what would happen if chicago was nuked

HuffPost's top politics stories, straight to your inbox. But U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this week insisted that there is no imminent threat from North Korea, adding, "Americans should sleep well at night. The Air Force general in charge of America's nuclear arsenal provided a rare glimpse into what he would do if Russia launched two nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles at the United States. he said. Outside the targeted cities, panic sets in as news of the blasts floods the Internet and the surviving cable and television networks' broadcasts. Straddling the line between entertainment, fantasy and terrifying reality, the Google Maps mashup is a tool for visualizing the real-world impact of a nuclear explosion on specific locations. Each city has an emergency-management website that informs citizens about what to do in a crisis, but most of those sites (except for LA and New York) don't directly mention a nuclear attack. "Are we actually going to order National Guard troops or US soldiers to go into highly radioactive zones? Speaking to indy100, Britton Matthews, the Seattle-based creator of the interactive map said: 'WouldISurviveANuke.com actually started as a joke. Focuses Upon Child Loss, Sam Bauman and Raul Delgado of BHHS Chicago Open Geneva Office, Here's How Many Guns Were Sold In Illinois Last Month, Chicago Mayor Lightfoot Ousted; Vallas, Johnson In Runoff, Illinois Sheriffs File Opposition To State's Gun Ban In Federal Court, Chicago Mayor Lightfoot Fighting For 2nd Term, Runoff Likely, Mike'd Up: How A Chicagoan's Ditka-Inspired Bachelor Party Went Viral. The runoff format was first introduced in the city in the 1999 Chicago municipal elections. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? Kurzgesagt notes the impetus for the video was a study the U.S. Air Force commissioned during the Cold War. Dying takes between several hours and several weeks.". "I'd prefer Iran without nuclear weapons. "It would just be a horrific, catastrophic disaster with many, many unknown and cascading consequences.". And that is the effect that the Kremlin is seeking to exploit. ", Despite Tillerson's confidence that the U.S. remains safe from a nuclear threat, Trump took to Twitter Wednesday morning to reaffirm his threat from a day earlier by reposting video of him warning that Pyongyang would be "met with fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it made more threats to the U.S. In the days following the attack, the President pro tempore of the Senate is sworn in as Acting President, as the surviving Supreme Court justices determine that the Speaker's ongoing incapacity means he fails to qualify for office; but they made no ruling on what might happen if the Speaker recovers. Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave orders to his nation's nuclear forces. And then we're off to a major conflict, and that is a possibility," Kroenig said. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. There is now a leadership crisis: Under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the Speaker assumes the role of Acting President unless he "fails to qualify." "Every strategic or tactical response is fraught with inadequacies.". The US did not have trouble convincing its allies in NATO, ANZUS, and others, to supporting its declaration of war. Anda North Korean official issued a stern warning to the world that it should take literally the countrys threat to test its nuclear weapon above ground. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. Does the mysterious WOLF 1061c hold life? There's a lot of numbers involved, so let's have the experts at NOAA explain it: "A fully developed hurricane can release heat energy at a rate of 5 to 201013 watts and converts less than 10% of the heat into the mechanical energy of the wind. The military response, once it is organized, is brutal. Flares were set off in hopes of distracting local birds from the blinding flash to come. Months after the attack, and the US economy has begun to show signs of life. Another source of an attack could be a nuclear device that was built, purchased, or stolen by a terrorist organization. The question asks about the 20 largest cities, but American cities are greater than their defined areas. If a dinosaur-ending meteor was to hit London, the whole of the UK, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and most of France would die. Gen. John Hyten told lawmakers this week that the U.S. should not retaliate until incoming missiles had reached their targets or were destroyed in-flight by defense When does spring start? A lot more things depend on computer chips and power than they did in 1962. When the fireball rises over the ruins of downtown, he has no shielding from its full effect, suffering a mix of second and third degree burns on his exposed skin. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? So now, if you had a Starfish belt and you had the right technology in space, Reeves says, you could get rid of that belt in a couple of weeks., Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Unauthorized use is prohibited. On October 2, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that U.S. officials were considering possible responses to a Russian escalation of the Ukraine war into a nuclear conflict, but he did not reveal what these might be. All six cities Redlener identified are listed as "Tier 1" areas by the US Department of Homeland Security, meaning they're considered places where a terrorist attack would yield the most devastation. Nine men and women are vying to lead the city. Whereas the one big bomb definitely does damage, the seven smaller bombs' overlapping shockwaves will do exponentially more damage across a larger area, thus more completely wiping out the city using 58% of the yield of the one bomb. Even though most of the cities' areas remain intact due to the low yields of the blasts, their downtowns have ceased to exist - and fires are ignited well across the metropolitan areas. Social vs. medical egg freezing: Whats the difference? "I've apologized to my children and grandchildren for leaving the world in such a horrible mess, but it is what it is now.". Bats and agaves make tequila possibleand theyre both at risk, The new year once started in Marchhere's why, Jimmy Carter on the greatest challenges of the 21st century, This ancient Greek warship ruled the Mediterranean, 3 ways Jimmy Carter changed the world for the better, The meaning of the cross of ashes on Ash Wednesday, This disease often goes under-diagnosedunless youre white, The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. The country's transportation network has largely ground to a halt, as the interstates have been clogged with refugees, air traffic grounded, and major rail hubs rendered inoperable. It would kill roughly 930,000 people and injure another 860,000, according to the map. When Britain built the bomb, World War II was fresh in everyone's memory and Western Europe was on edge over fears the Soviet Union would attempt to expand further into Europe. For a look at more impact areas, including different types of bombs and impact abilities, you can put in your own location on theNUKEMAP. Although the world raises serious concerns about the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, in order to save face, the government of Pakistan says, "Nope, everything is fine. Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson said Kane flew back home to Chicago and was away from the team "until the situation The interactive map has several options that users can choose from, including the location, the type of weapon of mass destruction used, and the number of cities affected. If you happened to be in the northeast quadrant of the museum during the attack, however, you might be buried underneath a pile of steel and concrete. What if we could clean them out? If Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons or components for nuclear weapons, how likely would they be to allow such weapons to fall into the hands of terrorists. Van Allens discovery was worrying because it said any future spacecraft or astronaut that we send up is going to be exposed to this radiation. Participants conduct simulated space operations during the third Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Tabletop Exercise (TTX)/GLOBAL SENTINEL 16 (GS-16) in Suffolk, Va., Sept. 28, 2016. What is wind chill, and how does it affect your body? Many Cabinet officials and their deputies have been killed, putting the Federal government's agencies in the hands of people whose authority to make orders is in doubt. People voluntarily evacuate other cities as rumors and fears of additional bombs spread. The bomb was detonated at 16th and K St, NW, just a few blocks due north of the White House. The force would release even more ash and lava, spreading it even further than it wouldve gone with the volcanos own power. Which bomb they choose depends on how much damage they want to do are you aiming for total annihilation or do you just want to create a little chaos? A Division of NBCUniversal. Erath said he believes now is the time "to prevent the attacks before they happen.". "New York state has 40,000 hospital beds, almost all of which are occupied all the time," Redlener said. ", Watch: Richardson: North Korea Situation 'Grave,' Not Crisis, Photo by South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images/Getty Images News, Beth Dalbey (Patch National Staff) contributedd to this article, major U.S. cities like Chicago, L.A. and New York. In comparison, if you detonated a 10-kiloton weapon in the air (like the one North Korea tested in 2013) it would leave roughly 36,000 people dead and over 54,000 injured. But if [Putin] does go ahead and use nuclear weapons, then it's the U.S. that's in a difficult position," he said. He could make another decision.". Neither the US nor USSR ever deployed such a large weapon outside of a test. Although Lightfoot won more individual wards than Johnson, Johnson won more votes citywide. Washington, DC, perhaps prime-of-prime targets for any terrorist organisation with a nuke (or 20) to spare, is the 22nd largest city in the US on its own, and so not on the list. The President and Vice President are almost certainly dead. It could be against other Russian military targets in Ukraine or in the Black Sea.". Mail-in-voting, early voting, and Election Day voting all take place. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. The agency's plan involves deploying first responders, providing immediate shelter for evacuees, and decontaminating victims who have been exposed to radiation. The following year, the U.S., the U.K., and the U.S.S.R. signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and outer space has been H-bomb free for almost 60 years. ", Lawmakers questioned Hyten on whether adding more nuclear warheads would escalate tensions. At 2 p.m. on the East Coast, the peak business hour, the terrorists detonate their weapons, killing over two-million people and injuring millions more from shrapnel and burns. This photograph shows the terrible effects of atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on 6 August, 1945. We need to use nuclear weapons in response to restoring nuclear deterrence.'. ), If a weapon similar to one North Korea tested in 2013 were detonated in Chicago, for example, about 102,180 people would die and another 219,810 would be injured, according to NUKEMAP. Other options: Auto-zoom Don't log usage data. Speaking to CNN on October 2, Austin said there is no way of knowing whether Putin will follow through with his nuclear threat. Still, the test revealed some important information about radiation around Earth. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news Chicago or other neighborhoods. Starfish Prime exploded at an altitude of 250 miles, at about the height where the International Space Station orbits today. So he views the possession of ballistic missiles and nuclear capability is inextricably linked to regime survival," Gen. Joseph Dunford said at a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. 

SEE MORE:

This is different than a nuclear power like the United Kingdom. "The first use of that weapon is to make sure that nobody uses that kind of weapon against us," Hyten said. LouisBaltimore. Under those circumstances, not even the entire state of New York would have enough hospital beds to serve the wounded. Most are many times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. The chances Moscow will use a nuclear weapon are small, but it could happen if Vladimir Putin feels cornered in Ukraine. It fears the U.S. will try to topple its government, so it hopes nuclear weapons can prevent any action.

"I think the intel community assesses — and I agree — that Kim Jong-un is on the path he's on right now because he believes that's necessary to enhance the survival of his regime. As Earths magnetic field caught ionized radiation from the Starfish Prime test, it created a new artificial radiation belt that was stronger and longer lasting than scientists had predicted. He also expressed concern about what might happen to emergency responders who tried to help. Like if Russia and the US exchanged nukes but someone accidentally hit a non-belligerent power that had the capacity to retaliate with nuclear arms, how would this country react? How did this mountain lion reach an uninhabited island? After four days of delays, waiting for the perfect weather, Starfish Prime was launched on the tip of a Thor rocket from Johnston Atoll, an island about 750 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii. We have seen it in the past on numerous occasions, and we are seeing it now. "I kind of liken it to 'Stop, drop, and roll.' They then interact with other electrons in the region to accelerate them to higher speeds or push them into Earths upper atmosphere. And to be a great power, it needed great weapons.

After China's successful tests in the mid-'60s, India started building its own nuclear weapons program to rival its Asian neighbor. Part of HuffPost Politics. CHICAGO, IL North Korea announced this week that its military might attack the U.S territory of Guam prompting President Donald J. Trump to promise to meet any attack with "fire and fury like the world has never seen" and there are concerns that a nuclear launch from the country could reach as far as Los Angeles, Chicago or even New York City. And if Putin is feeling desperate, he might get to the point of using a nuclear weapon, even if doing so won't change the situation on the battlefields in Ukraine. Just two years earlier, Americas first satellite, Explorer 1, accidentally discovered that Earth is encircled by donuts of intense radiation held in place by its magnetic field. In the unlikely but not impossible event that Vladimir Putin follows up on his recent threats and drops a nuclear bomb on Ukraine, the U.S. will have only a handful of feasible options for response. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. [1] Even one typical Russian nuclear weapon detonated above downtown Denver would have devastating consequences. What yield? Redlener said there's a reason the shelters no longer exist: Major cities like New York and San Francisco are in need of more affordable housing, making it difficult for city officials to justify reserving space for food and medical supplies. The early election results to replace those Members of Congress killed in and as a result of the attack have shown a rise of third-parties and extremists. A lot worse. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. iStock. ", "Suicide if you escalate too high and the escalation comes back at you. These countries will stay prepared to combat any type of nuclear attack shortly. Like if Russia and the US The ethnographic museum of the past is making its way to the exit.. A few high-ranking officials whose offices faced the blast have sustained minor burns, and some have been blinded, but the building has survived. The largest geomagnetic storm ever recorded, called the Carrington Event, hit Earth in 1859. The problem is that Putin has made a threat, and "if you make a threat, you have to be prepared to follow through on it, otherwise it's worthless," Erath said. In the unlikely event another nuclear bomb goes off in space, Geoff Reeves, a research fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, has been working on a quick way to get rid of radiation belts made from nuclear blasts. Most shelters were on the upper floors of high-rise buildings, so they were meant to protect people only from radiation and not the blast itself. It came as a surprise how bad it was, and how long it lasted, and how damaging it was to satellites that flew through that area and died. It was pitch black when Greg Spriggs father brought his family to the highest point on Midway Atoll on July 8, 1962. Its different now. Explore a billion-year-old volcanic mystery on Lake Superior, A journey of the senses through Abu Dhabi, These Lake Superior islands are no place for amateurs. The US capital is relocated to Denver, due in part to the destruction of the nation's historical, alternate capitals, its distance from the attacked cities, and the area's high number of Federal employees and major Federal installations. In this third scenario, the U.S. responds to a nuclear attack with another one, triggering a nuclear war. Air Force Gen. John Hyten says he would not recommend an immediate response if nuclear-tipped missiles were headed for the U.S. Hyten says a nation would have 30 minutes to react to an incoming threat. So I think he hasn't made up his mind yet.". "It would not be the end of life as we know it," Redlener said of that scenario. By the time funding for the program ran out in the 1970s, New York City had designated 18,000 fallout shelters to protect up to 11 million people. For as long as 15 minutes after the initial explosion, charged particles from the blast collided with molecules in Earths atmosphere, creating an artificial aurora that could be seen as far away as New Zealand. What would happen if the 20 biggest cities of the US were wiped out by nuclear weapons? An accompanying electromagnetic pulse washed out radio stations, set off an emergency siren, and caused streetlights to black out in Hawaii. Just over 80% of the United States population lives in an urban area, though only about 70% in densities of over 50,000 people. Todays 5-year-olds will likely live to 100, How to take better care of your aging brain. Who created it? The US and its allies quickly overwhelm Pakistan's armed forces, their dual mandate to remove the government and quell the Taliban insurgency; and in the latter case, the US forces are particularly harsh in executing on their mandate. They're cheaper to maintain, easier to deploy, and can be clustered to create more damage than a single, larger bomb. For everyday citizens, FEMA has some simple advice: Get inside, stay inside, and stay tuned. On Monday, the U.S. said it would not respond with changes to its own nuclear posture. During a nuclear incident, it is important to avoid radioactive material, if possible. Kane did not play for the Blackhawks on Saturday against the San Jose Sharks for roster management reasons, the team confirmed. That could happen again if Putin orders the firing of nuclear weapons. Would Hitler have used nuclear weapons if he had developed them in 1943? He said he typically sees viral spikes in site visits around the anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945,and Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. A web tool called NUKEMAP claims it can tell you. They were building larger and larger bombs in their show of force, but these became ever more impractical to deliver if ever called upon - to say nothing of the cost to maintain. An intercontinental ballistic missile launched Friday by North Korea burned out before reaching Japan, but its height and range indicated that major U.S. cities like Chicago, L.A. and New York could be within Kim Jong Un's scope, according to Newsweek. Hitting the detonate button will then highlight your city and show you the potential impact zone if a bomb were to hit there either on the ground or in the air depending on what you chose. This means that, as of now, the U.S. has to rely on deterrence against these so-called hypersonic weapons, he said. The image of the atomic bomb and accompanying devastation in Hiroshima is seared into many people's minds. Some of you may have been surprised at not only the devestation brought to the center of the city, but the lack of devestation to nearby areas. Airplanes and boats got into position to record the test in as many ways as possible. Cities were responsible for stocking those shelters with food and sanitation and medical supplies paid for by the federal government. If a similar storm hit today, the consequences would be much more serious than downed telegraph lines. For example, it would take a 3.5 megaton nuclear weapon being detonated at the surface to replicate the damage of the 1.2 megaton airburst depicted in the first image. "I would advocate a direct U.S. conventional military attack against Russia," Kroenig said. Nine men and women are vying to lead the city. By Mike McRae. "I think the Biden administration probably hasn't made up its mind yet and probably wouldn't make up their mind until nuclear weapons are actually used," he said about a U.S. response. The NUKEMAP simulator shows what would happen if a nuclear bomb detonated near you. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Thats if it were dropped on a city like San Antonio. Although Lightfoot won more individual wards than Johnson, Johnson won more votes citywide. All Rights Reserved. Stay up to date with what you want to know. How Hawks, Rangers can still make a Patrick Kane trade work. I think on one hand he is worried that using nuclear weapons could lead to a major U.S. and NATO response that he would prefer to avoid. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Its different now. The interactive map lets you select your location, and the size of the nuclear bomb dropped on the area. The Russian leadership might be many things, but suicidal is not one of them. On Monday, the U.S. said it would not respond with changes to its own nuclear posture. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. So either the terrorists need twenty extremely large bombs that, frankly, would be impossible to acquire and deploy without someone noticing, or many dozens of smaller ones to detonate simultaneously, making the terrorist organisation on par with nuclear states such as the UK, India, and Pakistan. Tue, Feb 28, 2023. Do not eat local fresh food or drink water from open water supplies. These animals can sniff it out. All rights reserved, caused streetlights to black out in Hawaii, 27 smaller missiles laden with scientific instruments. "The most important thing is the U.S. would want to try to deter Putin from doing that [using a nuclear weapon]," political scientist and former CIA officer Matthew Kroenig told Newsweek. Over the last five years, the website has hosted more than 99 million virtual detonations, Wellerstein wrote on his nuclearsecrecy.com blog. Theres just a bright ball of plasma, which appears to change color as charged particles from the blast are pushed down into the atmosphere by Earths magnetic field. Published: 06:57 EST, 20 January 2017 | Updated: 13:29 EST, 20 January 2017. WebWhat would happen if a country intentionally nuked another country, but a stray nuke accidentally hit another non-belligerent nuclear power? In 1961, around the height of the Cold War, the US launched the Community Fallout Shelter Program, which designated safe places to hide after a nuclear attack in cities across the country. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. But the results of Starfish Prime serve as a warning of what might happen if Earths magnetic field gets blasted again with high doses of radiation, either from another nuke or from natural sources such as the sun. As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, here's a breakdown from the CBOE of Its original purpose was to track the fallout from the test, but it also became a valuable resource for understanding weather patterns in the upper atmosphere. Photographers aimed their lenses toward the horizon and debated the best camera settings for capturing a thermonuclear explosion in outer space. And no nation wants to let one slip into the hands of a non-state actor that doesn't play by the same rules.