The initial explosion in the detonation of an atomic bomb is catastrophic for the surrounding area, leveling structures with intense shock waves and releasing vast amounts of heat. When an atomic bomb explodes, a fireball creates shock and heat waves that destroy structures in the immediate vicinity of the blast. The rising fireball sucks up debris to form a mushroom cloud.
Damage can occur over large distances.
Radioactive fallout may be dispersed worldwide through global atmospheric processes. Sixty thousand to 70,000 people were reported killed or missing, according to U.S. estimates. Thousands more were made homeless. It was the first atomic bomb used against an enemy. In this excerpt from a broadcast , a news reporter describes a detonation of an atomic bomb that was conducted in March 1953.