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A huge killer asteroid is heading straight for New York.
An exercise put in place by experts from the "Global Defense" would aim to determine what would happen if the authorities were unable to deflect a giant space rock heading to the most populous city in America at 43,000 miles per hour.
The asteroid, about 330 to 300 meters in diameter, would explode 9 km from the center of Central Park on April 29, 2027, with 1,000 times the energy of the nuclear bomb that decimated Hiroshima, according to AFP.
In the simulation, Manhattan is destroyed and the damage extends up to 42 miles from the epicenter, ensuring destruction in the highly developed metropolitan area.
This horrific scenario is intended to raise questions such as: How are the authorities evacuating 10 million people? How would ruined urban areas be rebuilt?
"Two months may not be enough to really evacuate, because you evacuate people who are stuck, who have to rebuild their lives wherever they go. Brandy Johnson, who plays the role of "angry citizen" in this exercise, told AFP that fleets of mass transit vehicles would be used.
A major unknown is how Americans would behave in the face of this catastrophic scenario.
"If you knew your home was going to be destroyed in six months and you did not come back, would you continue to pay your mortgage?" Asked Victoria Andrews, NASA's Global Defense Officer.
Fortunately, the fictitious killer asteroid is "highly unlikely", told Paul Chodas, the NASA engineer, game designer.
"But we wanted the problems to be exposed and discussed," he added.
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