How to survive the apocalypse: Nuclear fallout

It was never completely outrageous to expect the possibility of nuclear fallout. Many games cover the topic: the Fallout series, for example, covered the possibility of cryogenics, nuclear half-life, underground bunkers, and radiated nature that is ready to kill. Perhaps that is not too far off of the realm of possibility. These are some ways to survive the nuclear fallout of the future according to movies, historical references, and games. With these rules, I wish you luck in the apocalyptic wasteland and ask you politely to refrain from killing me if we ever cross paths. 

1. Have an underground bunker. All the doomsday preppers would be on the right track in that regard, but here are some trips for a proper bunker: they need to be much thicker in walls, much bigger spaces, and need to be much deeper into the ground.

2. Train in endurance, speed, and general cardiovascular health. You are preparing for the end of the world, and the world undergoing post-nuclear annihilation. The longer you do this, the better your chances of survival will be. 

3. If you survived the 30 some odd years of waiting for half-life of radiation to dissipate... Congrats! You can now leave your bunker. The sun is going to be a bit of a shock to the system, so rock those sunglasses, and make sure to wear a gas mask until you can do an air purity test. Do not venture too far from your bunker after leaving, and make sure to examine your surroundings first.

4. Nature will likely be a barren wasteland; however, the natural world likely adapted while you were safe in the bunker. Avoid animals—they are likely not the ones you knew many years ago. They can have anything from three heads, radiation contamination (which means do not pet them), and some herbivores are likely to have adapted to have long saber-like teeth (kind of like the vampire deer).

5. As we have said before in other “How to Survive the Apocalypse” articles, travel light. Nothing is worse than trying to run and getting dragged down by what you are carrying. If you trained adequately during your quarantine in your shelter, then you can carry more, but know your limits.

6. Prepare for all possibilities: you do not know the world as it was before. When you are able to call, you are able to look things up, so don’t waste your current opportunity.

7. Make yourself indispensable. Know a skill that makes you invaluable in a world where humans are all trying to survive and will do whatever it takes to do so. For example, a doctor would be invaluable, along with someone who knows plant properties well, or even a scientist, would all be very helpful to rebuild society.

8. Avoid the cults: “Sons of ______” or the “Children of _______” or any variation of these in which large groups of people identify under one name. We know how those end in every movie; in times when humans need companionship to extremes, cults will always form, and they will always be dangerous.

9. Uranium fever—watch out for it! If you see any sickly green sections of the wasteland, stay clear! Chances are those spots are still ripe with radiation spikes!

10. Survival is better with friends! Try to find some trustworthy people to survive with and do all you can to support each other, even in some crazy situations; and make sure to have people take turns on the watch for sleeping.

Thumbnail Photo via Pexels

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