to radiation and is in the air. That's what you are trying to stop from coming in.

Nuclear bunkers have sophisticated air filters

If they're not blocked.

If all the rubble was to be all around your house/estate then you would be trapped anyway.no way of getting out etc.

What would you be coming out to anyway? Think about it.

It's all little rays of sunshine here isn't it

The OP hasn't been back, but if she's reading I hope she has acknowledged her anxiety and if it's getting bad then see the gp. You can't let this thing consume you. I've been prepping a long time but it can be overwhelming if you're feeling panicked about recent events.