Apocalypse Whenever: New York City Sends Quirky Nuclear War PSA

Apocalypse Whenever: New York City Sends Quirky Nuclear War PSA

Sometimes it feels like we’re closer than even than to the end of the world, and apparently New York City Emergency Management feels the same way, as the city department released a nuclear attack survival guide.

New York City Emergency Management was formed back in 1996 and “helps New Yorkers before, during, and after emergencies through preparedness, education, and response.” One of those emergencies could be a nuclear attack on the metropolis, and Emergency Management wants you to be prepared. The city department released a minute and a half-long PSA about how to ride out the initial fallout in the wake of a nuclear attack. The tour guide tasked with walking us through the end of times seems a little too calm during the decimation of one of the world’s largest cities.

“So there’s been a nuclear attack. Don’t ask me how or why, just know that the big one has hit, ok?” The video was released Monday on Youtube and has racked up nearly 300,000 views as of July 12. Um, that’s definitely not ok.

The guide urges New York City residents to do the following:

  • Get inside fast, and move away from windows. Do not stay in a car.
  • Stay inside. Shut all doors and windows, go to the middle of the building. Get clean immediately (remove clothing and store in a plastic bag, and take a shower with shampoo and soap)
  • Stay tuned and follow media.

This PSA is not the first oddball public education attempt by a New York City office in recent memory. Earlier this month, the New York City Department of Sanitation released a tongue-in-cheek TikTok to their official account modelled after those famous ASPCA ads with Sarah McGlaughlin speaking on behalf of sad dogs. “Will you move your car? Every day litter gets on the streets of our city, and it’s crying to be cleaned up,” says Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch in black-and-white over McGlaughlin’s “In the Arms of an Angel.” The TikTok urges residents of the city to move their cars away from curbs on days where Department of Sanitation street sweepers prowl the concrete jungle. The video has since gathered over 140,000 views since it was posted.


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