Savannah Hulsey Pointer, FISM News
New York City’s Emergency Management Department surprised many when it issued a public service announcement (PSA) about procedures residents should take in the event of a nuclear attack on the city.
The city’s emergency preparedness plan included the assurance that “while the likelihood of a nuclear weapon incident occurring in/near New York City is very low, it is important New Yorkers know the steps to stay safe.” The announcement went on to outline “key, simple steps in the event of such an incident.”
“New York City Emergency Management has a multitude of free resources for New Yorkers to prepare for emergencies, including no-notice events,” said New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol. “As the threat landscape continues to evolve, it is important that New Yorkers know we are preparing for any imminent threats and are providing them with the resources they need to stay safe and informed.”
According to the video released by the city, the key steps New Yorkers should take are to “Get inside. Stay inside. Stay tuned.”
New Yorkers are encouraged to get into a building and move to the interior most rooms of the building and stay there until they know the threat has passed. They were also told they should remove any clothing potentially exposed to the threat and take a shower. Residents were told they should stay tuned to local public service announcements from local officials.
“NYC Emergency Management works with several local, state, and federal agencies to organize emergency response. In partnership with NYPD, FDNY, NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, MTA, and FEMA, the agency hosts the PlanNowNYC website, which focuses on preparing for terrorist attacks and other no-notice events, including nuclear events, as well as the steps to take if such an event occurs,” the city’s emergency management announcement stated.
“The City also uses several forms of media to alert the public in an emergency, including Notify NYC, the City of New York’s free, official emergency communications program. New Yorkers are encouraged to sign up for these free emergency alerts in their preferred language and format by visiting the website at NYC.gov/notifynyc or by calling 311.”
Questions have arisen about why the city felt compelled to make this announcement, including questions by some well-known figures like Country singer John Rich, who tweeted, “The last time I saw a video like this, I was in the 4th grade when it was Reagan vs Gorbachev. Anybody have any idea why NYC needs to get the word out about ‘what to do in a nuclear attack?’ What the hell is going on?”
Human Events Senior Editor Jack Posobiec stated his opinion on the warning, saying, “NYC has just released a nuclear attack PSA. Guess they’re worried about Biden as president too.”
While Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat had a different take: “Today in NYC, we get a PSA on how to prepare for a Nuclear Attack. Ok thank you – It should be helpful if we survive the daily shootings, stabbings, rapes & robberies.”
Online users had many different responses to the video.
“Today in NYC, we get a PSA on how to prepare for a Nuclear Attack. Ok thank you – It should be helpful if we survive the daily shootings, stabbings, rapes & robberies,” Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat said.
Today in NYC, we get a PSA on how to prepare for a Nuclear Attack. Ok thank you – It should be helpful if we survive the daily shootings, stabbings, rapes & robberies. pic.twitter.com/6ZsWaeyr6Z
— Dr Janette Nesheiwat (@DoctorJanette) July 12, 2022
Tech CEO Matt Sweetwood had another reaction altogether, saying, “The point of this PSA is to make people fearful (again). When people are in fear, they are easier to manipulate and control.
Veteran and former Democrat representative from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard, also had a dark view of the events surrounding the PSA: “NYC’s new PSA says if a nuclear bomb drops we should ‘1. Get inside 2. Stay inside 3. Stay Tuned’ as if going inside is going to save us from a nuclear holocaust. It won’t. But the leaders who got us here? They don’t care about us – they will be safe in their bunkers.”
NYC’s new PSA says if a nuclear bomb drops we should “1. Get inside 2. Stay inside 3. Stay Tuned” as if going inside is going to save us from a nuclear holocaust. It won’t. But the leaders who got us here? They don’t care about us – they will be safe in their bunkers. pic.twitter.com/63MDa4cLon
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) July 16, 2022
The interactive website Nukemap predicts that if a Cuban missile crisis-era R-12 Soviet missile were released on lower Manhattan, the result would likely be the deaths of millions and injury of millions more across New York and New Jersey.