EMP by Cheaper than Dirt

If you were at work when an EMP hit, would you be ready? How would you get home? Do you have an office, work in the field, or travel for work? This article examines the difficulties you could face if an EMP hit while you were at work, and covers some of the basic SHTF supplies you should have with you or stashed at work.

The effects of an EMP are directly related to its strength.

Whether you work in a big city or small town, odds are you spend a major portion of your week at work (away from home). If you work at a grocery store or Walmart Super Center, your employer’s shelves may leave you well prepared in the event of an emergency such as an electromagnetic pulse. For the rest, prior preparation is a must.

For the purposes of this article, let’s assume you work as an IT specialist at a small manufacturing facility in a town of about 100,000. Your office is about 15 miles from your home. Suddenly, the lights and computers suddenly go black. You wait for the customary five or so seconds, but the backup generator has not kicked on. A solar flare just caused an EMP that will change the lives of millions, including you. How will you survive?

You are stuck in a cube farm in the basement of your building. You feel around for your $1,000 cell phone to use its flashlight function. You tap furiously at the screen, but it will not come on. While mashing at the buttons, trying to get it to restart, someone yells from a neighboring cubicle, “Can anyone get their cell phone to work? Mine is dead.” A sick feeling settles in the bottom of your stomach. You know this is more than a simple power outage and help will not be arriving any time soon enough to matter.

Once the EMP hits, it will be too late to get prepared. People across the country will be stranded. Government services will not be forth coming. Everything will stop. Have your prepared for such an event?

Workplace Emergency Items

The first thing you’ll need to do is make a mental emergency assessment of your surroundings.

Do you have any items on your person that may aid in survival? What is in, or on, your desk? Do you have a locker? If so, will you be able to open it? What tools do you have access to? Does your workplace have first aid kits, or vending machines you may be able to raid for supplies? What is the demeanor of the people around you? How will you egress in the dark?

Let us examine some of the items it would be beneficial to have available for easy access in an emergency.

So what do you need to do before hurricanes, or pandemics actually happen? First, you should compile an emergency kit for your house that includes water, food, and other supplies. Then prep your car and workplace.

1. Flashlight (with extra batteries) – This is great for many emergencies, but after an EMP, it could be useless. Plan ahead with a lighter or matches and candle.
2. Multitool – The various implements incorporated into a multitool allows you to carry a single small item with a host of potential.
3. Pocketknife – Many workplaces have policies regarding weapons. Some even cover items as small as a pocketknife, but I’d still want to have a one available.
4. Matches or lighters. These are cheap and easy to store, but could be invaluable in the scenario described above.
5. Chemical light sticks – You can get between six and 24 hours of light from a single stick that can be picked up at most any $1 store. This si a no brainer to throw into a desk drawer.
6. Firearm – Putting this on the list is a wobbler for me. Yes, I subscribe to 24/7 carry, so I would be very likely to be armed. However, while prepared to face a mob mentality scenario, a firearm would actually be low on my personal list. I do not find it likely that chaos would break out immediately, so I could easily walk 10 miles before the desperation of other set in.
7. Batteries – This one is another wobbler. Batteries that are not connected to an electronic/electrical device would likely survive an EMP. However, the devices they would power would likely not survive. I suppose it is better to be over prepared.
8. First Aid Kit/IFAK – Injuries are going to happen. People will panic. Whether you are rendering aid or simply carrying the supplies so someone can give you aid, a kit is essential.

Emergency Egress

You may simply want to get outside, but you may also need to go deep. An EMP might not knock out all cars. You should have an emergency kit in your car—parked on the forth floor of the subterranean parking structure. Make a plan to escape or get to your supplies.

Workplace Gear

What do you normally keep at your desk? I always have a junk food drawer, because I like to snack. In a SHFT scenario, this is food I would want to pack with me. Living in the Midwest, I keep an extra jacket in my office. Even when the temperature is in the low 20s, I often leave the house without a jacket. I have an attached garage and there is a heated underground garage at work. However, if I ever had to walk home in winter or other severe weather, I would be unprepared without additional clothing. Plan for the worst.

The vending machine won’t be working after an EMP, but after breaking a bit of glass those prepackaged food and drinks would be great emergency supplies. Being prepared requires more than simply your supplies in a bag. Think about your surroundings.

Vehicle Kit

For those who do not live in a metropolis such as New York where most ride the subway, your vehicle is probably your best bet. You should keep emergency supplies in your trunk or the back of your SUV. Therefore, all you’ll likely need to do is transit from your position when the EMP hits to the supplies in your vehicle. Why make two kits when one can serve double duty?

It Is Your Responsibility

Ending the article at this point, I can already hear the scoffs and complaints that there is nothing new here and this article does not cover every situation, scenario, or aspect of survival. I agree. However, it would be impossible. Every person’s work situation is different. Their distance from work to home varies. The strength of an EMP is variable, so the equipment that would work after an EMP and the effort required to resume normal utilities and services would be different. Besides, if believe a 1,000 word article is going to prepare you, perhaps you should study a man named Darwin.

So, what is the purpose of this article? It is not to give you a “feel good” list of 10 items that give you a false sense of preparation because you have a multitool and flashlight. Instead, it is to scratch the surface and get you thinking about your responsibility for your own survival in a SHTF scenario such as an EMP or other emergencies when you are away from home. Good luck!

Have you prepared for an EMP? How would you plan to get home after an event such as an EMP? Share your answers in the comment section.

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Tags: Disaster & Emergency Preparedness, SHTF, survivalist

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EMP Survival 

Over Population

With our population growing exponentially, the earth is becoming infested with Homo Sapiens yet throughout history, Mother Nature had no problem keeping things in balance.

From movie What Happened to Monday

It is unlikely that humans can control population growth which will leave it up to Mother Nature.  But how will she do it? Don't think she won't; it's only a matter of time.

In the past, the increase in the population of natural predators was an effective control, but currently the only predator for humans are other humans.  So a violent uprising is a possibility.

Starvation from crop failures or food shortages  or another catastrophic event is a possibility, perhaps a Solar Flare or Mass Coronal Ejection sending an EMP from the Sun to the Earth causing a long term Power Blackout.

Another likely option is a Pandemic.  With the abuse of antibiotics, biological warfare research and increasingly resistant germs, this possibility increases each day.  Infertility, is another possibility....  as humans become unable to conceive.  The rise of homosexuality may be a leading indicator of this.

Some suggest that Homo Sapiens will be the cause of their own extinction, either through genetic engineering, climate change, pollution, nuclear war, or artificial intelligence.  With our massive growth of scientific knowledge, these options increase each day.

What do you think will get the human population under control?   

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents

List of Top 10 Lists 

Top 100 Prepper Websites

Top 10 Prepper Handbook Posts

Surviving a Partial Collapse

Lets start by Categorizing Catastrophic Events to put them in perspective:

Level 10 - the entire planet earth is destroyed
Level  9 - 90% of the humans on planet earth are killed (Asteroid Strike)
Level  8 - 50% of the humans on planet earth are killed
Level  7 - 90% of the humans on a continent are killed (Nuclear Winter)
Level  6 - 50% of the humans on a continent are killed
Level  5 - 90% of the humans in a region are killed (EMP)
Level  4 - 50% of the humans in a region are killed
Level  3 - 10% of the humans in a region are killed
Level  2 -  5% of the humans in a region are killed
Level  1 - single digit % of the humans in a region are killed

An Asteroid Strike, Nuclear Winter,  EMP or a Solar Flare would likely cause a total collapse of our country civilization.  Such an event could be classified from Level 3 to Level 9, but a more likely scenario would be a temporary Partial Collapse that would be from an event in the Level 1 to Level 3 range and which might include things like:

1. Large scale natural like a Super Volcano
2. Man-made disaster or Terrorist Attack such as a small Iranian nuke in several US cities
3. A global economic recession and Hyper Inflation
4. Civil, political and religious unrest with Riots and Looting
5. A nation wide Pandemic <- Click on Links for more info

More common events like Winter Storms, Hurricanes, Floods and Power Outages can cause regional breakdowns, but help will soon be on the way.  These are Level 1 events.  Where the really serious problem starts is when the domestic "Help" is also incapacitated and won't be able to come.  This quickly escalates an event classification by one or more Levels.

Realistically, most Preppers can only afford to prepare for things in the Level 1 to Level 4 scale.  The preparations or these events are similar except for how long you need to prepare for, how much water and food you need and how much seed & land for longer term events. 

This is where our Step by Step Prepper Plan comes in handy. The more you follow the plan and repeat the cycle, the better prepared you are for longer and more serious events.  Once you get to the point where you have a 1 - 2 year supply of food, seed, tools for a Prepper Garden, Livestock and extra supplies to Barter then you are ready to start working on an underground shelter with Solar Power. There are a number of sources on this, and some group retreats have them included.  The more catastrophic Level 5 and higher events will likely require a substantial investment to survive underground.  Nuclear preparations are well documented and information is readily available and not expensive.  www.ki4u.com has lots of good nuclear info, products and links to even more.

Below is a picture showing the before (bottom) and after (top) effects of an 18 kilo tonne (kt) nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima Japan. The nuclear bomb sizes last published were 200,000 kt, or 11,000 times more powerful.  Likely nuclear targets for the US include Washington DC, Houston, New Orleans, New York, Chicago and Los Angles plus other large population centers.

 

The devastation is major but primarily on the surface.  Radioactive fall out is likely to kill just as many as the blast. 

After having your preps in order, getting to your retreat early is a key.  Recognizing the RED FLAG warnings that it is time to bug out is important.  Short term Level 1 events can be dealt with in the city, with a good Urban Plan.  Sustainable City Survival is possible if well prepared, but chances are lower than in the country.  Knowing what to expect in urban areas will help.  Country dwellers should expect to be swarmed with city gangs desperately seeking food and water. 

Once you are well stocked, you need a security plan to protect your supplies and loved ones.  Here are some links to read about security:

Night Vision vs Thermal Vision
Investing for Preppers (Financial Security)
The Best Gun
Best Handgun Selection Criteria

Group Security Drills
Urban Survival Perspective
Urban Survival Plan
The right amount of Ammo

Passive Layered Security
Communications
Actionable Intelligence
PVC Survival Tube

Using your garden for cover
Security Patrol Pack (or Bug Out pack)
Country Home Security Plan
Home Invasion Response Plan

Guns in plain sight
Situational Awareness
Intruder Detection
Riot Preparations

Double Barreled Defense
Modern Home Security
Sustainable City Survival
BB Gun

Top 5 Combat Rifles
Best Prepper Dog

For additional information see the following links:
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EMP Survival

Think about your 9 closest family and friends: only one of you is likely to survive. The government estimates that a single EMP bomb attack on the US could cause 90% fatalities making this one of the worst disasters behind an Asteroid Impact. or all out Nuclear War.  
So why is an EMP so deadly? An EMP will take out all electrical and electronic devices that are not isolated in a metal container (Faraday Cage).  The drastic dark results include:

1. Every Computer, the Internet, cell phones watches, clocks, radio, TV and form of modern Communications will be dead.
2. Every ATM, Bank, Stock Exchange, credit card, and most Financial Investments.
3. Every Car, Truck, Train, Tractor, motor cycle and ATV made after the 70's won't run.
4. Those who recognize the Red Flag Warnings will get out of town early before Gangs start door to door looting. 
5. This will stop all commercial farming that supports 97% of the US population.
6. Refineries that produce gasoline and diesel will be incapacitated.
7.  Existing stores of gasoline with ethanol added will become bad after about 6 to 8 months.
8. This will disrupt harvesting and transportation of crops to market.
9. Americans will begin to starve as crops rot in the fields.
10. City Survival will be impossible on your own.  Even with good Home Security.
11. Enemies of the Right to Bear Arms are many. Gun confiscation will occur in area's with high level of gun control while armed citizen Urban Security will be organized in states that respect the right to bear arms.  Country Security and Military Security will be in place in some regions. 
12. Electricity (except possibly off-grid solar power), and running water will be gone for up to 10 years or more.  
13. Mass hordes will begin exiting the cities in search of food and water.
14. For many it will be necessary to adopt a Nomadic life style.
15. Most forms of wild game become extinct in a few months as people turn to Wilderness Survival and cannibalism to survive. 
16. Terrorist will seek to take over our country.
17. China will invade and take over our US west coast under the pretense of providing humanitarian aid. The few remaining starving Americans will welcome them until they realize that Chinese colonization is occurring and their rights and freedoms are gone.
18. Europe, Russia and Saudi Arabia will be competing to provide "Humanitarian Aid" to the starving US East Coast. 
19. Canada will offer aid to the Northern Border and Mexico to the Southern Border, but these regions being more self sufficient will be harder to take over.  
20. Facing the End of Free America, the few of us that remain will have to fight to Protect America. like those in the Prepper Movie - Red Dawn.

So what can we do to protect our family from an EMP?

The answer is that it won't be easy, even if we are well prepared.  It will require more than Beginner Preparations. The Blue Highlighted Links will provide you more details on a particular subject.

We will need the following Advanced Preps:

1. A Step by Step Plan to build and protect your supplies.  
2. Know what to do on DAY ONE
3. Food and Water to meet your needs for 1 year.
4. A CRITICAL NEED will be security to protect your families and supplies as the Mass Hordes and Gangs seek to steal them from us. Click HERE for a list of security plans for City and Country groups.  About half of the fatalities from an EMP are likely to be from MURDER by other starving Americans.
5. We will need Sustainable Food & Water Supplies to feed us after the first year including Seeds for Barter, Gardening and Livestock for meat.
6. In a short period, there will be plenty of Guns available as much of the US population has been killed.  But Ammo will be hard to find. How much Ammo should you have?  
7. What do we do After the Ammo Runs Out?
8. Have BB guns to train beginners and save Ammo.
9. Books will be great sources of information and entertainment after the electronics are gone.
10. First Aide supplies, including Antibiotics, will be critical to survive the period of anarchy. 
11. Having Paper & Silver dollars will be essential.
12. Nuclear fall out is likely; underground shelter will be necessary if near heavy fallout areas. NBC suits are a huge plus.
13. Solar power equipment, communications, night vision stored in a metal container have a good chance of surviving an EMP, and providing highly valuable tools for survival and security.
14.  You need enough guns for everyone to carry a rifle and a pistol, and a good Security Pack.
    Even with all this, it will be difficult to survive, unless you are sustainable living already on am isolated island some where far away. 
    
    
    
    
    For additional information see the following links:
    
    
    Blog Table of Contents
    
    EMP Survival 
    EMP by Cheaper than Dirt
    Nuclear Survival
    Post Nuke Plan 
    The SHTF Day One
    
    
    Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time 
    List of Top 10 Lists 
    Top 10 Prepper Websites 
    Top 10 Posts
    
    
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    EMP Labeled
    
    
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Nuclear Survival

Even a limited nuclear exchange would destroy everything for potentially hundreds of miles, sending up enough dust into the atmosphere to partially block the sun for years, causing drastically cooler conditions.  Earth could enter a man-made Ice Age or a Nuclear Winter which may be more severe than an Asteroid Impact Winter. The EMP from a nuclear exchange could destroy all electronics that are not shielded by a Faraday cage or metal enclosure. A solar flare could do the same.

Humans have survived an Ice Age before, but not during a time when our survival skills and preparations were so low.  The good news is that survival after a nuclear exchange is possible with a few preparations.

Such Preparations would fall in two categories:   

1) Surviving a 3-10 year winter, tidal waves, fire storms and acid rain.  Within 20 days, the global average temperature would drop from 58 degrees (F) Fahrenheit to 35 F, recovering about 10 degrees after a year or two.  By this time, 1/3 or more of the northern hemisphere (all of Canada and Northern US) would be covered year-round by snow.  The entire earth would experience freezing in the winter, and only the darkest red areas would not be frozen year-round.

 2) Surviving the "break out" after the sky clears, and the weather warms enough to begin life outside again.  The risk of unusually high ultraviolet exposure exists as the skies clear after being scorched. Disease from the fatalities decaying is a serious risk.

1) Surviving a 3-10 year winter

It could happen without any warning with only a matter of days to react.  So a high level of preparation and readiness is important. What should we prepare for?

• Living underground where the earths temperature is more constant may be required.  If not, a well-insulated shelter with a large supply of firewood, diesel or propane would be required making an "Event" like this, one of the most difficult to be prepared for.  Note that an underground shelter also protects from radiation as well as severe storms and cold.  See: Concrete Bunkers
• A ten year supply of long shelf life foods, water & warm clothing.  See the post:

Building your food stores the right way

Identifying nearby food warehouses, school cafeterias and other such places that feed large numbers might be a place to salvage food.  Animals that survive will likely be underground, underwater or able to withstand cold and eat grasses under the snow or bark and twigs of trees like goats, rabbits & deer.

• Green House to maintain your seed supply over such a long time and provide a small amount of food.
• Security plans with a large supply of Ammo to protect what you have. Here a few links:

                 Passive Layered Security

                 Urban Security

2)  Surviving the break out

Nothing would be worse than surviving the extended winter and then not being prepared to survive the new world.  Here is what you might need and some of this could be salvaged from hardware and farm supply stores.

• Extensive Farming and Ranching supplies, including seeds, plants, livestock, feed, tillers, seeders, garden tools like shovels, hoes, and rakes.  Chickens, dogs, goats, pigeons, and rabbits are good animals to have.
• Green House to grow foods year-round.
• Hand tools like saws, axes, drills, nails, water pumps & barrels.
• Farming and Ranching Skills
• Security is still important as it will be easy to let your guard down at this point and be caught unprepared.
• Reproductive age adults for human re-population.
• Substantial loss of land based animals; large bodies of water may be a key source of natural food supply.  
• Snow melting will cause flooding, even in normally dry places.  
• Decaying animals may result in high amounts of airborne disease.

At this point, common long-term survival preparations are needed in addition to those to handle cooler and more erratic weather and shorter growing seasons.  There is a tremendous amount of detail regarding a long-term sustainable meal plan that is important. How much do I need to plant and how many animals do I need to raise.  The Prepper Handbook by JR Ray on Amazon covers all of this in great detail, so we will not duplicate it here.  

For additional information click on the link below:

Blog Table of Contents

Gas Mask
EMP Survival 
Nuclear Survival
Post Nuke Plan
List of TOP Prepper Sites
Red Flag Warnings its time to bugout 
The SHTF Day One 

The First 5 Things To Do After a Crisis 
The good news about nuclear destruction

List of TOP Prepper Sites