How well prepared are you for an EMP attack?

[HereWeGoAgain]

I have stocked up on cans of beer

After the power grid is whiped out and banks and ATMs are out of service, canned beer will become the currency of choice

Whisky.
More punch and less volume.
Hell,EverClear would be even better.

 

[Pilot1]

I'm bug out ready. Guns and ammo. A purifier to last at least 2 months. I'm close to a few rivers and plenty of wildlife. My folks are 7 miles away and are very prepared.

Don't forget the slave girls...…..

 

[hjmick]

Read One Second After.


The two sequels are also pretty good...

One Year After (After, #2) by William R. Forstchen

The Final Day (After, #3) by William R. Forstchen

 

[Yarddog]

......once they get out of the city, then what? won't they have the same problems once the evil city dwellers get to the rural areas?
....for your hypothesis to work, it would mean ALL water plants are shut down--everything ALL OVER--......
..if it is that bad, you won't be able to prepare at all
..so it is a major attack to all major cities.......? all over the USA?
why no food trucked in if only the cities are attacked?
etc

I'm not an expert on the extent of what a single EMP blast would be, but as I understand it, it has a very lasting effect. Maybe there are some military people here who know a lot more about that and could enlighten us more. As for dams, water plants and supply controls, I think its all electronic these days so I believe the effects there would be pretty devastating in the large population centers where there are millions of people who would at some point be trying to get out or begin preying on each other and even worse, begin spreading illnesses. Maybe it wouldnt be so bad in rural areas and I really dont know what would happen when city dwellers begin to arrive there... who knows?
But, I think it is a good idea to at least be aware of this possibility... have some extra food, water, weapons perhaps, medical supplies and extra cooking fuel around.
The national guard probably would be able to truck in some food perhaps, but after a while the highways also might be clogged with vehicles that ran out of gas, and would commercial trucking companies be able to bring in food without communications or dispatchers? I think except for very limited areas there would be no one in charge of relief efforts and it would be everyone for themselves. Of course, lets hope something like this would never happen and lets hope maybe the government does have some sort of plan in place to lessen the effects of EMP.
I only brought this up because I was having a conversation with a family member who is in the reserve and he was spelling out this doomsday scenario to me that sounded pretty bleak.

I believe that transportation is a big problem.

EMP Effects on Vehicles - Futurescience.com

Kinda goes into it and basically says we don't really know the impact, but if an EMP was able to wipe out anything but hardened vehicles or vehicles in hardened locations, that would really ruin one of the US's best strengths (our interstate and highway system).

Just a guess, but cities would be really screwed and that would expand outwards quickly. You'd have millions of desperate people on the move out from them searching for food. And then you'd possibly have millions more than the land can provide for, hundreds of miles from the food belt of America.

Like I said earlier... I'd consider myself a bit better off than most. I live away from most population. Have a few pedal dirt bikes with a little tow behind carrier, in good shape, plenty of guns and a decent amount of ammo, water and a way to clean it and can hunt and fish and could live out of my cupboards for a couple weeks easy.

Unless you are living in middle of nowhere... talking north dakota/montana, I think you could be in big trouble. Even where I live.. If you think about it, I'm a 5 day walk from a metropolis of about 3.5 million people. Honestly going west into the Dakota's on day 1 might be my best chance for survival to keep a week ahead of them. Because even if only half that group decides to hit the road looking for food, that's not something I can defend from, or keep my resources from.

yeah, I think your right in that people coming from the city would be desperate enough to just take whatever you have and you would just have to stand aside and let them or be prepared to fight.
In that event, your probably one of the lucky ones, I think it would end up in something like a 'Mad Max' scenario with roving gangs in some cases. People on the coast lucky enough to own a boat in a berth might be ok as well if they moved quickly enough. Just stock water and go on an extended fishing trip .

Well it could, but I think it would all depend on the situation. If it was just a section of the US which fell into darkness, sure it would be devastating to the US, but 40 million Chinese died in a famine 60 years ago, and it didn't ruin the world. Sooner or later help would arrive for the survivors and life would move on.

But yeah as good as I'd feel where I am right now, that could change pretty quickly in a situation like that. Thousands of people desperate for food wouldn't be something I could hold out against.

Well, sooner or later help would arrive, but thats assuming it was just one EMP attack on the US. that would be best case scenario. In the worst case it would be a coordinated attack by several of our enemies who might also do something similar to our allies. A country like Mexico for example may see itself then as an opportunist willing to work along with a country like China or Russia for the reward of taking back territory. Or allowing its land to be used as a strategic beach head of sorts.
After a few months our population might be decimated and weakened to the point anyone could roll in and take over large areas. Our Military infrastructure would remain more intact than the civilian one but even so, not sure of the effects of disease like plague and starvation if food production came to a halt. Even the military might be effected the longer it went on.

 

[Yarddog]

I'm bug out ready. Guns and ammo. A purifier to last at least 2 months. I'm close to a few rivers and plenty of wildlife. My folks are 7 miles away and are very prepared.

Don't forget the slave girls...…..

riiiiight.... those go in the back with the beer and whiskey!

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

While an EMP attack would be no fun for the affected area for a few days, its not as if the theory of electromaginetism would cease to hold, or that the entire country or world was blacked out. We would just run cables and ship batteries and generators and start making electricity again.

 

[Pilot1]

While an EMP attack would be no fun for the affected area for a few days, its not as if the theory of electromaginetism would cease to hold, or that the entire country or world was blacked out. We would just run cables and ship batteries and generators and start making electricity again.

You really are absolutely clueless aren't you?

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

While an EMP attack would be no fun for the affected area for a few days, its not as if the theory of electromaginetism would cease to hold, or that the entire country or world was blacked out. We would just run cables and ship batteries and generators and start making electricity again.

You really are absolutely clueless aren't you?

Wow man, that's deep.