Story by Yelena Mandenberg
Parts of America could be hit in a nuclear war as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other conflicts continue around the world.
The map shows the places most likely to be targeted if there was a nuclear attack on US soil. It points out possible targets in every state in America, mostly in the East but also along the California coast.
The map also suggests that Montana and North Dakota could be key targets as they have many nuclear weapons and launch sites.
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In the west, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming have lots of targets marked on the map. Some of the biggest targets include active nuclear power plants.
There are about 90 of these across the US, including in Alabama, Arizona, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, reports the Mirror US.
Places like rural Idaho, Maine, Northern California, and Oregon might be safer. The US has put its nuclear forces in areas with few people, so any attack would cause less damage.
Rockets called intercontinental ballistic missile silos, military bases, and places where nuclear weapons are stored are spread out across the US.
Some of the big places that could be hit include working nuclear power stations. There are about 90 of these plants in America, in states like Alabama, Arizona, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
Other important spots that might be targeted are places where they keep missiles, military bases, and places where they store nuclear weapons.
This map first showed up in a CBS article from 2015. It says it used info from FEMA, Medicine and Global Survival, and the National Resources Defense Council.
But FEMA doesn’t want to be linked to this map. A person speaking for FEMA said: “FEMA does not, and has not, released any type of formal map of potential nuclear targets. However, FEMA provides information to the public to help them prepare for a potential hazardous or radiological event through Ready.gov.”
Big cities like New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, are usually thought to be the most likely to get hit due to economic worth, large populations and government offices. Other cities that might be in danger are Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami and Philadelphia.
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But Idaho, Maine, Northern California, and Oregon might not be such big targets.
Just last month, the US accused Russia of not following the last nuclear weapons agreement between the two countries. Russia denied this and said the US wasn’t sticking to the deal.
In late 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use nuclear weapons outside of Ukraine.
He claimed the West was using “nuclear blackmail” and warned the US and Europe that Russia has “various means of destruction” “To defend Russia and our people, we doubtlessly will use all weapons resources at our disposal,” he said. “This is not a bluff.”
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In December, Putin suggested Russia might change its policy of no first use of nuclear arms in military conflicts.
“They have it in their strategy, in the documents it is spelt out – a preventive blow. We don’t. We, on the other hand, have formulated a retaliatory strike in our strategy,” Putin said during a press conference, referring to the US and Russia, according to CNN.
