A “large scale” nuclear training exercise is being held in Houston this week as the military war games are the unthinkable.
The FBI has warned residents of Harris County and Southeast Houston that “multi-agency” drills will be conducted Monday through Friday to simulate a nuclear attack.
The agency assured the public that there was no cause for alarm at the presence of “military personnel and aircraft and people in protective gear.”
It comes amid growing threats from North Korea and Russia and analysis showing a missile from Pyongyang could kill around 130,000 if dropped on Houston.
According to NukeMap, a tool developed by nuclear weapons historian Alex Wellerstein, the deadly radioactive fallout from a North Korean missile tested in 2017 would cover an area of about 3 square kilometers and engulf landmarks like the Downtown Aquarium and the George HW Bush Monument.
Analysis showing a North Korean nuclear attack on Houston could kill around 130,000 people
Houston will host a series of “large-scale” nuclear training exercises this week in preparation for attacks
One site chosen for the exercises is Ellington Field, a military base in south Houston
It houses military units from all five US forces, including the Texas Air National Guard’s 147th Reconnaissance Wing and a NASA flight operations unit under the aegis of the nearby Johnson Space Center
One of the sites chosen for the drills this week is Ellington Field, home to a defense and homeland security compound shared by various military units from all five U.S. armed forces.
It is the base of the Texas Air National Guard’s 147th Reconnaissance Wing and a NASA flight operations unit under the aegis of the nearby Johnson Space Center.
The FBI hasn’t said why Houston was chosen to host the training, but a map originally released by the Natural Resources Defense Council in 2002 shows Houston could be a prime target for a nuclear attack due to its dense population and critical infrastructure.
Last May, the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration conducted a similar “major radiological incident drill” in Austin, Texas.
More than 30 local, state and federal agencies are said to have participated in the exercise dubbed “Cobalt Magnet 22.”
The FBI Houston said this week’s drills are “part of a series of regularly scheduled semi-annual U.S. government drills.”
The Department of Defense, Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, FBI and Department of Homeland Security will conduct drills in Houston this week, the FBI said.
The training will also include several local and state law enforcement, fire, emergency management and public health agencies, including the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Houston Police Department.
In addition to Ellington Field, the general areas where the training exercise will take place extend from near SH 288 to SH 146 and from I-10 east to Highway 225.
A map published in 2002 shows potential nuclear targets in the US, including those in 2,000 (marked in black) and 500 (purple) warhead scenarios, as well as state capitals (asterisks) and cities (squares).
An interactive tool developed by nuclear weapons historian Alex Wellerstein shows that a nuclear missile tested by North Korea in 2017 would be powerful enough to vaporize the George HW Bush Monument in Houston
Deadly nuclear radiation would spread approximately 3 square kilometers from the blast’s epicenter, engulfing the city’s Downtown Aquarium
Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros baseball team, would also be gutted
The buildings surrounding idyllic Discovery Green to the south would likely suffer moderate blast damage, meaning they could collapse or catch fire
“The exercise is an opportunity for participating entities to practice and improve operational readiness to respond in the event of a nuclear incident in the United States or abroad,” the FBI said.
“The training exercise will not pose any risk or nuisance to the public.”
It comes after Joe Biden warned North Korea that a nuclear attack would meet with an overwhelming response.
The US President spoke last week during a state visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, during which the couple endorsed the “Washington Declaration” and formalized steps to deter North Korea.
But the pact sparked anger in North Korea, which is developing tactical nuclear weapons that can target its neighbor as well as refining long-range weapons that can hit the US.
With tensions escalating over the Ukraine war, the West also faces a growing nuclear threat from Russia.
Last month, a senior Russian security official warned that the threat of nuclear war had increased because of NATO’s military assistance to Ukraine.
The effect of a nuclear explosion based on a slightly weaker missile than that used to model the Houston map, centered on the New York financial district, is illustrated. It would obliterate the entire southern tip of Manhattan, causing severe damage and burning to much of Brooklyn and Jersey
Rescue workers prepare for a home defense emergency drill involving a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack in an urban setting at the New York Fire Department Training Academy on Randall’s Island in New York City on August 4, 2021
Rescue workers trained to evacuate “victims” from a subway and tunnel with limited space
The staff wore protective gear as in real disaster relief and were equipped with emergency medical equipment to rescue the victims
Mannequins used in the joint exercise involving biological, radiological and nuclear attack training responses are stored in a vehicle
Pictured: A volunteer is transported as emergency responders evacuate ‘victims’ during a homeland defense emergency drill involving a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack in an urban setting at the New York Fire Department Training Academy on Randall’s Island
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council, said: “Every day they supply Ukraine with foreign weapons brings the nuclear apocalypse closer.”
Vladimir Putin has repeatedly teased the possible use of nuclear weapons during the Ukraine war and has observed nuclear “thunder” exercises involving submarines, bombers and ballistic missile launches in Russia.
In 2021, soldiers joined police and firefighters on Randall’s Island in New York to train for “America’s Worst Day” — a catastrophic terrorist attack on the Big Apple.
Images showed Army Task Force 46 being trained on how to respond to a nuclear or biological attack on the New York City subway or Yankee Stadium.
About 170 Soldiers from across the country participated in the three-day joint Dense Urban Terrain Exercise with NYPD and FDNY personnel on the island.
Their training included simulated nuclear, chemical and biological attacks, according to the Army Times, with the outlet saying the soldiers had to go underground in search of “injured” people and crawl through blackout conditions in subway car simulations.
Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened to attack countries believed to be meddling in his war in Ukraine
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un recently launched powerful missiles from his golf course – and the fairway itself may have been the launch pad. Pictured: Kim Jong Un with his 10-year-old daughter Kim Ju Ae
A map of a nuclear explosion based on the “Little Boy” bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II – which is about 10 times less powerful than the missile tested by North Korea in 2017 – shows that about 100,000 people would die if if dropped on Washington DC
The “Little Boy” bomb would kill more than 114,000 people if dropped on downtown Boston
If a similar bomb were dropped on downtown Los Angeles, about 84,000 people would die and more than 187,000 would be injured. Given the expansion of LA, many neighborhoods like Beverly Hills and West Hollywood would be relatively unscathed
If dropped over San Francisco’s Mission District, the bomb would kill about 56,000 people. The Golden Gate Bridge and the Marina District were largely unaffected by the blast
Almost 130,000 people would be killed and 245,000 injured if the Little Boy bomb were dropped on Chicago
By sending out the alert to Houston residents ahead of this week’s exercises, the FBI is hoping to avoid the catastrophic confusion sparked by a false ballistic missile alert in Hawaii in 2018.
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HEMA) issued an alert that read: “Emergency Alert: BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT TO HAWAII. IMMEDIATE ACCOMMODATION SEARCH. THIS IS NOT A PRACTICE.’
The agency was then unable to lift the alarm for 38 minutes, sparking widespread panic among the 1.4 million people who live on the island.
Fearing a nuclear attack, terrified residents and tourists ran for their lives, taking shelter in shelters, their garages and even letting loved ones down through manhole covers.