The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Wednesday, September 8th, 2004

The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki estimates Hiroshima’s pre-raid population at 255,000, with the atomic bomb killing 66,000 and injuring 69,000. But I found the following fact (from Table C, “Per-Cent Mortality at Various Distances”) morbidly fascinating: from 0 feet to 1000 feet from ground zero, percent mortality was 93.0. Not 100.0 percent. Not 99.9 percent. But 93.0 percent. Certain earthquake-proof concrete buildings survived the blast intact; I guess that accounts for the 7.0 percent.

Comments

  1. Isegoria says:

    The original link to The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has gone dead — which is why I like to include salient passages in my own posts, by the way — but I was able to find another copy of the document online.

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