Washington’s emergency management personnel could once again think about the unthinkable and make plans to evacuate cities ahead of a possible nuclear attack.
Critics argue, however, that lifting the Reagan-era prohibition would only help bolster an “illusion” that nuclear war is winnable.
A bill before the House Public Safety Committee on Monday would lift a 1984 ban the state has on creating plans to evacuate or relocate people in advance of a possible nuclear attack, a restriction that puzzled Chairman Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland.
“Where did that come from?” he asked.
When the law was passed, the United States and Soviet Union were in the middle of an arms race and Washington had a series of military installations with nuclear weapons, Rep. Dick Muri, R-Steilacoom, the bill’s sponsor, said.