Concentric Circles of Death The heat from the atomic bomb caused severe burns that were often fatal. Shock waves from the explosion threw people to the ground or against walls. Wooden buildings within 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from ground zero were flattened. People inside those buildings were often crushed to death or trapped under the debris and burned alive by the fires that followed. Radiation from the atomic bomb caused acute sickness among those exposed to it directly. Radioactive fallout affected many who later returned to the two cities to search for their families or provide medical treatment for the survivors. Population of Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing: 310,000~320,000. Death toll by December 31, 1945: Approximately 140,000 ± 10,000. Data on the death toll: From Nuclear Radiation and A-Bomb Sickness by Shono Naomi and Ijima Soichi, N.H.K. Publishing. Satellite images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are from Google Maps. Population of Nagasaki at the time of the atomic bombing: 270,000~280,000. Death toll by December 31, 1945: Approximately 70,000 ± 10,000. Hiroshima Nagasaki
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