This interactive tool is intended to give an idea of the devastating blast effects of ground-level, shallow subsurface, and low-altitude nuclear weapon detonations. It is relevant to traditional nuclear weapons, potential terrorist attacks, and next generation nuclear weapons such as "Bunker Busters" or "Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrators" (RNEPs). (Despite the name, "Earth Penetrators" will not penetrate far into hard rock and can be considered "surface" bursts when using the bomb calculator.)

High definition aerial maps of selected U.S. cities have been provided. The size of the bomb can be chosen by selecting the weapon's yield, as measured in kilotons (KT) or megatons (MT) of TNT equivalent. There is also the option of having the bomb delivered using an automobile at ground level or using an aircraft flying at an altitude that produces the widest area of destruction.

Red Circle: Intense heat from the explosion will likely cause widespread fires within this region.

Blue Circle: Most homes are completely destroyed and stronger commercial buildings will be severely damaged due to the high pressure blast wave in this region.

Orange Circle: Moderate damage to buildings causing some risk to people due to flying debris is caused by the blast wave in this region.

Click here to download the free Java plugin if it is not already installed on your machine.