# PSA for NYC residents about what to do in case of a nuclear attack **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 14, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914 "2022-07-14T02:56:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/1 "2022-07-14T02:56:04Z")
This is insane. The city would be GONE, as would most of the people in it. > **[New York put out a PSA in case of a nuclear attack, leaving many residents...](https://www.npr.org/2022/07/13/1111281998/nyc-nuclear-attack-video-psa-eric-adams)** > > The city's emergency management department released the video Monday without much context. Many residents expressed confusion over the timing and wondered if they were missing some other information. I’m surprised they didn’t say things like what “they” were telling us to do in the 1980s, like dig a hole, put a door over it, and cover it with 3 or 4 feet of dirt. ☢☣⁉🤦‍♀️ I’m actually reading John Hersey’s classic “Hiroshima” right now. We cannot allow that to happen again. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/2 "2022-07-14T03:11:50Z")
I remember fallout shelter plaques in NYC (not instructions to “dig a hole”!?). Was it a lie? As for “gone”, are they expected to take out the entire city? What are the targets in this scenario? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/3 "2022-07-14T03:58:15Z")
Geez, reporters are getting pretty snarky with their closing lines, aren’t they? > [@](#): > > [NYC Mayor] Adams added that this was just one of many emergency preparedness announcements in the works, including some for the hurricane season that started last month. I guess better late than never… ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/4 "2022-07-14T04:17:06Z")
I still see those yellow “FALLOUT SHELTER” signs here and there. Nowadays, at least where I live, they WOULD be practical for tornado safety. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/5 "2022-07-14T04:27:06Z")
A nuke just went off. This 90 second video will explain everything you need to do: Duck down, put your head between your knees, and kiss your ass goodbye! Weird video and timing. I suppose it could be terrorists that set just one off. But if it were from an organized foreign government there most likely wouldn’t be anything left. A nuke just went off. Take a bath! Why bother showering when the water was possibly contaminated? How would one stay tuned when most electricity would be knocked out and most battery operated electronics probably wouldn’t function either? When I was in grade school in the mid-60’s we still saw some of those “duck and cover” type films in class. This video is no less ridiculous than they were. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/6 "2022-07-14T04:33:33Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’m actually reading John Hersey’s classic “Hiroshima” right now. We cannot allow that to happen again. You assume that we would have some choice in the matter. This may be a questionable assumption. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/7 "2022-07-14T04:42:00Z")
Ah, I remember doing the “duck and cover” drills. One of my teachers always pointed out that not only was that not all that helpful, but neither were those home shelters some people had put up the decade prior. He mentioned that the air supply was still coming from outside the shelter. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/8 "2022-07-14T04:48:49Z")
It seems to me as if the NYC Emergency Management dept. has too many employees with too little actual work to do. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/9 "2022-07-14T05:20:05Z")
I grew up in the 50s and 60s, right outside Washington DC. We had tons of literature and fallout shelter plans and we went over it all in school. It all narrows down to old wooden schoolroom desks being invulnerable to nuclear blasts. Just get under one and you’ll be safe. I don’t understand why we don’t build protective domes out of the stuff. So in the unfortunate event that your weren’t at ground zero when the bomb hit, or you were but you got under a wooden schoolroom desk so that you didn’t immediately die, the government still has lots of helpful advice on how to choose between starving to death or succumbing to radiation poisoning. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/10 "2022-07-14T07:18:38Z")
Is it just me or can I not tell if the CGI set the actor is walking through either before or after the blast? Besides a single building that has part of the top collapsed it looks like a regular New York City street, the cars are even completely fine. For all I know some buildings in NYC just look like that regardless of nuclear attack or not. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/11 "2022-07-14T07:31:11Z")
According to my father they were taught to say the Lord’s Prayer while ducking under their desks; as an atheist I think the praying makes more sense. At least it’d help keep the children calm while they’re waiting to die. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/12 "2022-07-14T12:18:07Z")
It’s common to ridicule any information about nuclear preparedness, but the idea is not absurd. Those closest to the blast will be instantly vaporized, those sufficiently far away essentially unaffected. But there’s a middle zone where potentially thousands of people would be able to improve their odds by taking the right steps. There are several ways people die from a nuclear bomb, and even getting under a desk could offer limited protection from some of them (i.e. pieces of the building falling down from the shock wave). ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/13 "2022-07-14T12:31:55Z")
I recall a teacher taking the class to the bomb shelter in Junior High because all of the kids were asking about it, this was in 1975 I believe. It was a cramped and creepy place with puddles on the floor, old smelly cots and no provisions. No way we wanted to play down there and no way I would head there if the bombs were going off. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/14 "2022-07-14T12:34:28Z")
When I saw the title, I thought this was going to be “Look at this old video someone dug up from 40 years ago!”, not something current. Seriously, this is their top priority? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/15 "2022-07-14T12:45:09Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > It’s common to ridicule any information about nuclear preparedness, but the idea is not absurd. Maybe not, but having a casual 90 second PSA out of the blue on it is absurd. And it does come off like maybe “they” know something. It’s weird, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/16 "2022-07-14T12:50:56Z")
“A reminder from your NYC Emergencies Department: No, you have NOT seen and gone through ‘everything’. It CAN get worse.” ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/17 "2022-07-14T13:17:13Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Maybe not, but having a casual 90 second PSA out of the blue on it is absurd. And it does come off like maybe “they” know something. It’s weird, that’s all. The OP ridiculed the idea of preparedness: > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The city would be GONE, as would most of the people in it. As well as > [@TriPolar](#): > > It all narrows down to old wooden schoolroom desks being invulnerable to nuclear blasts. Just get under one and you’ll be safe. We have a tendency to think of a nuclear blast as a magic death ray that kills everybody remotely close to it. But there were survivors in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and one guy who survived both. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/18 "2022-07-14T13:20:16Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > But there were survivors in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, …from bombs that were about 1% as energetic as current weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/19 "2022-07-14T13:20:29Z")
I think a small bomb on the level of the one used at Hiroshima and built by a terrorist group is more likely than a large one delivered by an ICBM from a foreign country. So yes, the immediate damage would be limited to a few blocks. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914/20 "2022-07-14T13:24:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > …from bombs that were about 1% as energetic as current weapons. While that certainly means the “instantly obliterated” area is much larger, it also means the “potentially survivable” area is vastly larger. There could be thousands of times more people in the potentially survivable area. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think a small bomb on the level of the one used at Hiroshima and built by a terrorist group is more likely than a large one delivered by an ICBM from a foreign country. Also that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psa-for-nyc-residents-about-what-to-do-in-case-of-a-nuclear-attack/967914.md?page=2)