These Tennessee Cities Are Likely Targets In A Nuclear Attack

If you are of a certain age, there’s a good chance you remember going through drills in school where you’d have to get under a desk and hope that it protected you from a nuclear blast. The days of the Cold War and its impending doom have since passed, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a threat of a nuclear apocalypse.

In Tennessee, you’d expect that the bombs would go right over you and target some of the bigger cities in the country. However, in the event that we did come under attack, here are some of the places that would be the most likely targets.

This is all hypothetical, and in all likelihood, the US is well equipped to handle an oncoming attack if there was a country dumb enough to try.

Check out what FEMA had to say about possible areas to come under attack in Tennessee.

Nashville

As the biggest city in the state, it’s no surprise that this is the first target on the list. With just over 700,000 people, plus the addition of tourists, it would cause the most catastrophic loss of life.

Memphis

What Memphis lacks in size, it makes up for in culture. One of the most underrated music hotspots in the United States, this city still has a huge cultural significance in the state and the country as a whole

Knoxville

One of the south’s oldest and proudest universities along with a budding non-student population, expect Knoxville to only rise on this list as time ticks on

Chattanooga

The last of the major metro areas on this list, clocking in at just under 200,000 residents. An absolutely gorgeous city, it would be a downright shame to see this area turned to ash.

Nuclear Power Plants

Major metro areas wouldn’t be the only areas under attack, Tennessee has two nuclear power plants that could become targets as well. Watts Bar and Sequoya, both sitting in the south east, less that 100 miles outside Chattanooga, could both be potential targets in the event of a nuclear strike.

What Happens To A Nuclear Plant?

Have you ever heard of Chernobyl? A nuclear meltdown would be catastrophic to the entire area and spread to a good chunk of the eastern side of the state. The immediate blast would certainly have its casualties, but the lasting effects of the radiation would be even more devastating. If either of these plants came under attack and suffered a subsequent meltdown, the surrounding area would become uninhabitable for the next 20,000 years.

The United States has the most advanced missile detection and deterrent technology in the world. It’s at a point where if some country (looking at you North Korea) made the idiotic choice to send nukes our way, they would probably be obliterated by the time we were getting up for breakfast. But there’s always a chance, no matter how low, that something terrible happens. At least now you know where the bombs are most likely to strike, and hopefully there’s a bomb shelter nearby.

Read more from the FEMA report here.

Get our free mobile app