Signs informing that there was a fallout shelter are still visible on some buildings in Manhattan.
These signs go unnoticed by many, or they do not understand their meaning. For others, that symbol is a relic of the cold war and an expression of the fear with which that era was lived.
There are, however, those who seem not to be so far away, in the midst of a war like the one unleashed by Russia with its invasion of Ukraine and the possibility, as the Kremlin pointed out, of dipping into its most destructive arsenal. . It is conceivable that Putin was bluffing, or not?
The streets of New York are deserted, an urban landscape even more ghostly than when confinement was decreed due to the pandemic. Sirens are heard in the background. A woman dressed in black reports a catastrophe. "So there has been a nuclear attack," she comments with a relaxed demeanor, as if she were commenting on a summer storm.
"Don't ask me how or why, I just know that the biggest bomb has hit us," he says nonchalantly, seeking not to create more alarm than already exists. "What do we do? There are three important steps,” she notes. Next to it, signs appear explaining each of these tips: "Look for shelter now (it's not worth staying in the car), stay inside ("close doors and windows, go to the basement and if you don't have one, place yourselves in the center of the building,...") and stay connected”. And, to top it all off, “don't go outside until the authorities say it's safe”.
All this is not an excerpt from an apocalyptic film from the early sixties, in the midst of the tension between the USSR and the United States over the missiles on the island of Cuba. This deployment, described as bizarre by numerous experts, is part of a 90-second video with which the City Council of the Big Apple instructs its residents on how to behave in the event of a nuclear attack.
This recording was posted on the internet in July by the Department of Emergency Management and continues to be talked about. They say that most of the videos of this department on the YouTube page reach less than 1,000 viewers, but the nuclear instruction closed last week with almost a million views. There is nothing like appealing to anxiety to encourage online clicking.
Its dissemination, moreover, is generating widespread ridicule, with comments such as "if you don't shower quickly, you will disintegrate immediately" or "what are these people thinking about?" The shock wave reaches Mayor Eric Adams, who has been forced to answer questions about the confusion created by this matter.
"I don't think it's alarmist," Adamas replied in defense of the initiative. “I am a great believer that prevention is better than cure. This is more than correct after the attack on Ukraine and the department has taken a proactive step to say let's be prepared”, he insisted. “It doesn't just mean a nuclear attack, it works for any natural disaster. Prepare your backpack, keep in mind where you have the medicines, they are only smart things that can be done, ”he reiterated.
Both the video and its justification caused another question to arise on the networks: "Is there something we should know?"
Some polls indicate that 70% of Americans fear that the war in Ukraine could lead to a nuclear conflict. But it must be taken into account that the idea for the recording arose in 2018 and that the filmmakers delivered the work in January 2019, when the Russian invasion was not yet on the horizon. Between one thing and another, the covid arrived and it was parked.
This July its launch was approved, despite the fact that municipal officials stressed that there are no indications that the city is at risk from a nuclear attack.
Critics detected a total lack of sensitivity when New York faces real daily problems (health crisis, housing, more crime). They say the video is reckless and a fabulous waste of taxpayer money.
