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theoretically speaking, if a meteorite were to hit earth, thousands of people would be dead before it even touched the ground.
meteorites/asteroids typically travel at 30 kilometres (roughly 19 miles) per second. in order to be large enough so as to not disintegrate in the earth's atmosphere, the asteroid would typically be around 10 kilometres (roughly 6 miles) in diameter.
a rock this large would not be bothered much by air friction and would punch through the earth's atmosphere as though it wasn't even there. the heat created by the rock, especially after entering the atmosphere, would be high enough to completely vapourise anyone within a 2-kilometre range of touchdown.
the impact with earth's crust will finally be enough to stop the projectile. the energy of the impact will destroy the asteroid and, at least, five layers of the earth's crust. all of that rock (and water, depending on touch-down point) will be thrown into the air and blot out the sun.
some of that debris will be going so fast, it will just fly right out of earth's atmosphere and begin to orbit. although, most of it will rain back down on the earth, not just near the touch-down point, but thousands of miles away.
the impact will create a crater hundreds of miles long that will rip the earth open at hypersonic speeds.
the most immediate impact after that would be an earthquake, arriving around only 1.67 minutes after touchdown. this earthquake will measure over 7.2 on the richter scale.
if touch-down point occurred in the ocean, a tidal wave measuring hundreds of miles in height would destroy coastal areas worldwide.
a dust storm will occur after the impact, raining down near the touch-down point which will result in a loud, 67-decibel airblast 25 minutes after impact.
as a result of the ripped crust of the earth and the showing molten rock, the earth's atmosphere will begin to heat. creating an oven effect and triggering worldwide fires that will destroy anything that isn't sheltered underground.
the soot, ash, smoke and dust blotting out the sun would last for more than a year - killing most the planet's plant life, sea and land life.
but, due to the initial impact, the fires, the dust and the debris - the earth's surface will uninhabitable after only one day.
