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BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT - what did you do?
#21
No apology required, Lodestone. As I'm sure you're aware, Hawaii has been targetted as the place to start rebuilding the British Empire (hence the Union Jack in the state flag) and I'm here as part of an advance reconnaissance team so the Royal Marines can land safely when the Queen decides the time is right. This ridiculous screw up by the Hawaii authorities suggests the time is nearly ripe, but we won't launch our nukes as there's no point retaking islands that glow, and you'd only do that if you want to see what it's like in space and... oops.

Have a good evening, guv!
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#22
Wao nahele kane,

Do you suggest keeping the NBC suits in the house or take one of them with you when you drive to work? Where do you get them for children? I'm also curious as to how you get people to understand what a Geiger counter tells you. Are you offering training?

Thanks.
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#23
Loaded with the pets into our car under carport because our windows are screen. Figured the initial blast would be far away but we'd be safer from fallout somewhere relatively airtight. Wore jeans and hoodies, but did not have time to dig out dust masks etc. Plenty of bottled water, rice, vitamins, dog food, and jars of peanut butter, etc in the pantry.

I did not really believe the alert and kind of chuckled, my SO was like "how can you laugh, what do we do?!" We could definitely be more prepared though.
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#24
Another thought: if an actual nuclear war broke out, would we all freeze to death in the ensuing nuclear winter?
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#25
We wouldn't freeze to death here. Starve to death maybe. If I remember Carl Sagan's Parade article correctly, the detonation of only 1% of the world's nuclear stockpile (1980's stockpile, mainly an exchange between the then USSR and the USA) would result in a nuclear winter.

But to answer the OPs original question, we didn't do anything. We are already "prepped" against most types of disasters. The only type that isn't really worth preparing for is nuclear annihilation. That being said, when the alert came in I made the following assumptions:

1) It was most likely a mistake. These types of mistakes have happened dozens of times before.
2) If it wasn't a mistake, the missiles were probably from North Korea, and despite their claims, none of their ICBMs have survived re-entry.
3) We have no reason to believe their missiles have any accuracy.
4) It is HIGHLY unlikely they would be targeting the Big Island.

Based on those assumptions:

1) If the attack was real, in a worst case scenario, we might have to deal with fallout from a distant location. We have time.

2) Our daughter lives in Honolulu and called us immediately after the alert wondering what to do, and she was crying. It was most important to talk her through this rather than make any preparations here. I had already provided her with IOSAT potassium iodide tablets with the instructions not to take them unless somebody who knew what they were talking about told her to, or if she was positive it was not a "threat" but an actual fallout situation was occurring or imminent. And we reminded her not to take them yet. She started to seal off her windows and doorway like we had previously discussed.

In a fallout situation, it is safer to shelter in a place with poor shielding than it is to exit such a facility and travel to a place with better shielding if it means exposing yourself to fallout to get there.

If you don't have somewhere to go without windows, close the windows you do have, shut the doors, and shelter in your hallway. You can tape off the hallway entrance with a tarp and duct tape. Tape off the gaps under the doors, or block them with towels/clothes etc.

In a fallout situation you aren't trying to protect yourself from exposure to radiation that occurs near the blast site, you are trying to protect yourself from exposure to particles (dust etc) that have become radioactive and have traveled from near the blast site. Fortunately these particles aren't radioactive for very long, which is why they tell you to shelter in place for 10-14 days. You want to avoid any contact with these fallout particles and the best way to do that is avoid going outside, and avoid allowing any outside air in. If you've already been exposed, the best thing you can do is to wash them off (take a shower, and scrub really good), assuming you can do so without exposing yourself further. If you are contaminated, you will spread that contamination to others especially in a confined location.

Unless you are at or near the blast zone (unlikely considering the current threat), going into lava tube is probably a bad idea. The goal isn't to protect yourself from blast radiation, it is to protect yourself from radioactive particles that may have traveled short or long distances to your location. If HNL was hit, the radiation from the blast site can only reach us by traveling on these particles.

ETA: Links to IOSAT tablets. They are good to have on hand especially when you know you will probably never need them. Don't take them casually, but they may help prevent the most common type of cancer that comes from exposure to radiation or radioactive particles (fallout):

https://www.amazon.com/IOSAT-Potassium-Iodide-Tablets-Count/dp/B01ALA3334/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1515951401&sr=8-3&keywords=iosat&linkCode=ll1&tag=pw016-20&linkId=00039e646ee020f264ff2d522bf622cb

https://www.amazon.com/IOSAT-Pack-3-Iosat/dp/B01LMPIR06/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1515951591&sr=1-1&keywords=iosat&linkCode=ll1&tag=pw016-20&linkId=8cc804a55e4e5c067d97fa56b20becf6
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#26
I've posted this some time ago in another thread, but for anyone who missed it, here's a web page that allows you to pick a location, the size of a nuclear bomb, and with that information it will display the resulting damage and path of any fallout. If Honolulu were a target, with a North Korean size nuke, the fallout would drift northeast away from the island chain. Big Island would not receive direct impact, or damage, or any fallout. If it were an EMP blast over Oahu, we would be on the edge of the pulse which can damage electronics.

Most likely an incoming missile would target Honolulu, so the question then becomes, can the missile actually hit where it's aimed? So far North Korean missile tests have landed in the middle of a very large ocean, and then claimed to be a direct hit.

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

"This is an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean water.” - President Donald J. Trump
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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#27
I finished making my coffee, then sat down to drink it.

1. North Korea nukes are only meaningful as a threat; they lose all value if launched.

2. North Korea "says" the have nukes, but who knows if they really have them?

3. Missiles from North Korea might (or might not) have enough range.

4. Missiles from North Korea might (or more likely, don't) have accurate targeting.

5. The Big Island has no strategic value compared to the Joint Base on Oahu.

...and the last news item I read about North Korea before the "attack" was: North and South Korea putting together a women's figure skating team for the Olympics. I'm paranoid enough to believe this move was calculated to distract everyone from the nuclear holocaust ... but I'm not sure the Norks are clever enough to make that play.
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#28
If one was to occur over Honolulu, I have doubts that the island (Oahu) would be able to withstand the force of the blast, or at least large chunks may break off and disappear into the ocean.
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#29
Thom K,

I see you're up to old tricks again. Suffice it say, it would appear that your faith in the average person possessing the intellect necessary to figure out how to read a Geiger counter isn't good.

Have a little more faith in people Thom, not everyone had the time and opportunity/privileges you had to compile a fancy degree, but that doesn't mean they're any less capable of learning under their own guidance.

Smart ass.
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#30
"If Honolulu were a target, with a North Korean size nuke, the fallout would drift northeast away from the island chain. Big Island would not receive direct impact, or damage, or any fallout."

"If one was to occur over Honolulu, I have doubts that the island (Oahu) would be able to withstand the force of the blast, or at least large chunks may break off and disappear into the ocean."

question...What is the need of a warning system that lends 15 min. to one's life? I, for 1, do not appreciate being WARNED that I have 15 minutes to live. Give me the "the flip of the switch your done" option. NO WARNING.
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