How to survive a nuclear attack

Tensions over nuclear attacks around the world are growing, and many experts believe we are facing very real threats.
With that in mind, leading emergency response planners are advising the public that a nuclear attack may be survivable if you react in the correct way.
The main piece of advice? “Don’t run. Get inside.”

By sheltering in one place under as many layers of protection as possible, you have the best chance of avoiding the radiation that would result from a nuclear detonation.
Nuclear blasts vary in size but the biggest ones would create mile-wide fireballs as hot as the sun’s surface, swiftly followed by winds stronger than a hurricane, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Although there’d be little chance of survival for those in the immediate vicinity, as radioactive fallout can be carried for miles, scientists believe reacting in the appropriate way is essential.
Trying to run to safety would be practically impossible - instead, experts recommend staying in your house (preferably in a basement), or a car as a second-best option.
“Go as far below ground as possible or in the centre of a tall building,” the official advice on ready.gov states. “The goal is to put as many walls and as much concrete, brick and soil between you and the radioactive material outside.”