The International
Asteroid Warning Network was formed in 2013 at the request of the United
Nations, to monitor "Near Earth Objects." Also, NASA is developing a craft called the
Asteroid Redirect Mission and a robot to be sent
to a near-Earth Asteroid.
Granted the likelihood
of this occurring in our life time is low
(< 1 in 10,000), but the consequences if it does are catastrophic. A
small asteroid exploded in the in Siberia in 1908
and 20 years later the area was still devastated. At this point, some are
saying, yea, but that was long ago, but a
strike this size occurs about every 10 to 20 years, usually in the ocean or an
unpopulated area. The power of this is about 1,000 times more powerful
than the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.
On February 15, 2013,
an undetected asteroid 17 meters in diameter exploded 17 miles above Chelyabinsk,
Russia. The energy from the air blast of the explosion measured the
equivalent to 470 kilotons of TNT. The falling meteors from the explosion
damaged buildings, shattered windows and
injured nearly one thousand people.
If you are not convinced that the risk is real, here
is some additional reading on the subject:
The 2015 PDC Hypothetical Asteroid Impact Scenario
History Channel video
History Channel Article
1908 Mystery in Tunguska, Russia. Meteorite
Asteroid devastation could even be worse than feared
For those who are convinced and would like to be prepare, here is some food for thought. Many of the preps for this Event are the same as for other events.
An Asteroid Impact with Earth (or limited nuclear exchange) would
destroy everything for potentially hundreds of miles, sending up enough dust
into the atmosphere to block the sun for years, causing drastically
cooler conditions. Earth could literally
enter a man-made Ice Age. The EMP from a nuclear exchange could destroy
all electronics that are not shielded, but
that is another disaster for another post. Also,
a Nuclear Winter would likely be less severe than
an Asteroid Impact Winter.
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:
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:
2) Surviving the beak 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:
Here is what another site says about an Asteroid Impact
