A nuclear warhead would hit the UK in as little as 20 minutes from Russia (Picture: Getty Images)
Ten minutes warning, if that, is all the UK population would have to prepare for a nuclear attack.
An intercontinental ballistic missile carrying a nuclear warhead would take only 20 minutes to travel from Russia to Britain before exploding with a force equivalent to 1,000,000 tons of dynamite.
As Russia has updated its doctrine to lower the threshold for using nuclear weapons and British Storm Shadow missiles were fired into Russian territory for the first time, this threat seems more likely than ever.
If a bomb of that size were to hit central London tomorrow, an estimated 1,050,720 Londoners would die and 2,489,210 people would be injured, according to nuclear modelling website NukeMap.
Most of London would be affected by a nuclear blast (Picture: Nukemap)
Up and down the capital – from Camden in the north and Brixton in the south to east London’s Canary Wharf – residential buildings would collapse, injuries would be universal and fatalities widespread.
Third degree burns would be sustained far out as Richmond, Wood Green and Wembley.
Even if you were to live further than 12km from the hit point, you are still not safe.
Many that far out will see the flash of the nuclear explosion and run to the window, only to be injured by the shattering.
What do you do when you are told of a nuclear strike?
Within 10 minutes of Russia launching a nuclear strike, news channels and radio stations will start broadcasting an emergency warning to the public to seek shelter.
With five minutes to go, the Home Office would send a signal to every British mobile phone to warn people of the incoming threat saying: ‘BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND. SEEK SHELTER.’
The safest place to go in that narrow space of time is the basement of a large, multi-storey concrete building.
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However, if that is not possible, run for the most structurally integral point in a building, such as the central staircase in a block of flats, away from exterior walls.
Alternatively, the government recommended in 1980 that families seek shelter in kitchen cupboards.
There is a longer list of places to avoid at all costs: wooden structures, such as sheds, tall furniture, long corridors and hallways are likely to amplify the dangers of a nuclear strike.
You can shelter from a nuclear warhead in a basement, underground car park or even in kitchen cupboards (Picture: Getty Images)
It is crucial to protect your body from the ‘thermal pulse’, a blast of heat energy that emanates from the bomb. To do this, lie face down with your arms and hands tucked under your body.
If you have to time to …read more
Source:: Metro