Emergency Exercise: 10KT Nuke Attack on New York City

Emergency management programs from the early 1950s through the 1980s revolved around nuclear attack scenarios. It is the origins of our Civil Defense moniker that still persists in some places even today, see Hawaii State Civil Defense. Of course, they were attacked in 1941!

I saw this item: Emergency Agencies Practice Response To Nuclear Explosion In Times Square

The way the story plays out it does not seem to be that big a deal. Another "big" disaster. I'd love to see a copy of the major scenario events list for this one exercise.  

Here's my thoughts:

• A nuclear attack is still a possibility. Who knows if all the Soviet suitcase nukes have been found and accounted for?  
• 10KT is not thermonuclear war, but then it isn't a 1KT bomb either.
• Planning for a nuke attack should be on the hazard list for every major metropolitan area.
• These types of attacks are not the "the end of the world as we know it" (TEOTWAWKI) scenarios. There will be survivors, most of us in fact, and if you are in emergency management and alive you will need to deal with the aftermath.
• When I was doing Military Support Civil Defense back in the mid-'80s with the U.S. Army we did two week long, 24/7 exercises dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear attack. I wonder if the above exercise was a one-day drill. Lots more moving parts than a car bomb, I can tell you that.
• When doing tactical maneuvers in Germany and other places we'd practice how tactical nukes would be used. We'd hunker down behind a hill, turn off all the radios and then after the simulated blast ride on into the area attacked by the weapon. Simple!

Remember Moses from the Bible and the 10 plagues that were visited upon the Egyptians and Pharaoh? If only we had just 10 hazards to plan for.