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Hiroshima Insight

Characteristics of the atomic bombing

When the atomic bomb exploded, it produced a huge fire ball in the sky. Due to the heat rays released by this fire ball, the temperature of the ground at the hypocenter reached 3,000 to 4,000 degrees. The high temperature ignited fires and the heat rays burned many people who were directly exposed to the blast.

The tremendous blast also destroyed most of the wooden buildings within two kilometers of the hypocenter. The fires that broke out swept through the city and left it a burnt plain.

Unlike a conventional bomb, the atomic bomb released radiation, too. Those who were exposed to this radiation suffered such symptoms as vomiting, diarrhea, high fever, and hair loss. Many people who were apparently uninjured suddenly vomited blood or showed other symptoms, then died.

The health concerns caused by the atomic bomb seemed to have subsided by the end of 1945. But that wasn’t the case, in fact, as survivors of the bombing continued to suffer from various illnesses, including cataracts, leukemia, and cancer. The aftereffects of the atomic bomb still linger today in the form of radiation-induced diseases.