As tension rises between the United States and North Korea many believe we are about to witness North Korea launch a missile attack on the U.S. territory of Guam.
President Trump recently vowed to respond with “fire and fury” if North Korea continues to threaten the United States with a nuclear attack. North Korea later criticized Trump’s statements by saying he “let out a load of nonsense about ‘fire and fury,’” and accused him of not understanding the situation.
On Wednesday, North Korea released a statement outlining the plans to launch four nuclear missiles at Guam – a small U.S territory located approximately 1,500 miles from the Philippines.
According to reports, if North Korea decided to launch a nuclear bomb, it would take approximately 20 minutes for it to reach Hawaii, 33 minutes to reach Los Angles, 37 minutes to reach Chicago and roughly 38 minutes to reach New York.
The United States military has the ability to detect missile launches and take them down at long ranges before they reach the intended target.
Effects of nuclear war
However, if a North Korea missile attack strikes U.S. territory, the effects of a nuclear attack could be catastrophic. History tell us this is so.
A reminder about the devastating effects of nuclear war: On August 6, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, killing approximately 80,000 people from the blast and injuring about 35,000. According to the New York Times, the atomic bomb contained more power than 20,000 tons of TNT.
Three days later, the city of Nagasaki was hit with a similar bomb, killing approximately 75,000 people.
Tens of thousands of people died later that year from the effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan.
Survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings were at a higher risk of long-term health issues such as cancer due to the radiation from the atomic bombs.
The horrific damage caused by the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought World War II to an end.
To get an idea of the type of destruction a nuclear bomb attack can cause, Metro looks back at the harrowing images made during the nuclear bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some of the images contain graphic content. Click through the slideshow above to see the horrific effects of nuclear war in the hope that the world may never see them again.
