120 Cities Most at Risk [Surviving Terrorism]

Surviving Terrorism.com ^ | 2-10-03 | Jarret B. Wollstein

[Salvation]

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120 Cities Most at Risk
Of Terrorist Attacks

For the past few years, the federal government has been providing training and assistance to police and emergency response workers in the 120 cities considered most at risk of terrorist attacks. A complete list of those cities appears at the end of this report.

As you will see, the list includes major government centers (Philadelphia, Miami, Sacramento, Washington, D.C.), cities with extensive industry (Detroit, Houston, San Jose), major business centers (Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia), important media centers (New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C.), major seaports (Newport News, Oakland, San Diego, Tampa), and important military facilities (Colorado Springs, Honolulu, Long Beach, Norfolk, San Francisco).

The federal government is providing extensive training for police and emergency workers in these 120 cities, including preparation for conventional (e.g., bomb), biological, chemical, and radiological (“dirty bomb”) attacks. However ...

Are the “At Risk Cities” Now Prepared?

The short answer is no, they are not. So if you live in or within 50 miles of these cities, you should consider yourself at significant risk for the duration of the War on Terror, which President Bush says could last as long as 50 years.

Fifty miles should be considered the minimal safe distance from an “at risk” city. The reason is that in event of even a small radiological or nuclear attack (5-20 kiloton weapon), lethal radiation and fallout will be carried by prevailing winds at least that far. In plain English, if the winds are blowing away from you, you will probably survive if you are 10-20 miles away. However, if winds are blowing toward you, you will probably be dead in a few days. Similarly, in event of a major biological attack, winds and fleeing survivors could easily carry pathogens at least 50 miles.

In the event a more serious attack, you may need to be as much as 100-300 miles away from a target city to survive.

While the government is now attempting to train emergency personnel in the 120 cities at greatest risk, please recognize it will take many years before most cities are even minimally prepared. Even then, government assistance is absolutely no guarantee that there will be enough drugs, water and food to go around for everyone in the event of a radiological, nuclear, or biological attack, which could put hundreds of thousands, even millions of people at risk. In many cases, the consequences will be nationwide.

Furthermore, there are many biological weapons for which no effective treatments exist, and the only protection is to not be anywhere in the area when people are exposed, and to get out before you and your family are exposed.

Also, in a crisis, expect emergency facilities—including hospitals and medical clinics —to be quickly overwhelmed. In fact, they are likely to be reservoirs of disease and contagion.

Dark Winter: What to Expect in the
Event of a Bioterrorist Attack

On June 22-23, 2001, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) conducted what they term “a senior-level war game” examining the likely consequences of a smallpox outbreak in the U.S. Again, let me emphasis this is an exercise based on high-level computer analysis and prediction, not an actual occurrence.

The results were alarming: During the exercise, smallpox was projected to spread to 25 states and 15 foreign countries. By the 13th day of the exercise, “A total of 16,000 smallpox cases have been reported in 25 states.” But that’s just the beginning.

By the end of the exercise, the National Security Council projects “that in worst-case conditions, the third generation of cases could conceivably comprise as many as 3,000,000 cases of smallpox and lead to as many as 1,000,000 deaths.” (“Shining Light on ‘Dark Winter’,” Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, Electronically published 19 February 2002.)

Other conclusions of the Dark Winter study:

• “States have restricted nonessential travel.”
• “Food shortages are growing in some places, and the national economy is suffering.”
• “Residents have fled and are fleeing cities where new cases emerge.”
• “Canada and Mexico have closed their borders to the United States.”
• “The public demands mandatory isolation of smallpox victims and their contacts, but identifying contacts has become logistically impossible.”
• “The individual actions of US citizens will be critical to ending the spread of contagious diseases.”

This last point to me is the most important lesson of Dark Winter: To survive you need to prepare in advance.

For more information on Dark Winter, check out the collection of articles here and here. The last link is from the University of Chicago.

120 Cities Most at Risk
State	City
Alabama	Birmingham
	Mobile
	Montgomery
Alaska	Anchorage
Arkansas	Little Rock
Arizona	Phoenix
	Mesa
	Tucson
California	Anaheim
	Bakersfield
	Fremont
	Fresno
	Glendale
	Huntington Beach
	Long Beach
	Los Angeles
	Modesto
	Oakland
	Riverside
	San Bernardino
	San Diego
	San Francisco
	Santa Ana
	San Jose
	Sacramento
	Stockton
Colorado	Aurora
	Colorado Springs
	Denver
District of Columbia	Washington
Florida	Fort Lauderdale
	Hialeah
	Jacksonville
	Miami
	Orlando
	St. Petersburg
	Tampa
Georgia	Atlanta
	Columbus
Hawaii	Honolulu
Illinois	Chicago
Indiana	Fort Wayne
	Indianapolis
Iowa	Des Moines
Kansas	Kansas City
	Wichita
Kentucky	Lexington
	Louisville
Louisiana	Baton Rouge
	Metaire
	New Orleans
	Shreveport
Maryland	Baltimore
Massachusetts	Boston
	Springfield
	Worcester
Michigan	Detroit
	Grand Rapids
	Warren
Minnesota	Minneapolis
	St. Paul
Mississippi	Jackson
Missouri	Kansas City
	St. Louis
Nebraska	Lincoln
	Omaha
Nevada	Las Vegas
New Jersey	Jersey City
	Newark
New Mexico	Albuquerque
New York	Buffalo
	New York
	Rochester
	Syracuse
	Yonkers
North Carolina	Charlotte
	Greensboro
	Raleigh
Ohio	Akron
	Cincinnati
	Cleveland
	Columbus
	Dayton
	Toledo
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City
	Tulsa
Oregon	Portland
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia
	Pittsburgh
Rhode Island	Providence
Tennessee	Chattanooga
	Knoxville
	Memphis
	Nashville
Texas	Amarillo
	Arlington
	Austin
	Corpus Christi
	Dallas
	El Paso
	Fort Worth
	Garland
	Houston
	Irving
	Lubbock
	San Antonio
Utah	Salt Lake City
Virginia	Arlington
	Chesapeake
	Newport News
	Norfolk
	Richmond
	Virginia Beach
Washington	Seattle
	Spokane
	Tacoma
Wisconsin	Madison
	Milwaukee

[Domestic Church]

Even the Lancaster Amish are at risk being midway between Philly & Baltimore.

[Tamzee]

"OK, NOW I'm pissed off at these terrorist!!!! No city in beautiful New Hampshire is worthy of attack?"

Ahhhh... I think it is very clever of terrorists to avoid hitting New Hampshire... They aren't afraid of the U.S., Nato or U.N., but they know they would be hunted down until the end of time if they ever disrupted plans for the next Biker Weekend ;-)

A former proud resident of beautiful New Hampshire,
Tammy

[Brad’s Gramma]

I'm dead.

[null and void]

AAAAAAIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!

[RayBob]

You have just proved my point about being prepared. No matter how well you think you have, when the time comes, it will prove to be inadequate.

If something happens (and it likely will) we, as a nation, and as individuals, will have to deal with it. Prepare to the best of your abilities, but understand that in most scenarios, it won't be enough.

Should we then, crawl under our collective beds and await the destruction, cowering in fear and wasting our days? I can't stop some madman from poisoning the water supply or setting off a car bomb outside of a popular club. All I can do is live my life. That is what I chose to do. I will exercise appropriate caution and will take appropriate measures to protect and provide for my family, but there's not much I can do to stop a random, terrorist attack from killing me or any member of my family. If I am to die from such an attack, I will do so living my life to the fullest, not hiding in my basement.

As for your last statement, if there was a disruption of life as you describe, and if your neighbor came to you for help, would you gun him down? Would your darker side take control?

[Caliban]

I actually KNOW that...thanks...I will up the dosage for my "Brain Fart" pills...promise never to let it happen again...I'm series...

[MamaB]

And I find it very interesting that Huntsville, home of NASA and Redstone Arsenal was not on the list. It was number 50 on another list I saw several months ago. I really do not see how Montgomery could be on it. We do not read or hear much of anything about it except it being the state capital.

[angcat]

I'm from Yonkers. Now living in PA. I am scared for Yonkers my hometown. This is just awful!

[Caliban]

and if your neighbor came to you for help, would you gun him down? Would your darker side take control?

Believe me...Darwin was RIGHT...survival of the fittest...I have NO obligation to help a neighbor when it is a life and death sitution...IF I PREPARE for hard times...and "they" didn't...big ol' case of tough shit! Yes..IF my property and supplies are threatened...don't kid yourself I'd shoot their asses in a New York minute...and ohh...BTW I also own a cross bow...and IF...BIG IF...I run out of bullets...don't think I won't have the time to whittle arrows if need be...

[savedbygrace]

Somebody posted earlier that Wyoming doesn't have any at risk cities, so maybe my 90% figure should more accurately be 90% of the population of the country.

IAE, it's most of the country, I'm sure, which makes it a ridiculous story.

[ErnBatavia]

http://detroit.citysearch.com/review/5180532/

[dark_lord]

Time to repost that most dangerous of terrorist weapons -- Dihydrogen Monoxide!

Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means certain death.

Dihydrogen monoxide:

• is also known as hydroxl acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
• contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
• may cause severe burns.
• contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
• accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
• may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
• has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.

Contamination Is Reaching Epidemic Proportion - Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream, lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has caused millions of dollars of property damage.

Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:

• as an industrial solvent and coolant.
• in nuclear power plants.
• in the production of styrofoam.
• as a fire retardant.
• in many forms of cruel animal research.
• in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.
• as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.

Companies dump waste DHMO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done to stop them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is extreme, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer!

The American government has refused to ban the production, distribution, or use of this damaging chemical due to its "importance to the economic health of this nation." In fact, the navy and other military organizations are conducting experiments with DHMO, and designing multi-billion dollar devices to control and utilize it during warfare situations. Hundreds of military research facilities receive tons of it through a highly sophisticated underground distribution network. Many store large quantities for later use.

Act NOW to prevent further contamination. Find out more about this dangerous chemical. What you don't know can hurt you and others throughout the world. Send email to no_dhmo@circus.com

[Porterville]

SLO town was left out??? Don't forget El Diablo, Vandenburg, and the Trans Pacific Cable.
Geesh!!! As if the Centeral Coast isn't as important as Bakersfield. JK

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Am I at more risk than I was during three years in the Army, or working on ratty old rigs offshore in the 60's, or being shot at in northern Namibia at Combat Mines? Is it worse than a mine riot at 3,000', or a cop who doesn't speak English holding a gun to my nose?

F#$% 'em!

[MrNeutron1962]

"The reason is that in event of even a small radiological or nuclear attack (5-20 kiloton weapon), lethal radiation and fallout will be carried by prevailing winds at least that far. In plain English, if the winds are blowing away from you, you will probably survive if you are 10-20 miles away. However, if winds are blowing toward you, you will probably be dead in a few days. Tin foil hat alert. Lets see, everyone downwind from Hiroshima for up to 50 miles died in a few days? I am so sick and tired of irrational fears of radiation.

[CyberAnt]

I find it interesting that San Diego is listed as a major seaport (?) and not a major military installation. However, San Francisco is not listed as a major seaport, but is listed as a major military installation (?). Weird

[Spyder]

Interesting that they cite Honolulu, especially considering that Hawaii is still at "blue" on the terror alert scale. We haven't even gone to yellow yet, let alone orange.

[Nebr FAL owner]

Here in Nebraska they ain't called y2k bunkers when you got STRATCOM formerly known as Gen.Curtis E.{Bomb'em back to the stone age}Lemay's Strategic Air Command just down the road & being in the middle of "tornado alley " they are simply referred to as the "storm cellar".

[Nebr FAL owner]

Funny but not very likely sad to say=8^)

[Publius6961]

BUMP!