A video of a woman giving a PSA about how New Yorkers should conduct themselves in the event of a nuclear disaster had Manhattanites trembling in fear.
The 90-second clip was released this week by the city’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) agency, according to the Associated Press.
In it, a spokesperson for NYC Emergency Management said, “So there’s been a nuclear attack,” and quickly resumed with:
“Don’t ask me how or why, just know that the big one has hit.”
The backdrop revealed a computer-generated street lined with seemingly deserted brownstone buildings.
"You, your friends, your family, get inside," the spokesperson advised and added that "staying in the car was not an option."
"You need to get into a building and move away from the window," she continued.
Although the disastrous situation was vague, the woman did instruct viewers to get clean in the event they were outside "after the blast."
She added they should remove their outer clothing "to keep radioactive dust or ash away from the body."
The clip ended with her assuring viewers, “You’ve got this.”
New Yorkers, however, were not sure they were as confident.
People had questions.
Unanswered queries gave way to nervous sarcasm.
Christina Farrell, the city’s emergency management deputy commissioner, said the purpose of the clip was to raise awareness of a hypothetical most New Yorkers never think about.
Farrell told the AP:
“There’s no overarching reason why this is the time we sent this out."
"It’s just one tool in the toolbox to be prepared in the 21st century.”
However, New York City Mayor Eric Adams offered more insight about the video while speaking at a news conference on Tuesday.
When a reporter mentioned OEM's video and asked if there was something New Yorkers should know, Adams said the PSA was a "great idea" born out of the Ukraine conflict.
“This was right after the attacks in the Ukraine, and OEM took a very proactive step to say let’s be prepared," he said.
He also said he was not an alarmist.
“And it doesn’t mean just a nuclear attack, it’s any natural disaster.”
“I’m a big believer in better safe than sorry.”
Adams also reminded the city that while COVID has been on the forefront among other issues, "we're still one of the top terrorist threats."
"There are no imminent threats to the city that we know about," he emphasized, but urged New Yorkers to be prepared for anything. "And I think OEM did the right thing."
"We're going to always be proactive, not panic, but we're going to be prepared."
Sure. Sounds like a plan.
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