If Nuclear War Breaks Out, Would Your City Survive?

During former President Joe Biden’s time in office, Seoul officials proclaimed that South Korea would not develop any nuclear weapons. However, amidst sudden geopolitical instability sparked in part by current U.S. President Donald Trump, South Korea seems to be reassessing its stance. The alliance between the United States and South Korea posits that the U.S. […] The post If Nuclear War Breaks Out, Would Your City Survive? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Mar 17, 2025 - 16:11

If Nuclear War Breaks Out, Would Your City Survive?

During former President Joe Biden’s time in office, Seoul officials proclaimed that South Korea would not develop any nuclear weapons. However, amidst sudden geopolitical instability sparked in part by current U.S. President Donald Trump, South Korea seems to be reassessing its stance. The alliance between the United States and South Korea posits that the U.S. would step in to protect South Korea against its nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea should the need arise. However, South Koreans are beginning to question whether the Trump administration would stand behind this promise. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul has acknowledged that his statement might be premature, but shared that nuclear weapons could be a “Plan B” for South Korea if the situation becomes any more tenuous. (Can you guess all the countries that have nuclear reactors?)

With increasing complex political turmoil happening across the globe, many people are concerned about what a nuclear war would look like — and how certain areas would survive (or not) if a nuclear strike occurred. Interested in whether you’d live through it, or it’s best to move elsewhere? Nukemap has the answers you’re searching for. This website allows users to visualize the effects of a nuclear detonation based on geographical location, warhead yield, and height of burst. Here, 24/7 Wall St. explored the potential impact of a nuclear strike on 22 of America’s largest, most populated cities — and the surrounding areas (in full called a Metro Statistical Area, or MSA). To understand the casualty count and how that might differ based on nuclear weapon size, we “detonated” both a 100-kiloton warhead — described as a W-76 found in U.S. and U.K. arsenals — and an 800-kiloton warhead similar to the Topol (SS-25) warheads currently held by Russia. The list is in ascending order based on population size, as sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau and 2023 American Community Survey.

This previously published article was updated on March 17, 2025 to reflect recent statements from South Korea and abroad regarding the development of nuclear weaponry.

Why This Matters Today

Nuclear explosion with mushroom cloud on the background of crosses. Nuclear war threat concept

For most of us, nuclear war is terrifying — but has always been confined to media portrayals or books discussing what the fallout could look like. However, with the instability nearly every country has been seeing across the globe, the potential of nuclear war seems greater than ever. North Korea has been especially outspoken about its nuclear development; the country is developing a nuclear-powered submarine and says that it plans to strengthen its nuclear capabilities at a time when other world powers are calling for denuclearization. Should nuclear war happen, we want to visualize the scale of the impact on places familiar to us and highlight the dangers posed by nuclear weapons.

Here is how a nuclear attack would affect America’s largest cities: