Effects of Nuclear Explosions - Survivability

Survivability

This is highly dependent on factors such as if one is indoors or out, the size of the explosion, the proximity to the explosion, and to a lesser degree the direction of the wind carrying fallout. Death is highly likely and radiation poisoning is almost certain if one is caught in the open with no terrain or building masking effects within a radius of 0–3 km from a 1 megaton airburst, and the 50% chance of death from the blast extends out to ~8 km from the same 1 megaton atmospheric explosion.

However to highlight the variability in the real world, and the effect that being indoors can make, despite the lethal radiation & blast zone extending well past her position at Hiroshima, Akiko Takakura survived the effects of a 16 kt atomic bomb at a distance of just 300 meters from the hypocenter, with only minor injuries, due in most part to her position of residing in the lobby of the bank of Japan, a reinforced concrete building, at the time of the Nuclear explosion. In contrast, the unknown person sitting outside, fully exposed, on the steps of the Sumitomo bank, next door to the bank of Japan, received lethal third degree burns and was then likely killed by the blast, in that order, within 2 seconds.