Can The US Survive An EMP Attack?

by | Dec 26, 2017 | Headline News | 94 comments

Do you LOVE America?

    Share

    This report was originally published by Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge.com

    emp-attack2

    While there’s no question that a nuclear strike on the Continental US would be utterly devastating, it’s not the only way a rogue state like North Korea could kill millions of American civilians in one fell swoop.

    Another possibility that is being studied by lawmakers and Pentagon officials is – like North Korea itself – a vestige of the Cold War. We’re of course referring to an electromagnetic pulse. By detonating a hydrogen bomb in just the right spot miles above the Earth’s surface, the North could permanently damage the US power grid – maybe even take it offline completely. By robbing entire swaths of the US of electricity, the North could precipitate thousands – if not millions – of deaths.

    The North first threatened an EMP attack over the summer, and North Korean media and its people have mentioned it several times since.

    Given the success of the North’s missile tests, Congress increased funding for the Commission to Assess the Threat to the US from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack as part of the National Defense Authorization Act back in September.

    Last month, federal agencies and utility executives held GridEx IV, a biennial event where officials responsible for hundreds of local utilities game out scenarios in which North America’s power grid could fail. Unsurprisingly, with the North Korean threat looming, these discussions took on a whole new level of urgency, as Bloomberg explains.

    This year, the event took on an added urgency given growing concern with a weapon straight out of the Cold War: an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, emanating from a nuclear blast – specifically, one delivered by a North Korean missile or satellite detonated miles above the Earth. Though GridEx IV didn’t pose this exact scenario, industry experts concede there’s no clear plan to deal with it.

    An EMP could damage electronic circuits over large areas, depending on the configuration of the weapon and how high it was detonated, though there’s disagreement over how effective such a tactic would be. Scientists also emphasize that a nuclear bomb that hits a ground target is much more worrisome. Nevertheless, with North Korea’s increasingly successful missile and warhead tests in mind, Congress moved to renew funding for the Commission to Assess the Threat to the US from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

    In September, the commission’s top officials warned lawmakers that the threat of an EMP attack from a rogue nation “becomes one of the few ways that such a country could inflict devastating damage to the U.S.”

    GridEx IV participants said the use of an EMP, however improbable, has been very much on their radar. Lisa Barton, executive vice president of Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power Co.’s transmission unit, said the Electric Power Research Institute, an industry research arm, was analyzing the risk. An EPRI report published this week emphasized that widespread damage was indeed possible from such an attack.

    The consensus was hardly reassuring. How damaging would an EMP attack be? Well, nobody can say for sure. But according to a report from the Electric Power Research Institute, an EMP could easily trigger a “mass casualty event” – even if its impact was limited to a specific region, as one of their simulations suggested…

    Still, the EPRI report paints a picture that’s hard to ignore. Simulations showed that detonating a nuclear weapon about 250 miles above the Earth using a 1.4 megaton bomb, almost 100 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima, would likely collapse voltage regionally, affecting several states but not the entire eastern or western networks. “None of the scenarios that were evaluated resulted in a nationwide grid collapse,” the report stated. Recovery time from a high-altitude EMP would depend on equipment damage, something the EPRI said it plans to study next year and “develop cost-effective options for mitigating.”

    Fortunately, the operators of America’s power grids have some experience developing emergency response scenarios for an EMP. As it turns out, an EMP would essentially mimic the effects of an extremely powerful solar flare. Power grid operators are constantly on the lookout for flares, and have theorized what improvements might be needed to make power grids totally resistant.

    PJM Interconnection LLC, operator of the power grid serving one-fifth of America’s population, has a lot of experience protecting systems against solar activity. PJM has also been working with transmission owners to protect against other threats, many of which have two specific characteristics: low probability and high potential for catastrophe, said Mike Bryson, vice president of operations for the Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based operator. An EMP is one of them.

    Power companies have made a few moves to protect against electromagnetic interference. Some grid operators and transmission infrastructure owners are putting in place so-called Faraday enclosures, shields of conductive material used to protect electronic equipment and facilities. Utilities have also started stockpiling spare parts to replace any that are damaged by an EMP event, storms or other disasters.

    “I don’t think we have an illusion we will prevent it,” Bryson said in an interview. “That’s really the government’s job.”

    Expensive fortifications known as Faraday cages could help diffuse the energy pulse, possibly stopping it from overwhelming a power grid. Another option would be installing automated control systems that would regulate the grid’s response to an EMP, potentially allowing it to recover more quickly.

    Duke Energy Corp., one of the country’s largest utility owners, has been working with EPRI to study its threat to civilian infrastructure. Lee Mazzocchi, Duke’s senior vice president of grid solutions, said “we really want to use science and research to validate if and how much an EMP threat there could be.”

    Jon Rogers, a scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, has been studying the threat since the 1990s. The lab has been looking at how automated control systems could help systems recover. Rogers noted that the grid already has lightning surge arrestors to protect against strikes, which could potentially be useful in case of an EMP. “There are open questions,” he said.

    “Back in the Cold War, we worried about massive exchanges at the time with the Soviet bloc,” Rogers said. “There seems to be reduced concern about that and increased concern about a single or smaller surges and what that could mean.” Targeted attacks on specific elements of infrastructure are seen as more likely, including “using an EMP without going nuclear,” added Jeff Engle, vice president of government and legal affairs for United Data Technologies, a security services firm.

    “EMP technology itself has been advancing with devices becoming smaller, more effective,” said Engle, who declined to give specific examples. Along these lines, the industry’s stance has been to prepare for less-intense EMPs from irregular lightning strikes, solar flares—and possibly localized attacks.

    Researchers at the Edison Electric Institute believe an EMP would be tremendously damaging to a wide range of critical infrastructure…

    For EMPs resulting from nuclear blasts, the Edison Electric Institute, an industry group, said the possible effects aren’t fully understood and proposed fixes remain unproven and impractical.

    “Other sectors of the economy likely will be affected by a nuclear EMP attack, including other critical infrastructure sectors upon which the electric sector depends,” the group said in a 2015 paper titled Electromagnetic Pulses (EMPs):

    Myths vs. Facts. “It makes little sense to protect the electric grid while ignoring these other critical infrastructure sectors.”

    …But the costs of fending off such an attack would be astronomical – as one scientist put it. Making the entire US power grid immune to an EMP would cost hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars.

    Richard Mroz, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, warned the cost of preventing widespread failures from an EMP would “be astronomical.” Placing transformers or a substations in shielded cages would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, he said, while protecting critical assets on a distribution system like New Jersey’s could reach into the billions of dollars.

    “Managing that kind of threat right now—no one really has the resources to do that,” Mroz said.

    As we pointed out back in October, one expert told Congress that an EMP could kill off 90% of the US population.  People who lived through the New York City blackout in 1977 will remember how lootings and crime exploded while the lights were out. A similar phenomenon would likely play out following an EMP, as law enforcement would be hobbled and powerless to contain criminal behavior.

    Think about how Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico by knocking out all communication and electricity infrastructure. Three months later, it has yet to be fully restored. Meanwhile, the death toll from the storms is on track to eclipse the thousands who died during Hurricane Katrina.

    …Now imagine that scenario playing out across the entire Atlantic seaboard…

    URGENT ON GOLD… as in URGENT

    It Took 22 Years to Get to This Point

    Gold has been the right asset with which to save your funds in this millennium that began 23 years ago.

    Free Exclusive Report
    The inevitable Breakout – The two w’s

      Related Articles

      Comments

      Join the conversation!

      It’s 100% free and your personal information will never be sold or shared online.

      94 Comments

      1. yes we can survive if we start a new blockchain called NuclearArmageddonCoin

        • Typical Asian menu – pick one from column A (EMP house special), one from column B (nukes); and for dessert, how about a nice anthrax bio-attack? Chop-Chop, hurry-up quick, no tickee, no washee. 2 dolla no holla. The whole article goes south with supposed ‘remedies in the works’. But? Not one damned thing actually has been done but by guys and gals like those here who’ve prepped a few things away.

          • ok?

          • It will be us to carry on.

            • Look at it slightly differently, Would you consider an EMP attack on DC to be a hostile attack? They cannot conduct business or contact us. How about a dirty bomb? Gets rid of the people but saves the buildings. Time for some out of the box thinking people.

              • They would never attack themselves.

        • if i was selco, i would have done things differently. first i would drop the accent when writing to seem to be more intelligent. then i would choose a different name because selco sounds to much like rambo.

        • Prepper reminder. The mother of a friend of mine, had a fire in her house Christmas Eve. She slept right through it! The fire burned itself out. She woke up in the morning and was shocked to find smoke and soot every where. Smoke detector battery was dead. She was almost just as dead. Check and replace those batteries. Get more than one smoke detector. Before it’s too late.

          • Have several ABC rated extinguishers around the house too. Especially if your an idiot trying to cook some shine (not me) lol.

        • how about a blockchain called RoseyOdonaldBichCoin?

          • Or HilaryIsAFuckingCuntCoin.

      2. No.

      3. Usual EMP porn. I worry more about solar flares as they are
        far more energetic and covers much more area.
        The author has a good point about looting and crime, but
        is that a problem in Puerto Rico? I haven’t read about it, if so.
        Maybe the looting and crime problem has more to do with a specific culture, the GIMMEDAT’s, than it does with the disaster itself? If so our major cites are at risk, since they are full of GIMMEDAT’s.

        • i am not worried. I plan to give away all my food and preps but before that i plan to give away thousands of boollits one at a time.

        • Rellik, agreed. Absolutely culture plays a significant role in response to disaster. Those who wait for help and those who help themselves. Problem is, there is a vast divide on what “help themselves “ means to different parts of our country. – Hale

        • rellik, there was certainly crime in the San Juan area but reporting was not on it because all communications were down.
          Two guys who live there told me of people stealing trucks or larger delivery trucks and smashing them into buildings to rob the stores, pharmacies, etc. And most of those buildings are cinder block and cement.
          In which case those steel bars wouldn’t do much.
          (I live in one of those dark areas on the left.) 🙂

          As for the gimmedats, EBT and freebies is what has kept a lot of people peaceful, so there’s that little upside!

          • Ketch,
            Glad you are well(as can be).
            Hopefully they backed into the buildings.
            I’ve helped build CB walls, filled with
            concreted and Rebar. Stuff is pretty strong.
            I’d go in through the roof, but that is me.
            I’m curious, if your local EBT still works
            how was it powered?
            Be well.

          • Ketchup, glad to hear you’re OK.

            • Thanks, Brave.
              rellik, for the most part they do not fill the blocks with cement here and rebar is only placed at 8′ intervals..
              EBT was down for at least a month, not sure exactly as we aren’t on it. And not sure how it was powered, but credit cards started working at about the same time. Store generators?

              • Ketchup, are they going to rebuild everything like it NEEDS to be or just the same old flimsy crap?

        • No problem in Puerto Rico. All the Spics are here in America to loot and cause crime.

          • AUBroker, in my area the apes are the crime problem. No problems with Hispanics in my area and they have trouble with the apes all the time.

            • In my area, no apes, some brown shitstains, buts most crime here is by the methhead trailer trash types with body tatoos and shaved heads. The shitstain gangs are increasing gradually. Getting close to time to move soon. Not sure yet to where though.

            • On my side of the river here in Florida its virtually all white. While the crime is far lower than over the river Ft Myers (in darkland) its the skinny as a rail, tattooed, meth head here that commits the armed robbery. Across the river, darkland there is identical to elsewhere. If I didn’t know better looking at their photos on the news I’de say that they are the very same individuals shown in Philadelphia, Camden and Wilmington. I figure if not they’re related.

        • Actually an EMP is much worse than a Solar Flare/CME.

          An EMP consists of three different pulses;

          E1 is Broadband, 3 Hz to 1 GHz. This first pulse will take out any surge protectors. E1 disrupts or damages electronics, control systems, communications equipment, computers, cell phones, vehicles, televisions, aircraft etc.

          E2 follows within a few microseconds, and is low frequency 1kHz to 1 MHz and is similar to a lightning strike. It couples to long transmission lines damaging electrical power distribution, telecommunications networks, and power generation equipment as well anything connected to the power lines.

          E3 is a long last-lasting, very low frequency magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pulse that can last several seconds. This pulse is similar to a Solar Flare/CME. E3 will cause additional damage to the grid.

          A EMP is a one, two, three punch. A Solar Flare/CME is only a number three punch that would only effect the power grid and what is connected to it.

          • I agree that an EMP would be worse but for a different reason. A CME would not center on the
            US. So there would be many countries besides us getting fried. We would not be the sitting ducks that an EMP would leave us.

            • A CME is something that can be detected while it’s on the way which gives grid operators time to implement mitigation plans. Depending on the speed of the plasma cloud, it could be a few hours to a few days before we are impacted. Preppers just need to watch the CME reports and unplug their electronics, retract any antennas (or remove them if they can’t be retracted.)
              Nuclear EMP most likely won’t give ANY warning, or at most 15 minutes if we get an ICBM launch alert. Sure if you have a few minutes you may be able to put a few items in a metal trash can (basic DIY faraday cage), but probably not. Just make sure any small electronics you want safe post-SHTF are already safely stored away….cause with the triple pulse threat anything not protected is most likely going to be fried, and unplugging cables or antennas won’t help unless you’re at the extreme edge and only get a minimal EMP effect.

              • no problem, i will just remove my eotech electronic sights and reinstall my acog with radioactive tritium. that way my radioactive sight will glow even brighter in a radioactive dust cloud

      4. The greater question is can the world survive the US getting attacked with a nuclear EMP weapon? The US retaliation would likely be swift and severe that may initiate a series of events crossing the rubicon.

        • K2 you better let the smarter people make the predictions. or we will end up with NRA idiots running amuck and requiring permits for survival.

          • Gandhi, WHOA THERE! Kevin2 is one of the BEST AND BRIGHTEST posters we have here. He has far more credibility than someone who names himself after a diaper wearing cow worshiper.

            • thanks, but your opinion is worthless too.??

          • Its always the NRAs fault isn’t it Gandi? They may be the one reason you survive a bad event. Be glad Hillary didn’t get elected,you’d be using rocks to defend yourself(she might ban those too)

          • Gentlemen thank you. We’re in agreement I believe with the NRA. They operate in the realm of pragmatic reality. In that area they do a terrific job on our behalf. One just need look at other like countries, Canada, Australia, UK to see what occurs without an NRA.

            Regarding posters has anyone noticed an influx of new posters that appear to have a sense of direction generally conforming with the official story and policy on the issues being discussed?

            • I think gandi is just upset because the NRA denied his lifetime membership application.

          • i woulda fooking opened up with full auto machine gun on those neighbors. then burried them in my shelter. full auto machine guns were still legal back then since the NRA had not f’ed it up yet.

          • Genius, I’ve seen that episode I don’t know how many times but it’s definitely something people can learn from. One of those characters could be Gandhi? LOL.

          • wow, never seen that before. Sending to my kids.

        • Definitely be TEOTWAWKI for the idiots who made the first move

      5. The American people did not attack North Korea in the early 1950’s. That would be the NWO cabal who continues to threaten humanity worldwide. The combatants were patriotic citizens who believed they were fighting a just and honorable cause. Fast forward to today, so commonplace as not to raise as much as an eyebrow. When will we ever learn?

        • Aljamo, You bring up a good point. Just about everything from the banking system, to government, to elections, to justification to go to war is …… wait for it … DISHONEST. I enjoy Christmas because it’s a simple faith in Jesus that God seeks. I’m tired of reading articles on other sites where liberal (or conservative) authors twist themselves into holier than thou pretzels to sell us an idea that a third grader has better sense than to believe. Now some goof ball at CNN is saying that ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ is sexist and should be removed from television. I’m tired of lying and of such a gullible population. I’m prepped for what I can prep for. I enjoy the commentary on this site and I enjoy the passion and enthusiasm – especially for the truth. If the masses ever have the light bulb come on and figure out just how badly they’ve been lied to, then we might just see things turn around. In the mean time…all liars are dangerous to you, your family, our communities, and this nation.

      6. Yes we can! There will be a major change in the USA but we will survive.

        I don’t care if it is 2017 or 2018 or what ever the year is when the war starts. We know that the American spirt will survive. I believe with all my heart that When the going gets tough. The American will get going. Just look at the hurricanes and other things that have happened and look how we got up off the ground and fought back and rebuilt.

        Sgt.

        • Sgt. Did you ever find some property? Bump stocks are great imo, for out to 200 yds. you can hose stuff down pretty good lol. If your still interested in one, better get it while you can. They are getting very scarce. When the going gets tough… The tough go drinking 😀

          • Just buy an 80% lower and install auto sear and selector, way better

          • G
            Good Morning. Dog had to go out so I’m waiting on him and saw this.

            I have found about 20 or so that would e perfect for hat I’m looking for, but the wife wants to be closer to her cousin.

            Bumpstock, no we have a couple of the guys in the group that have them. I’m more of a long range man. 5 to 700+ yards if you know what I mean. I have also learn to shoot my AR’s pretty fast and hit things with the first shot.

            The group. I’m going to miss them because it was a group of people that I and my brother put together. I’ll just have to be the new guy on the block when I finally get my place in Tennessee.

            I like “The tough go drinking”.

            Sgt.

            • Sgt,
              I’m in West TN, what region of TN are you relocating to?

              • I’m always amazed at the folks who get warm fuzzies over fully automatic weapons. 90% of them don’t even understand the purpose of a full-auto weapon in the first place. What is the purpose? Fire suppression. Full-auto is for making your enemy keep his head down while the other guys you have fighting with you maneuver to flank your enemy. It is very difficult to fire a full-auto weapon accurately, so most of your shots are going to hit nothing. Therefore, full-auto used for any other purpose than fire suppression is simply a waste of ammo.

                Two and three round bursts would be useful….but for most situations, full-auto is not. It’s also hard on your barrel. So unless you have a stash of replacement barrels you are just going burn out your barrel and waste a lot of ammo.

                REAL shooters understand the value of aimed shots. A good, accurate and reliable semi-auto is a much better weapon. Full-auto is for Rambo wanabes who have been watching too many Hollywood movies.

                • anonymous5

                  Unless you want to go door to door clearing rooms. For that an MP5 or similar is the best tool next to a hand grenade.

                  • The tactical team at my local PD used to have MP5’s, but they took them out of service and exchanged them for M4 carbines using frangible ammo. They actually had problems with over penetration with the 9mm MP5’s and were concerned about liability issues.

                    On another note, their SWAT team has pretty much sworn off “dynamic entries” for barricaded suspects. What they do now is shoot gas grenades through the windows and wait for the perp to come out.

                    I once fired a full auto MP5 that was set on a three-round burst. I was instructed to aim a the navel on the target. I squeezed off the burst and was amazed at how my first round hit at navel level, second at chest level and third hit the head. That was from about 10 yards away and there was that much muzzle rise with just three rounds. That’s with a relatively low recoil round (9mm). I’m sure that with practice, I could control it better….but I think this example kind of proves my point about full-auto. It also became clear to me why they wouldn’t just let me cut loose full-auto. The weapon might have gotten away from me and it could have created a very dangerous situation.

      7. Little Fat Boy would want an immediate body count from using his few nukes – not some hypothetical number from an EMP attack – because his end would be immediate & swift …

        • Unless he shoots two……one for ground, one for sky…….

          • guy – NK isn’t Russia with 1,000s of nukes – not even India …

            if the asshole gets lucky enough to get a nuke smuggled out he’ll go for for the world rememberance attack of ALL times – because that’s what egomanics like him desire most in life …

            if you need a wet dream about the US being thrown back 100 years by an EMP – don’t rely on NK and Little Fat Boy – reread One Second After instead – then the sequel …

            • My money is on Mother nature dealing that blow, has happened before, it will happen again

            • The series “JERICHO” is more likely.

      8. “detonating a nuclear weapon about 250 miles above the Earth using a 1.4 megaton bomb”
        Excuse me, but NK is light years away from being able to hit us with a thermonuclear bomb. Their largest detonation to date was no more than 30 kiloton. And the delivery system (namely the re-entry capsule on the ICBM) would likely take them decades to develop. As it stands, the warhead inside that capsule could never survive the heat of re-entry. Even if it were possible for them to deliver a smaller fission warhead, it would not produce the energy needed to destroy the entire grid. A small regional temporary black out might be likely, as in 50,000 homes or so without power for a few days. Not likely to be an Armageddon event. Nothing here….move on.!

        • NoKo has the best missiles china and russia can make.

        • They already have two satellites orbiting over the USA twice a day. Nobody is exactly sure whats in them except the NK’s who put them there.
          Also, check out their nuclear warheads. They’re more advanced than ours.

          • Most nuclear weapons use a Tritium pit to enable detonation. Problem is tritium has about a 12 year half life and the Tritium pits run down…. fast. Without regular maintanance, nuclear weapons won’t go bang.

            I have one handgun with Tritium night sights. It looks great, it looked greater years ago when I bought it. It’s getting dimmer and dimmer year by year. It is a lesson in nuclear physics. nuclear bombs have a specific lifespan. What NOKO put in orbit, if it was a nuke, has long since expired.

            Unless you are the US or Russia with active space programs. Space based weapons are just a wet dream unless they are maintained.

        • Sure, they aren’t testing bombs in that range, but you’ve missed a few important details.

          First off, to produce the best EMP effects, a nuke is set off above the atmosphere, so no re-entry vehicles required. In fact the easiest method to deploy would be to put a nuke into a satellite and have it hanging up there waiting for a timer to count down til it’s over the target area. And NK already has proven they can launch satellites…they have 2 up there now.

          Secondly, some of the early “failed” nuke tests looked suspiciously like enhanced EMP weapon tests, so it’s quite possible that NK has one or two nukes that produce lots of gamma rays and not as much thermal effect as a regular nuke. Gamma rays are the important factor in determining how strong the EMP effect would be from a bomb….

          So while I’m not losing any sleep over a possible war with NK, I wouldn’t discount their ability to seriously mess with the US if things go sideways.

        • Holy Shit J, thank you for making K2’s point and regurgitating what you heard on TV. I understand that it may be difficult for you to comprehend, but after engineering a missile with an accurate targeting system and designing a nuke small enough to fit on top of it…I’m pretty sure that those same engineers could wrap it in ceramic tiles….what do you think the entry vehicle is? Man, so sick of the parroting. I don’t even care if I agree with your statements… just have an original thought or don’t bother posting. – Hale

        • NOKO has gone thermonuclear.

          Perhaps you slept through their last test?

          NOKO has the hydrogen bomb. Making those more powerful is a graduate student level problem.

          The really tough part was NOKO making a hydrogen bomb test that didn’t crack the earths crust when detonated underground. Current earthquake data suggests their last bomb was perhaps a little too strong.

      9. anything can happen-i todays world,best prep for it or……..learn to eat grass like NK.
        8YEARS OF obama /his corruption in city/state/fed govt has left us ripe for the picking.
        And 10 s million of illegals that dont give rats ass about this country.Million more sjw/lib brains too.=grim picture

      10. Some would perish and some would thrive but North Korea would cease to exist.

      11. There is no such effect as EMP, but this truth doesn’t scare the public into buying seed vaults or food not fit for fodder stored inside plastic. Looking back at the archives and your stories from last decade could be re-run today, and most look like they have.

      12. What about Texas? Texas has it’s own seperate grid system. Otherwise,if/when it happens,I’m staying put here with all weapons locked and loaded,storage food at the ready,fully gassed up truck and car,and friends nearby.

        • good luck dealing with all those mexicans

      13. If you listen to the predictions of Oingo Boingo, the blind lady prophetess, probably not.

      14. State of emergency Erie Pennsylvania
        Isn’t that where Slavo lives?

      15. Again?

      16. The NK EMP threat is no joke. What they have is a third generation EMP capability. First generation is Starfish Prime. Big bomb, big boom, low voltage output, next to nothing for EMP. Second generation is a miniaturized 1MT warhead, big boom, low voltage output, next to nothing for EMP. Only difference between the two is the physical size of the bomb.

        Third generation is a gamma ray burst weapon. Small bomb, small boom, voltage output off the charts, EMP effects off the charts. When you talk EMP, it’s the voltage that kills stuff. It couples into big stuff that’s really conductive, then keeps coupling down into smaller and smaller stuff that’s really conductive.

        Anyone who thinks the US will be in some sort of position to respond to a third generation EMP weapon is kidding themselves or has zero understanding of what EMP is. The US military is heavily dependent on civilian infrastructure for its day to day functions; take out the civilian power grid, and there’s not much they can do. As far as things being hardened to survive EMP, the bulk of what is hardened is hardened to first generation EMP; very little is hardened to what North Korea brings to the table.

        Then there’s the civilian population. You’ll see a mass extinction of US civilians. I do pest control, so I spend a lot of time in lots of different houses, across all income percentiles. The number of people who have extra resources on hand to get through a simple weather event like a blizzard or tropical system is extremely small. You’d be shocked at how many people living in $500k cluster homes do not even have a week’s worth of bottled water for every member of the family; that’s 5 cases per head at $3 per case, $75 total. The only provisions they have are what’s in the pantry. They don’t even think in terms of having back up provisions at some other location away from their home. They expect to always be able to go out there and buy whatever they need. Doesn’t work that way when trucks can’t get to the stores because the power grid that runs the fueling stations is dead.

        Bottom line: the people have the resources to build a stock of emergency provisions choose not to do so, and will be no better off than the family that’s living two families in a rental unit designed for one family, where all both families can afford is whatever provisions they have in the pantry.

        • Peter,
          An exterminator gets into every nook and cranny of a house, you could service my house and still never see 90% of my preps.

      17. If you had laid unprepared food, at someone’s feet, or building materials, or the means of production etc, most would have no idea what to do with it. All with massive chips on their shoulder.

        “People who lived through the New York City blackout in 1977 will remember how lootings and crime exploded while the lights were out.”

        We’ve also heard loud looting, during a power outage. EBT’ers don’t wait for 9 meals.

        • Beaumont

          I believe that civil disorder will likely occur in direct relationship to the demographics of crime when there is utility power. The inner city / lowest of social economic element will immediately loot once they believe that there is minimal to no chance of being caught. Its not survival, its culture. This then spreads up the economic chain. The top end educated liberals will be primary prey. Unfortunately those that would survive would become de-facto animals. I think an old Star Trek episode of the late 1960s comes to mind when the “Yangs” fought the “Coms”. It was a really cool episode.

      18. The US would revert to an “Into the Badlands”. So what, let the knives come out for those most deserving..Good riddance.

      19. Anyone familiar with the mushroom theory of management which states “Keep them in the dark and feed them sh*t”? Nuclear explosions are associated with a mushroom shape. Now a nuclear weapon might be used to put part(s) of America in the dark. And yes, the Government does follow the mushroom theory when dealing with the American public.

      20. Citizens can’t do much to shore up the grid … But
        Along about now would be a good time to start gettin your poo together for run off from snow pack… if a quick melt off occurs.
        I’m guessing Delaware river and all tributaries are at risk. Then Allegheny Ohio, and Missip all downstream.
        I just now started giving it a gander.
        Record snow= Record Flood

      21. Citizens can’t do much to shore up the grid … But
        Along about now would be a good time to start gettin your poo together for run off from snow pack… if a quick melt off occurs.
        I’m guessing Delaware river and all tributaries are at risk. Then Allegheny Ohio, and Missip all downstream.
        I just now started giving it a gander.
        Record snow= Record Flood

      22. An EMP attack would be an ‘Act of War’, little different from a nuke of NYC.

        Our peace loving Nork brothers would not see the next sunrise.

      23. An EMP attack? Who would do that? We’re told North Korea would do that. This article isn’t about an EMP attack. It’s a propaganda piece designed to make you want to agree with the globalists that stole your government. Time after time too many fall for that stuff. Get the big picture. Don’t be used.

        • Him

          Amen

      24. Record snows….3-4 feet deep means tributary flooding all the
        way to the ocean, for those near the Mississippi River.
        72 inches of snow and/or rain in Minnesota/Wisconson alone
        can flood parts of Illinois/Iowa and downstream quite well….
        then add all the 8 inch snowfalls and rain flowing south into the
        River…. is enough to wipe out a big part of lower Louisiana.

        I would bet there are lib tards coming into the US…..buying with
        “loser loans”….properties in flood zones.
        (When they get flooded out…. guess who will pay for it.) ???

      25. The short answer is yes.
        However if it did happen, the revenge factor would be high.
        the towel heads would have nothing on the vindictiveness of the people in this country.
        Friendly warning: don’t do it, don’t even think it.

      26. Now is the time for a emp with the cold temps many would die. imo there is no better time to attack an enemy. The cold is a killer. Only a fool wouldn’t have a back up heat source that doesn’t require electric. A woodstove or a indoor ventless propane heater is best. If an emp hit and grid went down people would be frozen blocks by the morning. you would die now faster without heat than water. Without a warm place to be the cold doesn’t care if you die. I’ve been Outside in the cold that I couldn’t get out of for 12 hours at around zero temp. All you can think of is getting warm and your shivering with a lot of layers on. The cold gets into your bones and it takes a full day to get heat back into them. Cold zaps the life out of you. You could fall asleep and never wake up. Scary shit it’s not for pussy Florida types who think 50 is cold.

        • AH,
          You are right about the cold temps.

          The NE was just hit with record cold global warming. We took some visiting relatives to an amazing Christmas light display the other night. It was about 12 deg F with a breeze. We told everyone to layer up, fully cover all skin. We made it about 40 minutes into the show and had to bail because everyone was in pain from the cold, of course a couple of the women though yoga pants constituted warm clothing, just shaking my head.

          An EMP that takes out the grid when temperatures are below 10 degrees F at night will end a lot of people really fast. Dangerous temperatures could continue for the entire month of January. That’s a long time to keep a family going. Modern houses are not designed for this. The plumbing would need to be drained immediately.

          If you have the tools and knowledge and a gas water heater, cut out discs from tin cans to seal faucet aerators, turn on faucets both hot and cold, then remove the anti-siphon fittings from the water heater. The system will gravity self circulate and keep pipes from freezing. While not heating the house dramatically, it will work to some extent. For the first night turn on faucets to a heavy hot water drip, water heaters need no electricity. A spare thermocouple in a Faraday cage is a cheap investment.

          I have everything electric, but I have a gas range top that can be lit with a lighter. Natural gas will continue to flow for days in a disaster, longer if people die and aren’t using it. I also have a fireplace.

          The fireplace places an excessive draft on the whole house, but that draft also will draw excess toxins from a gas range top running continuously. Do you have a battery powered CO detector?

          I have other preps, but the above can be done by the unprepared if they have the wherewithal.

        • thanks, you asshat, and plan….a couple of very thought-provoking posts! thank you both for your many posts throughout the years that HELP U.S.

      27. Creative implementation of Nucs for both ground bursts and EMP. Remember when the FBI could not be creative solvers prior to 9/11.

        9/11, 9/11… I can think of several approaches…I am hoping that our “war fighters” at the top have war gamed the approaches that I have heard no one mention yet.

        Will not discuss here…these approaches are doable.

        Dave.

        • Uhhhh, solving is NOT part of the plan. Creating a crisis/taking full advantage of such crisis IS. Do you have a clue who really runs things?

      28. My final thought on a nuclear EMP. If it’s launched by NOKO it will be likely a disappointment.

        If an EMP is launched that is very effective, my eyes will be looking for the deep state to be behind it.

        • Now your learning!

      29. It’s beyond me when talking about the cost of protecting ourselves, we aren’t doing anything (or doing very little) because it might cost millions of even billions. We piss away hundreds of billions on useless crap as it is now. Spending a few billion on protecting the socials and economic fabric of the country and saving millions of lives is a small price indeed. We need a presidential order to compel the government and industry to get prepared.

        • Kinda makes you wonder what the powers that be really want.

      30. The US has the strongest anti-missile and anti-attack forces in the world. We aren’t burning more than half our discretionary budget on the military for nothing.

        So yeah, the US can probably survive an EMP attack or any kind of warfare… But the rest of the world will be suffering.

      Commenting Policy:

      Some comments on this web site are automatically moderated through our Spam protection systems. Please be patient if your comment isn’t immediately available. We’re not trying to censor you, the system just wants to make sure you’re not a robot posting random spam.

      This website thrives because of its community. While we support lively debates and understand that people get excited, frustrated or angry at times, we ask that the conversation remain civil. Racism, to include any religious affiliation, will not be tolerated on this site, including the disparagement of people in the comments section.