Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Though stories have been pouring out for at least 5 years about the weakness of our power grid, we are still woefully unprepared. And one of the most effective ways our enemies could cripple our power grid is with an EMP (electromagnetic pulse).
It would require a tremendous amount of energy, usually from a high-altitude location. But if a terrorist snuck a nuclear bomb into the country, it could happen.
Why is this collapse of the electric grid such an important issue? It would not merely be a power outage. It would be a collapse of the power grid across multiple states that would take years to fix. And by then, 90% of people in the affected area might be dead. How would you fare in a nation without power for one year?
Power affects many different things that we don’t normally concern ourselves with:
- Water Sanitization
- Communication Systems
- Waste Services
- Energy Production
- Food Transportation
- Military Defense
Losing just one of these things could result in chaos. Imagine if we lost all of them. By now I hope you see exactly how much an EMP would affect things outside your own walls. The loss of these services would undoubtedly spiral the nation and its citizens into chaos like nothing this world has ever seen. The good news is there are several items that will give you a fighting chance at survival after an EMP.
1. Gun
Fortunately, guns are not yet electronic. Almost every gun you can buy still works off very simple mechanics. It’s this simple design that makes the gun so appealing, and an EMP would have absolutely no effect on it.
Think of all the electronic items that an EMP would effect. Without them, there will be groups of terrified and desperate individuals who are willing to do almost anything to get what they need for themselves or their families. These unspeakable horrors might only be avoided if you have firearms to protect yourself.
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2. Maps
After an EMP, you probably won’t be able to stay put for long (unless you have an impenetrable bunker or a remote cabin in the countryside). And if you’re on the move, you’re going to need plenty of paper maps. I recommend getting a good local map of your county and state. If you planning on driving a long distance, get a detailed atlas of your country.
Knowing where you are going is the next most important step. Hopefully, you have already chosen a bugout location that makes sense for your area and mode of transportation. You may not have the luxury of vehicles or GPS and this is where those hard, paper maps will come in very handy. Always keep them in your car or bug out bag for such an occasion.
3. Paper Knowledge
I know some preppers who have hundreds and even thousands of ebooks about survivalism stored on their phones, kindles, or tablets. That is fine, but after an EMP, all those devices will be useless and those ebooks will be gone forever.
Yes, you can keep them in a Faraday cage, but what if the EMP happens while you’re reading? That’s why I prefer to have several printed materials and books at my disposal.
Here is a short list of books to have in your library:
- The Lost Ways
- The Survival Medicine Handbook
- The Art of Eating Through the Zombie Apocalypse
- Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival
- The Encyclopedia of Country Living
4. Pre-1980 Motor Vehicles
You may think that old car your neighbor owns is obnoxious. It’s ugly and loud and not nearly as nice as your new 2017 model. But the problem with your new car is that it’s basically a computer on wheels that will fry during an EMP.
If you want to bug out of the city, you’ll need a vehicle that doesn’t have an electronic ignition or too many electronic components, which means you’ll need something from around 1980 or sooner. It depends on the model, of course–some early 80’s vehicles are okay while some late 70’s aren’t–so be sure to check before you buy or restore an old vehicle.
5. Faraday Cage
Above I mentioned a Faraday cage. In case you don’t know, it’s a container designed to insulate your electronics from EMPs. They’re actually not that hard to make. With just a little effort, you can put together a small cage that can protect electronic devices such as radios, satellite phones, small solar panels, and so forth.
Want to prep but not sure where to begin?
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If you want to protect large solar panels or other large devices such as power generators, you’ll need to build a larger cage. For example, you can use a metal trash can or a large box wrapped in foil. Here are some more ideas.
6. Hard Assets
Before there was electricity, there was gold and silver. Long after electricity, I must assume, it will be the same. The value is ancient and may yield you better results in buying food and resources than even paper money.
Ater an EMP, ATM machines will no longer work and people will have to use other things for trade. In addition to some precious metals, I would also stock up on several barter items. If a barter economy emerges, you’ll have a better chance at being able to trade for what you need.
7. Wit and Adaptation
They don’t bottle and sell these, but I can assure you that in a world of desperation, you will need more wit and adaptation than you can imagine. This is just a matter of thinking, planning, and being alert. After an EMP, there may not be any more relaxing nights in with the family.
Each night may pose a new and different challenge. Each interaction with the humans around you may require your total attention and suspicion. To survive in the post EMP landscape, you will need to be your best asset.
America’s power grid is still not prepared for a powerful EMP. An attack like this would kill us from the inside out. As I write this article, it has been confirmed that North Korea just tested 4 ballistic missiles. It’s time to get prepared.
Conclusion
Obviously, these aren’t the only things you would need to survive an EMP. You would also need a bug out bag, emergency food, and many other survival items. Preppers should try to prepare for as many types of disasters as possible. So if you’re a prepper, make sure you also have the items listed above. And if you’re not a prepper, get started!
Let’s really get realistic here. Okay, say some cars still operate. But all the fuel we purchase is electrically pumped and delivered to the car or vehicle. We would be on foot going anywhere unless you happen to have enough gas or an extra horse lying around, with food etc. We recently had to replace our refrigerator and guess what? All today’s new refrigerators have computers — will the refrigeration still work after EMP? Maybe but not likely. Our ingenious use of chips for everything is really stupid. As time goes on, they will try to figure out ways to make screwdrivers and other idiotic notions electronic as well. It’s just disgusting.
Also, if a terrorist nation is crazy enough to set off an EMP, they are also crazy enough to set off more than one, after first allowing everyone to open up their Faraday cages and other protections. To me the first thing would be to have plenty of drinking water, at least some stored food — dried, canned, etc. Security is very important especially at night and having at least some things for barter only makes sense, whether silver coins, foodstuffs, or anything that might be needed. Those of us who live in the colder regions will have to figure out ways to keep from freezing to death.
Even if we store cell phones and things in protection, there is no guarantee that many or most of the required satellites will still function. If predictions are even close to accurate, people will soon be dying, first from planes dropping out of the sky, car accidents galore, people stuck in elevators, etc., etc. There will be no or very few people available to deal with all this, so expect DISEASE of all sorts everywhere. This will make covid look like a sneeze because it will go on for years, or as long as it takes for most people to completely deteriorate on their own.
A few days ago, President Putin said that if anyone interferes with his plans to take over Ukraine, he is going to do something that has never been done before. Russia pioneered EMP’s back in the early 1960’s and has now had sixty years to perfect this stuff. They have ways to do this now that do not even require the nuclear devices to set them off and they have at least 17 types of missiles or all the ones they have, to deliver the various things they have developed (including what we call Satan and Satan II. They would not have to kill one person, but merely sit back and watch us all starve to death. It is scary to think that a civilized world has evolved to such idiocy. Russia also went to High Alert today, meaning they expect possible nuclear attack, but this could also be a made-up façade in order to justify EMP.
We have known about this for decades and have an official commission that has studied this but they can only say that they have no answers and all of their existing suppositions deal with EMP power-levels that are 50% or more, less than the levels that are known to exist, in the countries that would be willing to set off such a debacle, including Russia, Iran, North Korea, China, and perhaps some renegades. Apparently in Russia they mostly use the old antique radio tubes for most things instead of chips, because the tubes are safe from EMP’s. If only we could just take all the leaders of these nations in one room and let them fight it out. Our situation today is worse than any I have experienced in the past 70 years and worse than any I have read about in history.
News media is mum about all this and will not even allow people to call in to their programs to open a discussion. I tried and after at least 100 tries, actually got on the pecking order for the next day, yesterday. The commentator began and then when I mentioned EMP, he changed the topic a few times, switched to another person who was not even part of the call, and when I again tried to respond, he immediately ended my part of the call. I’m sorry, but the days of eternally sticking our heads into the sand are gone. Maybe we need to change our ways and come up with solutions.
According to some Biblical scholars, EMP is mentioned in the Bible as the “weapon of indignation” in the final chapter, The Book of Revelation. I doubt it would be there if this were never going to happen somewhere, some time. Hopefully we will all be raptured out to a much better world on the other side. In addition to prepping for here and now, we should also be prepping for there because many people may be there sooner than they expect. I have been there at least twice temporarily about ten minutes each time, and it is not so bad. All we take with us is our consciousness but we should try to get right with our own God first. We travel by thought and are there before we finish the thought. Interesting experiences, both times. Good Luck out there!
If you have an Electronic Safe, are you going to still be able to get into it
Excellent article, excellent advice from an old Eagle Scout.
Every article I read in Faraday cages talks about how to protect cell fone. Laptops etc etc. What about protecting humans and animals? Our brains organs etc? Any comments please
Great article. This is another one of those events you hope never happens. It doesn’t just have to be a terrorist attack, a massive solar event (1859 Carrington Event for example) could be just as detrimental to our technology and infrastructure.
As you approach each one of these seven great topics of preparation, remember to add one element to each…TRAINING. Start now. Don’t just buy a firearm and think you are prepared, learn how to use it, and I don’t just mean going to the range. Seek professional training. Train on navigation. Do you kids know how to use paper maps? Let them lead the navigation on the next road trip. Read your “paper knowledge” and integrate the lessons learned into daily activities. This is one of the best ways integrate training and keep you from putting it off. It also leads to a high retention rate. Remember “You can only fight the way you practice”.
That’s great advice, thanks!