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Comment by C50VGicCxmHC | Hacker News Reader

From https://www.ready.gov/nuclear-explosion

> Continue to practice social distancing by wearing a mask and by keeping a distance of at least six feet between yourself and people who not part of your household.

Somehow I think that if you are in the immediate area of a nuclear explosion, COVID-19 precautions aren't going to be on the top of the list of stuff to worry about.

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Boy, that "ready.gov" page is garbage. Right before the section you quoted they state:

> Go to the basement or middle of the building. Stay away from the outer walls and roof. Try to maintain a distance of at least six feet between yourself and people who are not part of your household.

They should have used all that space about COVID-19 to better explain where to hide. I'm no expert, but I'm under the impression that if you're in a basement, it would be better to shelter against an outside wall, since all that dirt on the other side will effectively shield you from radiation coming from that direction (and you've got the rest of the mass of the building in the other direction).

Also...

> Stay inside for 24 hours unless local authorities provide other instructions.

Isn't that totally backwards? If you're dealing with fallout, don't you want to stay inside for at least 1-2 weeks unless explicitly told it's safe?

I’m assuming the “24 hours” thing is a math thing where staying inside additional time will be more harmful than getting outside and finding out what to do next.

If you can do both, yeah do that, but if you could never leave your home, and your home is a clean room, also definitely do that.

> I’m assuming the “24 hours” thing is a math thing where staying inside additional time will be more harmful than getting outside and finding out what to do next.

I don't think that's case at all. If you're dealing with fallout, the radiation decreases with time. Waiting 24 hours is better than not waiting at all, but I've seen charts and I'm under the impression that's only enough time for the radiation to decrease by ~50%, which could still be very lethal.

What's more lethal; dying in a week because you didn't organize with the people who are left, or dying in a decade because of radiation poisoning?

> What's more lethal; dying in a week because you didn't organize with the people who are left, or dying in a decade because of radiation poisoning?

IIRC, the radiation levels that soon after a nuclear war could be in the "dying within a week" range (depending on the local fallout conditions). Obviously if you have no water, you have no good options and have to move, but it seems like bad advice to say "move after 24 hours unless told not to." If you've got water (and food), you probably should stay put for longer, unless you know it's safe or you're in a totally unsuitable structure.

If you're in a house with a basement, you probably have enough water for some time (in the water heater), and food isn't as pressing of a concern.

> IIRC, the radiation levels that soon after a nuclear war could be in the "dying within a week" range (depending on the local fallout conditions).

The whole point of the advice here is that you remember incorrectly. It only takes 24 hours for the worst radiation, the kill-you-in-a-week radiation, to subside.

Don’t you think the source here would know better than you about this? What arrogance it would be to think you know better, from a vague recollection, no less…

I think they're just saying that if your needs are met and your housing is structurally sound, it's very safe and smart to just chill in an enclosed safe area. Just make sure to turn off your HVAC!

That is neither smart nor safe, given your need as a human to eat and drink clean food, which requires coordination with others.

well that's why you have an emergency collection of clean water and long-lasting food in your flat... Aren't you?

Putting 5 bottles of 1.5L water under the bed is not that hard...

That's why I mentioned that your needs are met. There's tons of people that have a costco-sized bucket of food and water than lasts for a week up to a month. Large swaths of Americans do this. Not sure about others. Better than waiting for peanuts at a fema line.

Also, if the roof caves in, it is more likely that you won't get crushed along the wall.

This is the classic diagram that shows the degree of protection, although it does not get into the details per room, you are correct that IF you are below ground, then being next to the outside wall is better. IF you are on the first floor or above, the opposite is true.

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F...

> Go to the basement or middle of the building. Stay away from the outer walls and roof.

Reminds me of the time last year when NYC had a tornado warning & a flood warning at the same time. The flood warning came with directions to head to higher parts of the dwelling, and the tornado warning directed us to head to the basement or lower levels.

They are making sure you don't die of COVID, if you somehow survive a megaton blast and then make through the intense radiation /s

Sounds absurd. Priorities have gone for a toss.

Hm. Y'know what, infectious disease tends to be a big killer after any large-scale disaster. Water and sanitation services are offline, hospitals are critically overloaded, immune systems are reduced by stress and injury and malnutrition, people congregate around whatever aid is available... A simple seasonal flu can tear through a city like a wildfire, under those circumstances.

In 2022, everyone already knows how to do social distancing, and it works just fine against many diseases besides COVID. Why take the chance?

That line indicated to me that this was probably written during the height of the pandemic, not more recently.

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