What Damage Would Northern Colorado Sustain If a Nuclear Bomb Hit
Tensions have been rising between North Korea and the United States, as both countries continue to threaten each other with the use of nuclear weapons.
Whether you believe that the possibility of nuclear war is real, or if you think that it's all just "words", it is still concerning that it has gotten to this point in our world.
While Northern Colorado may not be the focus of North Korea, the thought that they could focus on either Denver or Colorado Springs may make you wonder what would happen to our region if any of their nuclear weapons ever hit one of our major cities.
I came across the website, NUKEMAP, which is where you can enter in any city in the United States...pick the size of the nuclear bomb that you want to see an example of...and see an interactive map of what it would possibly do to the area you chose.
For the test that I ran, I chose the nuclear size that North Korea last tested with, which was a 20 - 30 kt. I ended up going with the lower end of the scale and picked the 20 kt.
As you'll see below, there are different colors on the map and they each have their own degree of danger:
YELLOW = Fireball Radius (Self explanatory...everything in this area would be gone)
RED = Air Blast Radius (Concrete buildings are severely damaged or demolished)
GRAY = Air Blast Radius (Fatalities are widespread, houses are demolished)
GREEN = Radiation Radius (People in this area would die between several hours and several weeks without medical help)
ORANGE = Thermal Radiation Radius (People in this area would suffer from third degree burns)
And when you look at this map, you'll see the radioactive fallout and which direction it would head in.
Again, there is NOTHING saying this is going to happen to Northern Colorado. But with the recent news, it seems like everything and anything is possible in the future.
FORT COLLINS (Estimated Fatalities - 19,720):
GREELEY (Estimated Fatalities - 18,980):
LOVELAND (Estimated Fatalities - 16,720):
And you may be wondering about the two cities that definitely could be the focus of the North Korean regime. How about Denver and Colorado Spring?
DENVER (Estimated Fatalities - 53,010):
COLORADO SPRINGS (Estimated Fatalities - 13,120):
So there you go, in case you've been wondering while all the craziness has been going on.
Look at it this way --- If you want to invest in your own fallout shelter, at least the ones in 2017 are much more forward thinking than the one in the below video from 1959.