Nuclear War Survival Skills (1987) has a lot of suggestions about what to do: https://ia800501.us.archive.org/35/items/NuclearWarSurvivalSkills_201405/nwss.pdf

Nuclear War Survival Skills (1987) has a lot of suggestions about what to do: https://ia800501.us.archive.org/35/items/NuclearWarSurvivalSkills_201405/nwss.pdf https://ia800501.us.archive.org/35/items/NuclearWarSurvivalS... I'm no expert, but I think the general idea is: don't be caught out in the open when the blasts go off -- you're likely to be blinded and/or burned even before the shock wave gets to you. If you survive the initial blast, then "skyshine" becomes the main threat. Radioactive elements resulting from the nuclear reaction emit gamma rays that can go through most materials including walls. Best bet is to either be underground or under something made of cement. Basements generally aren't very good shelter, but you might be able to improvise something workable -- like hiding under a sturdy table surrounded and covered by sand bags or whatever dense materials are immediately at hand. Fires also might be a problem. You might be forced to leave your shelter if everything is burning. The worst radiation is in the first hour or so, and unfortunately that's time you'd normally be spending trying to get somewhere safe or improvising shelter. It falls off over the next few days or weeks. It's hard to know exactly when it's safe to come out without a device to measure gamma radiation (which can actually be built out of basic materials) or government reports which you might be able to receive by radio or something. Radioactive ash is a problem. Use masks to avoid breathing it in, and don't eat or drink anything that might be contaminated. Peeling fruit is usually good enough. If you can leave the area, it's probably a good idea to wash yourself thoroughly and throw away your contaminated clothes. Being near a nuclear blast isn't necessarily certain death. For some people it will be, but there will always be a large radius around the blast where people could survive if they're reasonably lucky and/or do the right things.