Facts about Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- 14
Firestorms in both cities created winds exceeding 40 miles per hour that incinerated wooden structures across 4.4 square miles in Hiroshima and 1.6 square miles in Nagasaki within minutes of detonation.
- 13
Nagasaki's Urakami Cathedral, located 500 meters from the hypocenter, was completely destroyed on August 9, 1945, killing all 8,500 Catholic worshippers inside the building.
- 12
Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park was built on the site of the former parade ground, located just 160 meters from the hypocenter where the bomb detonated on August 6, 1945.
- 11
A 1956 study documented that 99 percent of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors exposed to significant radiation developed abnormal white blood cell counts within months of the bombings.
- 10
Radiation exposure during the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings caused cataracts to develop in 90 percent of survivors within the first five years, making it the most common radiation-induced eye injury documented.
- 09
Pregnant women exposed to radiation during the Hiroshima bombing delivered babies with an average head circumference 1.3 centimeters smaller than those born to unexposed mothers.
- 08
In 1979, researchers discovered that children exposed to radiation in utero during the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings showed significantly reduced intelligence quotient scores compared to unexposed children.
- 07
Survivors of both bombings who were exposed to intense radiation experienced premature graying of hair within weeks, a phenomenon documented in thousands of Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims.
- 06
The intense heat from the Nagasaki bomb on August 9, 1945, left permanent shadows burned into stone surfaces where people had been standing during the explosion.
- 05
Keloid scars formed on survivors' skin in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with some developing abnormally large scars from relatively minor burns due to radiation exposure damaging healing mechanisms.
- 04
Over 140,000 people had perished in Nagasaki by the end of 1945, three days after the August 9 atomic bombing destroyed nearly 74 percent of buildings.
- 03
Within five years of the August 1945 bombings, cancer rates in Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors were significantly elevated compared to unexposed Japanese populations.
- 02
By the end of 1945, radiation sickness had killed an additional 70,000 people in Hiroshima beyond the initial blast victims.
- 01
Approximately 70,000 people died instantly in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, with the atomic bomb's flash heating the air to millions of degrees.