“So there’s been a nuclear attack,” a recent public service announcement issued to New York City residents said. “Don’t ask me how or why, just know that the big one has hit, okay?”
“I’m a big believer in ‘better safe than sorry,’ ” he said.
Adams said the video — which advised New Yorkers to “get inside, stay inside and stay tuned” — was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It was really taking necessary steps after what happened in Ukraine, to give preparedness,” he said. New York City is a main target for attacks of all kinds, Adams noted, referencing the terrorism of Sept. 11, 2001.
The video advised New Yorkers to get inside quickly upon a nuclear attack and stay away from windows. “If you were outside after the blast, get clean immediately. Remove and bag all outer clothing to keep radioactive dust or ash away from your body,” said the presenter, a calm woman dressed in all black.
The seemingly unprompted video, published Monday — months after Russia invaded Ukraine — raised alarm and prompted some head-scratching. The Defcon Warning System, a private organization that monitors nuclear threats, said the PSA was “not in response to any specific threat.”
John Rich of the country music duo Big & Rich was among the many surprised Twitter users, writing, “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?”
Another wrote: “I just saw an NYC Nuclear Attack PSA video. Is there something Im missing!?”
And another tweeted, “Am I the only one that’s freaking out???”
The world’s nuclear arsenal is set to grow over the next decade for the first time since the Cold War, according to a report last month by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. “The risk of nuclear weapons being used seems higher now than at any time since the height of the Cold War,” the group’s director, Dan Smith, said in a statement.
In the early weeks of the war, demand rose for potassium iodide, which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use after exposure to radioactive iodine.
A reporter asked Adams whether the video was overly alarming, to which the mayor said, “I don’t think it was alarmist.” He added: “These are just smart things to do.”
