A bone-chilling map created by nuclearsecrecy.com shows the catastrophic damage that would be inflicted on New York City if a nuclear bomb were to be detonated within its metropolitan area. The maps , which depict the apocalyptic aftermath of nuclear weapons being detonated in major cities worldwide, were created with the help of Alex Wellerstein, a nuclear historian at Stevens Institute of Technology.
If a weapon similar in size to the "B-83" - the largest bomb in the US nuclear arsenal - were to be detonated in New York, the devastation would be immense. The "B-83 has a yield of 1.2 megatonnes.
According to Wallerstein's expert modeling , such a horrific event would result in the deaths of 1,410,660 people. In addition, there would be 1,638,610 injuries and the light blast damage radius would extend as far as Newark.
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This damage would result in broken windows and potential injuries, despite being the "lightest" impact of a nuclear bomb explosion in a locality. The fireball radius caused by the hypothetical explosion would primarily affect North Bergen and Union City. According to the map, this reaction would instantly vaporize anything within its radius.
At a minimum, it would reach a height of 0.94 miles. The heavy blast damage radius would spread for 1.44 miles and either severely damage or completely demolish concrete buildings. This magnitude of a blast, which would have close to a 100 percent fatality rate, would mostly be focused on the Meatpackers District, according to the map.
To view the map below, click here.
The radiation radius caused by the blast would spread for over under miles from the point of detonation. It would be likely fatal to most residents of the area, which would include Chelsea and Dumbo and 15 percent of survivors would likely perish within one month from the cancer brought upon by the radiation levels.
The moderate blast damage radius would spread for 3.5 miles, according to the modeling, and this would cause most residential buildings to collapse and lead to widespread fatalities. The chances of fires spreading are also heightened, which would only add to the damage.
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The thermal radiation radius would spread for over seven miles. With this, there is a 100 percent certainty of third-degree burns. This reaction to radiation is often painless, however, because pain nerves are destroyed in the process. This spread of radiation is shown to stretch as far as New Utrecht.
Luckily, these scenarios are only hypothetical and the chances of any such weapons being dropped remain remote.
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