JERSEY CITY -- Hudson County, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, FEMA and other entities will conduct a response drill to a nuclear explosion in the New York/New Jersey area, authorities said today.

The aim of the exercise, dubbed Gotham Shield, is "to expand the ability at local and national levels to coordinate an effect a large-scale response and recovery to an event like this," FEMA spokeswoman Lauren Lefebvre said this morning.

Lefebvre said that, in general, Gotham Shield will not involve the actual deployment of emergency response equipment and personnel.

It is to be a "notional" exercise in which emergency responders respond theoretically to an unfolding nuclear event scenario in which all levels of government are in communication and playing a role.

The drill is not a response to the recent tensions between the United States and North Korea, or any international incident, since it has been in the planning stages for a year, Lefebvre said.

Gotham Shield is to begin tomorrow and run through the week. It is believed that "ground zero" for the theoretical nuclear explosion is West New York.

On Tuesday, McCabe Ambulance, of Bayonne, will set up a casualty response center at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. At the center, some thousand imaginary victims of a nuclear incident will be triaged, decontaminated, treated for injuries including burns and transported, Mickey McCabe said this morning.

Ambulance response teams from across the state will respond to the stadium, as will helicopters and ambulance buses having the capacity to transport a total of about 400 patients. The EMS response center will operate form about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and during that time, inter-agency communications will be used and tested, McCabe said.

North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue has been coordinating with Palisades Medical Center in preparation for the exercise and will be working closely with the hospital during the drill.

The fire department will set up virtual decontamination tents and use other virtual resources at its disposal during drill mimicking detonation of a nuclear device, NHRFR Chief Frank Montagne said this morning.

"It's important to see our capabilities and see how far our operations go," the chief said, adding that "We are hopeful that it will never happen, but we have to be prepared."