Jet planes dived and screamed here overhead in a simulated air attack this morning, part of a civil defense drill embracing this city and its environs.
Air raid sirens sounded their warnings as the planes came down to rooftop level. All traffic was halted, while all civilians except several thousand civil defense wardens were sent to air-raid shelters.
As the mock air raid presumably knocked out water and electricity supplies, utility workers quickly hooked up emergency tap lines. Meanwhile, medical aides helped evacuate presumed wounded from buildings which had been marked as suffering “direct hits,” while firemen turned on their hose to extinguish mock flames.
After two hours, quiet came to the city and normal activities were resumed. Civil defense leaders declared today’s drill to be one of the most successful testes of the kind yet conducted.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.