A map shows the areas of the US that could be the most likely to be hit by a nuclear by a nuclear strike.
Areas like New York City, Washington, D.C. and key cities on the west coast are potential targets to an enemy attack. Americans wary of the potential threat from above may wish to look towards the rural Midwest for refuge instead.
The map appears to date back to 2015 and an article in CBS, but it has resurfaced a number of times on social media since.
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The same map, it is claimed, uses data from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) along with the National Resources Defense Council and Medicine and Global Survival.
But a spokesperson for the FEMA told the Independent that the organization “does not, and has not, released any type of formal map of potential nuclear targets.”
The statement also said: “However, FEMA provides information to the public to help them prepare for a potential hazardous or radiological event through Ready.gov.”
Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, and Philadelphia could also be targeted.
Rural areas such as Idaho, Maine, Northern California, and Oregon might be less likely targets. But Alabama, Arizona, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee could be target due to the presence of active nuclear plants.
It also suggests that places like Montana and North Dakota might be important in a strike as these states have several nuclear weapons and launch facilities. Things like intercontinental ballistic missile silos (ICBMs), military bases, and nuclear storage are spread out across the US.
Fears of a nuclear attack on US soil are raised amid conflicts all over the globe, including in the Middle East and Ukraine.
There are around 12,500 nuclear weapons amongst the other nine nuclear-armed nations aside from the US and Russia
Just a month ago, the State Department said that Russia isn't following the last active agreement about nuclear weapons with the US, which was renewed in 2021. In response, Russia denied this and accused the US of not sticking to the deal.
Towards the end of 2022, Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, even threatened to use nuclear weapons outside of Ukraine.
Putin has accused the West of “nuclear blackmail" and claimed that Russia has "various means of destruction.”
Arguing Russia will use “all weapons resources at our disposal” to defend itself, Putin insisted his rhetoric was “not a bluff.”
Russia has a policy of no first use of nuclear strikes, meaning it will resort to retaliatory action if necessary. Putin suggested in December last year that this policy could be changed.