Evening star., 1954-06-10
Blast
|0f A-bornb SET
For Raid Here err
Full-ScoIe Exercise
In Downtown Test
Due on Monday

- w sNbSbuSSX
Explosion Of q supposed atom
bomb five times more powerful
than the Hiroshima bomb over
Eleventh and F.streets NV. will
figure in a Civil Defense Com
mand Post exercise Monday.
This exercise will follow the
full-scale 1O-minute air-raid drill
scheduled for 1901 am.
After wardens and police re-
serves have gone through the
public phase of the drill by stop
ping all traffic and directing
pedestrians to shelter, civil de-
fense officials and volunteers in
the various services will start
digging out" after the presumed
bomb explosion.
Estimates of destruction and
casualties have been based on
the actual census of the daytime
population Of the downtown area
and the destructive range Of such
a bomb, equivalent to 100000
tons of INT.
Part of Biggest Drill.
The command post exercise
will be part of the biggest air
raid drill in history. Besides the
United States, it will include
Canada. Puerto Rico and Hawaii.
and continue over a period of
about "a hours. The public will
not be affected by that phase of
the test, however.
During the morning, reports
will arrive from various sources
indicating a strong movement of
unidentified aircraft has pene-
trated the United States-Ca-
madam border, headed generally
south. Subsequent reports will
indicate the invading armada
has split into separate groups,
headed in different directions.
Still later the Key Point Air
Raid Warning Center in this
area will receive the ATTACK
probable" warning. All key civil
defense personnel will be notified
to report to their assigned posts
in the command and control
centers.
: Imminent" Warning.
Within the hour the .'attack
iinminent" warning will come
from the Air Defense Command,
setting the entire civiI defense
organization to work.
AS a result of the 'solast" down.
town telephone exchanges will
be presumed knocked out, limit
ing wire communications to and
from command centers and max
ing large reliance on radio COM
munications from the field nee
eSSary.
Immediate fatalities have been
estimated at $4,000, with an
other 10000 to die within "a
hours. Nearly 400. 900 presumably
will require extensive medical at
tention. Some 66 per cent of Dis
trict hospitals supposedly will
have been put out Of commits
sion.
Fire To Be Imagined.
A fire will be imagined raging
in the area bounded by New
Hampshire avenue on the west,
Florida avenue on the north,
Sixth street N. E. on the east and
Delaware avenue on the south.
Numerous breaks" in water
pipes will be a complication"
An estimated 100000 homeless
and less seriously injured persons
will need food, shelter and first
aid.
These and other simulated
situations will be the problems
for Radio Amateur Civil Emer-
gency Service, Medical and
Health Services, Welfare Serv-
ices and other aid units.
Critical Areas Assumed.
Besides Washington, it will be
assumed that AZ critical target
areas in the country have been
A-bombed.
Federal Civil Defense Admin
istration headquarters will OPP
crate from two emergency OPP
erations centers outside Wash
ington, one location classified
and the other at the National
Training Center near Olney, Md.
The I'd Army, headquartered
at Fort Meade, Md, will conduct
its own exercises, giving full CO.
operation to civil defense forces.
Civil defense regional forces
likewise viii cooperate with the
I'd Army. & I