As survivalists, we all know that some kind of disasters and attacks will be easier to survive than others. This all depends on where we are when the attack happens, what the environment is like and the kind of supplies we have available to us. These nuclear survival skills will help you be prepared to face just about any situation. They really may mean the difference between life and death!

Nuclear Survival Skills Everyone Should Know Include:

Start planning: You should stay at your shelter for minimum 48 hours; it is better if you stay there longer. Try to store foods, water, medical supplies in advance.

Store  dry and non-perishable foods:  The best options are those which contain carbohydrates in large quantity.

Water: You should store water in food grade plastic containers. Consider to consume one gallon water for one person every day, try to keep some water purifier as well.

First aid kit:   You will store sterile gauze, bandage, scissors, tweezers , antibiotic ointment, working thermometer, blanket.
Instruction booklet for the first aid kit:  You should learn how to bandage, apply CPR, treat burnt area, help to prevent shock.
 Communication: You have to be notified , and you will need to inform others of your position  You should store at least the following items:

A radio
A whistle
A cell phone: It should not be expected that the mobile companies would be able to run their operation in such situation. Nevertheless, you should store one.
Some other miscellaneous items such as flashlights and batteries for it, some dust masks, duct tapes, tissue and wipes, a wrench and pliers.

Always listen to the news update:   Every country uses certain code work to alert its people from such danger. For example, United States of America and Canada use the word DEFCON.

Assess  risk of nuclear attack, make  plan for evacuation: If you find that a nuclear attack is imminent,  you should leave your house, seek  suitable shelter.

You can search following infrastructures near to your house, make  plan of taking shelter:

The large and common airfields and naval areas will be highly risky area.  Avoid these.
The commercial ports: Enemy countries will target these places to hamper and destroy the economy and communication. These places will be under certain risk of being attacked by nuclear weapons.
Runways: These runways are also essential for communication and economy of your state. Avoid these places as the enemy country will target this place.
Buildings of government: These are crucial for operating local government of a particular area. For that reason, if it is a limited version of nuclear attack,  it is less likely to be attacked.
Industrial cities: These are important for a country as these areas produce the necessary products. It is less likely that these areas will be under attack.
 SURVIVE  IMMINENT ATTACK

Try to find a shelter immediately: To understand whether the attack is imminent, you will need to consider the geopolitical condition. Apart from this, the best warning for an imminent nuclear attack is siren or  the blast itself.

If you are in the vicinity of the blast ,  you cannot expect that you will be alive.
If you are a few miles out from zero ground,  you will have ten to thirty seconds until  waves of the blast hit you.
You should never look directly at the blast or fireball; it can cause blindness temporarily, The damage depends on the size and power of the bomb and the weather condition. You can suffer thermal burn  even if you are eight kilometres or five miles away from  ground zero.

If you are 32 kilometres or 20 miles away from  ground zero, heat of the blast can burn your skin off.

Some countries have atomic shelters. Seek any such shelter.
If you fail to find a shelter, it is better to lay your face down on a depressed area. Try to cover your skin as far as possible.
If you are in a house or indoor, stay there only if you are sure that that building will not suffer damage for the heat and radiation.
Avoid inflammable things
Make shield against the radiation:  You can use following materials to reduce the effect of radiation:

Steel: you need 21cm or 0.7 feet wide steel
Rock: you should pile up rocks to make 70 to 100 cm or two to three feet wide wall.
Concrete: make a 66cm or 2.2 feet wide wall
Wood:  make a 2.5 m or 8.8 feet wide wall
Soil:  width of wall should be 1 m or 3.3 feet
Ice:  width should be 2 m or 6.6 feet
Snow: the wall should be 6m or 20-22 feet wide
Consider staying at the safe place for 8 – 9 days: You should never expose yourself to outside for the first 48 hours. The aim is to avoid the fission products and radiation of the blast.

Limit your exposure  within this time limit. It takes ninety days to decay naturally. However, other two main products are Caesium and Strontium. They are absorbed by the nature; they can be found in the food products. Wind can carry them to the thousands miles away; so even if you are so far from the zero ground, chances are you are not actually safe.

Try to manage foods

Water: Never consume open water. You should collect water from spring, a covered well or some other underground sources.
Canned food: Consume them as long as there is no puncture in the can.
Animals:  Avoid heart, liver and kidneys. Do not eat meat close to the bones because it contains radiation.
Plants: Eat roots and undergrowth plants, such as carrots and potatoes.
Proper clothing:  Cover your entire body when you are going to expose yourself to the radiation. Clean your clothes,  wash exposed area as soon as possible.
Treat affected area:

Minor burn:  Immerse burnt area into cold water for five minutes. Remove contaminants by washing if skin begins to blister or break,  never break  blisters. Cover  area only this situation; otherwise wash  area, protect  burnt area applying Vaseline.
Thermal burn: It can  be life threatening. Avoid  further contamination.
Remove covering cloth very gently. If it is stuck on  burnt area,  do not remove it. Do not apply ointment on  burnt area.
Never use a usual sterile medical dressing. Non-adhesive dressing is suitable to use for short time; you can use plastic wrap for longer period.
Shock prevention:   Common symptoms are thirst, sweating rapid heartbeat and pale skin. Massage chest to increase, maintain heartbeat, respiration. Loosen tight clothes.

There are several things to think about and consider when trying to survive a nuclear attack or war. You should plan in advance and have plenty of food, water, medical supplies and other useful items such as a flashlight and duct tape. You should have an evacuation plan and shelter in mind including the places that are less likely to be attacked. You should go to a shelter as soon as possible or make one out of sturdy materials like steel or concrete. You should limit your exposure as much as possible and only eat things you know are safe from radiation. Finally, you should carefully treat burns and know what you can to help prevent shock. These nuclear survival skills may just be what gets you through this type of attack as safely as possible.

To learn more about nuclear survival skills you should know in case of attack or war, you can go to:

Survival Mastery