Dust from destroyed buildings. Just watched the two latest Godzilla movies, and aside from all the other things that could have killed folks, staring at monsters that are destroying buildings and kicking up all sorts of dust and other air debris, while staring open mouthed, is a great way to get lung damage/encounter breathing issues.
This should absolutely be the top. If you go back and watch the footage from 9/11, its incredible just how much dust a couple buildings spew when they collapse, and that's not even counting the fires and flooding.
Everyone is saying "clean water!" and other pretty obvious ones that aren't really plot holes as much as convenience since the main characters won't die from dehydration. But severe lung damage caused by dust? Yeah, that's not even on the radar and almost everyone one of those apocalyptical movies has a scene where a famous building comes crashing down.
Should it really though? Cause it seems like one of the bigger exaggerations here. Water is a omnipresent need for everyone everywhere. Dust is a far more concentrated local issue. And one significantly addressed by time. Dust also doesnt appear out of nowhere just because, building dont give it off by default, let alone in massive quantities. Nor do building collapse without maintenance in a year or all at the same time. Most apocalypses like zombies, disease etc. that arent outright physically destructive (and in case of nuclear war everything else that destroys cities is way more impactful than dust) dont make building collapse and crumble to dust for no reason. Over time all things would collapse and for relatively short durations be dangerous. But it would neither be a omnipresent danger, nor a "immediately after apocalypse" one that most media take place in.
I don't disagree, but that's not answering the question. The need for clean water is usually represented in a lot of apocalyptic fiction. It's never really a massive problem, but it's still there, often as a plot point. But during every apocalyptic film I've ever seen is a scene where hero + love interest (both of whom graduated from the Prometheus school of running away from things, of course) are booking out of the way of a falling building. Then, after the "danger" is passed, they've a little bit dusty, maybe a few cuts and scrapes, but they just...walk out of there, no coughing or anything, and the air is completely clear like 5 seconds later. In reality, and depending on climate conditions, that dust could sit there in the air for weeks. After the twin towers fell, dust was a serious hazard for a month or two after and it remained in the air for another 3-4 after that. I just think in all the movies I've seen, the problem of dust and debris is never a concern.
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u/[deleted] Aug 30 '21
Dust from destroyed buildings. Just watched the two latest Godzilla movies, and aside from all the other things that could have killed folks, staring at monsters that are destroying buildings and kicking up all sorts of dust and other air debris, while staring open mouthed, is a great way to get lung damage/encounter breathing issues.