Experiencing History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Experiencing History - Essay Example People who were a little away from the detonation point first experienced the flash and heat, and a few seconds later a loud noise was accompanied by a blast wave. Almost all buildings within a mile of the blast had collapsed, and almost all structures within a three-mile range were damaged. Buildings that survived without any damage accounted for less than 10 percent of the total building in the city. â€Å"Out of 76,327 buildings, over 50,000 are destroyed† (Yep 22). The blast was so powerful that the wave had glass shattered even twelve miles away from the point of explosion. Even people miles away from ground zero instantly reacted in a way that they had been hit by a bomb. Small rescue teams soon began to operate, however half of Hiroshima’s population was either dead or injured. In areas which were worst hit almost everyone suffered serious injuries. Soon a large fire storm erupted which was caused due to the merging of several other small fires around the city. This firestorm ultimately covered about four and a half square miles of the city, killing almost everyone who was injured and could not escape the first few minutes of the blast. â€Å"Injuries from the blast, and from splintered glass and falling debris, occurred throughout the city and beyond† (Lifton 20). Relief and rescue teams from outside came in very slowly as the Government of Japan did not even know what had happened for sure even hours after the attack. All telegraph and radio communication from Hiroshima had suddenly come to a halt from 8:16 am.