This is something I have been a little lax on, but it shouldn’t be that way. An EMP strike could cause us to put all of our prepping skills to work. We tend to think of faraday cages and no internet access when we think about an EMP, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Preparing for an EMP & the aftermath means preparing for a power grid failure, job loss, severed supply lines, Bank shutdowns, critical infrastructure failures, all leading up to the real chaos which all boils down to the enactment of Martial Law.
While testifying before Congress in May, Peter Pry warned that a rogue state or terrorist could attack the United States with a weapon that would kill 9 out of 10 Americans “through starvation, disease, and societal collapse.”
SPP151 Preparing for an EMP & The Aftermath
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Does 9 out of 10 people seem like an exaggeration? It doesn’t to me! A friend in the private Facebook group (Thanks Adam) posted some alarming facts about the demographics of the United States.
There are 325 million people in USA…
- 29 million people diabetes
- 12 million on assisted care living
- 52 million considered extreme obese
- 28 million on heart medicine
- 121 MILLION ON LIFE SAVING MEDICINE/CARE TOTAL (think of as needing immediate help/alternative means to survive)
- 109 million people on welfare
- 3 million criminals (currently incarcerated, not counting criminals already at large)
- 1 million homeless
- 42 million with mental illness
- 160 MILLION UNSTABLE/UNABLE PEOPLE TOTAL (think of as looters)
- 15 million traveling more than 50 miles any given day
- 50 million living in 50 most populace cities
- 65 MILLION WITH NO MEANS TO PROVIDE AT CURRENT STATE TOTAL (think of as deadweight needing support)
- 100 million + rely on pumped water aquifers (how are they going to get water- all of southern California)
- 1 year to replace one of 12 transformers in USA, in current state (cars and infrastructure intact)
It always peaks my attention when government agencies and the main stream media (that are so good at demeaning preppers) start talking about the very same subjects we are preparing for. I also find it interesting that the people that could do something about it turn a blind eye.
We have become a reactionary society, or should I say an overreactionary society. The patriot act and the TSA are perfect examples of security theater, and how Americans are willing to give up their freedoms for the perception of safety.
Possible vs Probable
There is a lot of debate about how probable an EMP strike from a rogue nation or terrorist group would be because of how difficult it would be. A couple of events come to mind when I think of “probability.”
How probable is it that terrorists could hijack airplanes and fly them into buildings? How probable was it for Japan to send suicide bombers to Pearl Harbor?
Back in 1941, because of sanctions from the United States, Japan felt like it had no other option than to bomb Pearl Harbor, even though they knew we could wipe them off the face of the earth. The last I checked, Japan is still there.
The way we are handling countries like North Korea and Iran are quite similar to the way we handled Japan in 1941, so saying it’s “improbable” doesn’t mean it should be ignored.
A large scale EMP strike would bring devastation like never seen before. Pearl Harbor and 9-11 would be considered small scale if someone were able to successfully detonate an EMP or 2 above the United States, and EVERYONE’S lives would be directly affected by it.
Preparing for an EMP
This article from Skilled Survival talks about the 2 options we have; one might require a second mortgage on your home.
EMP Diaster Prep Option 1 – Plan for an Amish survival skills future. Plan to revert to an 1860 agrarian society with the sort of survival skills our great-great-grandparents knew. But, our society has forgotten.
EMP Diaster Prep Option 2 – Store a complete, disassembled home electrical power generation system inside very large Faraday Cages. Solar and wind are your best bet—since you won’t be able to get gasoline or natural gas. Everything electrical associated with these systems should be boxed in Faraday Cages.
As we mentioned in the show, most people have no choice but to go with option 1. Most of us don’t have the option to turn the garage into a huge faraday cage, and even if we do, surviving an EMP strike is going to require a lot more than functional electronics and solar power.
An EMP cannot destroy our food storage, our water storage, our guns and ammo and the knowledge we have in our heads. Learning to live without these conveniences is what prepping is all about, we need to use technology while we can, but never depend on it for survival.
Faraday Cages & What to Store
With all that said, faraday cages are not a bad idea. I plan on making a small trashcan faraday cage like the one Rob Hanus from the Preparedness Podcast tested out recently. For those of you who haven’t listened to the Preparedness Podcast I highly recommend it, Rob is very knowledgeable about preparedness, and delivers it in a way that just makes sense.
My feeling is that what I would need most is a way to have heat, light and access to some of my electronic file storage, so I plan on protecting items that would give me access to solar power.
- Old Cell Phone (File Storage)
- Small Solar Charger
(s) (For Phone)
- Smaller Solar Panel
(s) (For Light and Heat)
- Charge Controller
(See Here)
- Power Inverter
(Multiple Uses)
- Ham/CB Radios
- Solar/Crank Radio
(noaa)
- Cordless Power Tools
- Flashlight(s)
If you have any ideas, or items you already store let everyone know in the comments below.
That Just Happened!
In the show we talked about what you should do immediately after an EMP strike. Most people will be confused and in complete denial until the realization set in that everything is not going to be ok.
This article from Prepper-Resources.com has some great points about how to prepare yourself for the aftermath of an EMP. I’ll list a few of the points here, but for more detail have a look at that article.
- Get home, and get your family home.
- Spend your cash immediately (this means you need to have cash on hand)
- Fill up the bathtubs and anything you can with water.
- Talk to the neighbors and organize.
- Take inventory and ration.
- Reassess and implement your security plans.
Also From the Show…
Amerigeddon Movie Review
At the end of the show we talked about the new movie AmeriGEDDON which Lisa and I recently went to see. I wrote a full review of the movie that you can read here.
Sun Oven Coupon
A couple of months ago we did a webinar with Paul Munson form Sun Oven International and offered a discount for fans of Survivalist Prepper. Paul has set up a page with a limited time offer where you can still get that discount. Click Here to have a look.
First Aid Kit Contest
We have mentioned these in the last couple of episodes, and we are going to be giving them away next week. This contest is for Academy Members only, so if you are not a member you can become one here.
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4 replies to "Preparing for an EMP & The Aftermath"
How can I make a Faraday csge for my ehole house generator????
I would love to hear someone interview William R. Forstchen. I loved all his books, Day of Wrath gave me nightmares. but one second after is a great book and got me hooked on his writing. you two did a great job on this podcast.
Question about an EMP. Once an EMP hits, how long would you have before failure at nuclear power plants? Would their backup generators even work after an EMP? Have you ever done a podcast about nuclear power plant failure? (How far you need to stay away to avoid explosion/radiation/etc., Where is the best place to take shelter from radiation and for how long?)
Are there any handy maps online that show all the nuclear power plants in the US and what radius you would have to avoid to stay safe and for how long?
Hi Maranda, I actually did a 2 part series With Matthew Stein about EMP’s and the disaster it would cause. He wen’t extensively into nuclear power plants. Here is a link to episode 1: https://survivalistprepper.net/emps-cmes-and-nuclear-meltdown-with-matthew-stein/ At the bottom of that article there is a link to the second part.