An EMP Could It Really Send Us Back? 10 Areas Which It Might!

                                                                                              By Jeanette Vale

Ocean water got into my cell phone while I was on vacation.   It was disruptive to find that vital services in 2022 were unavailable to me without that phone. And that was just a phone.  

If an EMP detonates, we will lose a lot more.  

Could an EMP really send us back to caveman times?   

I say caveman times instead of  ‘the industrial era’  because they had a fine horse and buggy to ride in and we would have to walk home in  whatever shoes  we wore to work.  We’d be a caveman by the time we got to our front door; hobbling and grunting. 

The pre-industrial era had non-electric ways of making life comfortable, and we don't have those systems set up.

There are still horses around, but when was the last time you tried to catch and mount one?  And with our obesity rate, a horse would bolt off when it realized the assignment. “Neigh neigh!”, It would say say.  

EMP stands for an Electromagnetic Pulse.  There are two types.  A solar flare from our sun or a man-made EMP.

Simply stated, sun flares are bursts coming off the sun and are classified according to their strength.  The smallest are class A which  increases to  B,C, M, and X, being  the strongest.  The last time our earth was hit by a class X was on July 3, 2021.  It  caused a shortwave radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean and coastal regions.   The previous one was four years earlier. 

NASA claims we just had a small one hit the earth a couple of weeks ago (October 2, 2022 at 4:25 PM).  And it was a class A.  My summation of these is they are usually not a big deal, until they are (Quebec).  But it is rare when they are.

On the other hand, and a sinister hand it is…

A man-made EMP is when a high-altitude nuclear detonation is used.  What does it have the potential to do?  Would it really plunge us back into the dark ages?

The Electric Power Research Institute says this:

“Since we have never had a nuclear attack over anything like our current modern infrastructure, much of the information regarding the effects of a  high altitude EMP on modern infrastructure or the capability of our adversaries to conduct such an attack, is either classified or not easily accessible”.  

They go on to say that there is  much information out there that is not entirely reliable, and can undermine more serious sources.

I must agree.  The information varied  from site to site as I researched this.

Did an EMP ever happen in real life and if so, what results can we glean from it?

In 1962 a 1.4 megaton Starfish Prime thermonuclear weapon detonated about 250 miles above Johnston atoll (which is 941 miles away from Hawaii).   To give you a reference, it was one-hundred times bigger than what we dropped on Hiroshima.  Here is what it knocked out:

three-hundred streetlights, It set off numerous burglar alarms, and damaged a telephone company microwave link which shut down phone calls from Kauai to the other Hawaiian Islands.

Have we made electronic advancements since 1962?  Oh, Yes!  Even our youngest are wired in!  Our way of life is fully dependent on electronics and the internet.  If this goes away we will all revert back to our terrible twos!

 Here is what an EMP could take out:

1. Anything that contains modern solid-state electronics (a computer, cell phone, airplane, car, television, etc.)  The definition of Solid-state electronics is a device in which electricity flows through solid semiconductor crystals (silicon, gallium, arsenide, germanium) rather than through vacuum tubes.
2. Anything connected to a long conductor (like it’s cord)
3. Anything with a long antennae

Let’s talk about our cars.

Will my car die in an EMP?  The answer is a mixed one.

According to NASA Engineer, Arthur T. Bradley

“No one has ever really tested cars very well.  The EMP Commission did a tentative test on about 55 cars but they had some strict rules where they weren’t allowed to damage the cars and so they didn’t test them to full EMP levels.  The verdict is still out, a little bit.  But a best guess is that ten percent would be damaged.  It’s just my guess”.

I took this quote from an interview between Bradley and Nate,  the Canadian Prepper on Youtube.  Even the heavy weights use words like, “my guess”, which reinforces the fact that this is unchartered territory.  

What I have gathered is that the following things COULD be impacted:

The city water flow

The electrical grid

Financial systems

Obtaining food

Trash pickup

Busses, subways, Cars, trucks, ATV’s, motorcycles, Boats, planes and trains

Communications, cell phones

911 Dispatch, Police / Fire / Paramedics receiving communication

Television, computers, servers.

Generators.  If they don’t get fried, obtaining more fuel will be a problem because movement of fuel is run on systems that would be taken out by an EMP.

So pretty much everything.  Yes, we are in big trouble if an EMP is detonated.  

How do I prepare for an EMP attack?

Many of us have jobs away from home.  If your car dies, you should have a “Get Home Bag”. Here are some items to put in it.

Comfortable walking shoes & socks.

Self defense items (guns, mace)

A camel pack (backpack with a water bladder inside that has a straw).  You must stay hydrated or you'll become sluggish and sick.  You need to be at your peak.

Food.  Protein bars, jerky, etc.

For city folk who don't want to carry a real knife, try this little gem:  The credit card knife $4.99 USD.Camo netting - if society has become violent, you will want to vanish quickly and lightweight camo netting does this.   If your walk home takes more than one day, and you need to sleep on the side of the road, camo netting keeps you hidden. Maybe.

They also sell whole suits of this stuff.  Maybe they're a good idea.  Maybe you'll just be really hot.  Hopefully the freeway or road you are traveling has trees and brush for you to blend into.  

 We have world leaders making threats.  We know who has EMP’s and if they want to use them because they come right out and say so.   

We are given a play-by-play.  What a blessing (during our cursing) that whatever has impacted us so far, we were told it was coming.  So for people who still have their head in the sand and refuse to prepare…..  I marvel at their state of mind.  The normalcy bias  is strong, Luke.   

Commuters Back Up Plan

Carry your bike on your car.  Biking home is  faster  than walking and your safety depends on your speed. 

It is critical in the first 24 hours of an EMP attack for you to get to your safe place.  During these initial hours people are dumbfounded and not fully aware of the extent of what just happened.  This is a safe window of time that will dissipate as realization dawns on the people.   

Panic, hysteria, looting and violence come next.   If you are in a major city, this time is much shorter to get to safety.  The effects will be seen immediately.  Those who prey on the weak will know there is not enough law enforcement to stop them.

Your safe place has food and water that should last for months.  After an EMP I see tribes forming overnight.   I think before an EMP if you have friendships with your neighbors it will pay off.   Agree to watch each others backs.  Unite or be picked off.

This is such new territory, it will be as life changing as the Smart Phone being invented.

Stores will be ransacked and emptied.  

 It will be many years before things get back to a different normal.  

 The states that have stripped their citizens of their second amendment rights will have a one sided fight, with the gun-less citizen losing to armed thugs.

Follow your gut instinct, if you feel like relocating, do it.

The greatest survivor might be the grandma in the country who put up her harvest and sits with a sawed-off shotgun across her lap as the sun goes down. 

She still has a hand-pump well and a gaggle of dogs to warn her when the zombies show up.  Her seven kids gave her fifty-two grand-kids, all of whom pack heat and are pretty good shots.  

The best way to prepare for an EMP is to copy grandma. 

Figure out what you need to stay alive.

Ask, how would my great grandma have provided this for our family?

Then build that system or trade for it with something you do well (pre-EMP)

But, start ten years ago.  Plan how you will harvest food, water, and shelter from the earth.  Build relationships, trade, barter, be useful.  

Let’s pray none of this ever happens because it will take a miracle to be ready for it. In the meantime, try anyway and come visit us!  www.EmergencyZone.com