1A(, ir .^- ;--+--^^' 1u1- I'lsLa''ce' a 100 kt. low airburst occurred ovel' the centre of a Europeancity with hal-f a nillion inhabitants, this cou1d. kill up to half the poputation byi:nnediate effectsr if no warning hed been given. The zone $here at least !0 percent of alL buildings r^rould be dest?oyed by blast would. have a radius of 5 to 6 kn.As for the effect on smal-1 one-family houses, vhieh are more frequent on theoutskiTLs of the c-ity, Lhe rad.ius night be even greater. over approximately the same distance, the therlal radiation would ignite fires, sorne of which vould grow and spread, causing further rnateriaf destruction as well as additional- deaths.Within l-ess than an hour after the explosion, large parts of the 2-to-5 hr. zonelxight be ablaze, vhile parts of the area inside 2 km. mi{r..ht be sites for s1ov.creeping fire in the heaps of rubb]e createal by the air blast. In cornparison tobl-ast and thernal" effects, initial neutron and. ga"mra radiation vould be lesssignificant, because the dangerous area for initial- nuclear radiation is inside thecircle where, as a rure, people vould be kiIled by blast or heat. Radiation night,however, add somewhat to the casual ty figures, and also dininish prospects forrecovery among survivors with mechanical inJuries or br:rns. 16?. The ni.uber of fatalities and leveI of destruction in a city l:lrder nuclearattack depend on many factors, of vhich those rels.ted to civil defence preparednessare discussed later in this chaDter. 0ther inportant pararoeters are the size of thecity and the distribution of its population in rel-ation to weapon yield, the heightof burst and glound-zero location (see also figure IX). t68. fn addition to the irunediate effects, survivors face many additionaldifficulties. Water and electricity services wou-ld opeaate far be1o1,/ standards orfail altogetber, heating would have broken dovn, food supplies would be scarce and medieal- care facilities hopelessly inadequate. Telecomu:rications with the outsitlevould be seriously disrupted because of blast and thernal effects and
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the devastating effects of a nuclear attack on a European city, including immediate fatalities, destruction, and long-term consequences such as disruption of essential services, food and medical scarcity, and communication disruptions. The focus is on the human impact of the attack, rather than economic or environmental effects.

**Category**
Health, Humanitarian aid and relief