[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] - Heavily populated cities such as New York and L.A. would be primary targets - but more rural areas also at risk
- Idaho, Maine, parts of northern California and Oregon are 'safe' zones, according to FEMA hotspot map of US
- READ MORE: US stocks up on $300m worth of radiation sickness drug
These are the nuclear 'hotspots' across America that could be targeted in the event of a thermonuclear war, according to the government.
While heavily populated cities like New York and Los Angeles may seem like the most likely US targets, there are other, more strategic targets in states such as Montana or North Dakota to wipe out the US's retaliatory forces.
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) originally released the map of the areas most likely to be targeted in 2015
- but it has resurfaced on social media again as the West teeters on the brink of conflict with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The map shows potential targets in every state, with dense clusters along the eastern seaboard and in California. Particularly large clusters are also highlighted in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming.
Active nuclear power plants are large targets. There are around 90 active nuclear plants in the United States, including plants in Alabama, Arizona, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a 'safe' place to live, consider parts of Idaho, Maine, northern California, and Oregon, where the lack of nuclear plants and more sparse populations make them less likely targets.
The US has strategically positioned nuclear forces, which could be prime nuclear targets, far from population centers. There are ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile silos), naval and air force bases, and nuclear storage depots scattered across the country.
Irwin Redlener, a public-health expert at Columbia University who specializes in disaster preparedness, says there are six US cities that are the most likely targets of a nuclear attack. New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC are prime targets, not only because of their dense populations but because of critical infrastructure such as financial centers, government buildings, and energy plants. Other cities and metro areas that could be likely targets include Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. 
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