A horrific simulation shows the US state that would be the first to be hit if a nuclear war started.
You might think that it would be a state on the West Coast of the USA due to the proximity to the most likely enemy, and you’d be absolutely right.
Nuclear war feels closer now than it has for a long time
As the threat of World War Three continues to live rent-free in the back of our minds, it’s hard not to start to game out potential scenarios.
Donald Trump is constantly sabre-rattling with Vladimir Putin in Russia over Ukraine and other issues, but he’s also aiming swipes at China and other potential combatants over Greenland and more, as well as organizing strikes in Iran to remove its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
So, it’s little wonder that there’s great interest in what could happen if WWIII was to break out.
Whether you’ll be drafted up to the army first or not – you can find out here if you want – the nature of a third global conflict is that it is going to affect everyone.
With that in mind, we’ve had a look into which US state could be the first to feel the impact.
The list of most vulnerable US states has a few surprises
Before we begin, this is all hypothetical obviously – we can’t say for definite where would be hit first during a real nuclear war.
Frankly, it doesn’t matter, as it would be coming for everyone at some point, so thrashing out the details of where gets hit first isn’t that important.
Maine is apparently the safest state though, so if you’re there you can breathe a sigh of relief.
The eastern location as well as low strategic importance makes Maine a good option if you want to survive the longest.
As for the top five most unsafe states, we start with a surprise.
Montana might not seem that strategically important, given it is massive and has not a lot there.
But, while that might seem to be the case, it actually houses loads of the US military’s land-based missiles.
Next door is North Dakota, which could be targeted for similar reasons.
Continuing that theme, Wyoming is also home to a lot of missile bases, and would therefore be a high value target.
Nebraska would follow – are you noticing a theme here? – as it has big military presence and is home to missiles.
See, in a nuclear war it’s not of paramount importance to kill humans, but to destroy the enemy’s capacity to respond.
However, at number one, it’s an obvious one.
According to this simulation, California would be the most likely first target, not just because it has loads of military bases, including naval bases.
It’s also a crucial western base for the US military, and symbolically is a high-value target due to the prestigious nature of the state on the world stage.
So, locationally, strategically, and in terms of value, California could be the state that is first targeted in an attack.
Let’s just hope that this chilling simulation never comes to fruition, shall we?
