If a nuclear bomb hits your city tomorrow, your evacuation plan will kill you
Our nation’s major metropolitan areas have detailed community response plans for hurricanes, forest fires, and other natural disasters. But in my decades in the field, I have noticed a worrisome gap: pre-disaster community planning for a nuclear event such as a terrorist plot.
TL;DR
- Major metropolitan areas lack comprehensive community response plans for nuclear events.
- The risk of nuclear terrorism is increasing, with the potential for both dirty bombs and tactical nuclear attacks.
- A nuclear detonation in a city would cause immediate destruction, disrupt communications, and lead to a perilous evacuation.
- Current public advice to flee may be dangerous, increasing exposure to radiation and leading to gridlock and potential violence.
- Preparedness involves having emergency supplies, securing homes, and community-level planning and mutual aid.
- Resurrecting and modernizing old civil defense plans and implementing mandatory disaster training in schools are recommended.
- Individuals are urged to visit ready.gov and prepare a go bag.