Whether expelled from the sun or emitted from a high altitude nuclear blast the electromagnetic pulse has become one of the great super villains of our time and rightly so. These weapons can change the entire game.
Imagine a world near total convenience and dependence forced into self-reliance. If close to 100% of the electronics stopped working some would adapt. Others would fall into a pit of despair. There are many experts that paint horrifying portrayals of this situation unfolding here in America. Here are 10 Faraday Cages you can make at home to protect your devices.
In our everyday, convenient, lives there are places we go that seem safe. In the event of an EMP these same places could become coffins. I want to discuss some of those locations and the reason why they are so treacherous.
You will see in some of these scenarios you could follow steps to aid in your survival. In other situations, you may just be out of time.
HOSPITAL ICU
With monitors, breathing tubes and the many other accoutrements that would be in place to keep you alive the most terrifying place to be when an EMP strikes would be in the intensive care unit. For most this would be an area of recovery for those injured or healing after surgery.
Your access to medication and care would go way down since the hospital would be thrust into turmoil. There would be emergency evacuations going on as well as a whole host of calamity. It would be easy for patients to be forgotten.
Depending on your condition you might just die right away but for those seconds without air or whatever else is keeping you afloat you would suffer. If you were better off than others around you the prospect could be a much more terrifying one. As you would hover just above death until you were discovered. If you were discovered.
Related: The Only Way To Get Antibiotics When SHTF (Video)
IN A CROWDED SUBWAY
The calamity of the subway is too much to deal with on a good day! The subway cars are powered by electricity as are the doors and the lights.
Hundreds if not thousands of people would be on those cars. They would be packed in like sardines and when that car stops and the lights go out an incredible level of panic would ensue. People would push and shove and there would no doubt be a few casualties from trampling and crushing.
When you take your seat on the subway stay close to exits and be sure you understand how to use them. This will give you first dibs on the exit. Also, use your phone or flashlight in your EDC to shed light on the situation. This would lessen the panic.
Related: Some Thoughts on EDC-Every Day Carry (Do You Even EDC Bro?)
ON A BOAT IN THE OCEAN
There is somewhere between 12 and 13 million registered boats in the nation. For many this is the best version of relaxation available. Whether it’s heading down river or out passed the continental shelf, boating can be a tremendously rewarding experience. Though these machines run on the same kind of electronics as anything else.
During an EMP strike boats could also be rendered inoperable just like any other type of electronic. Just imagine for a second if you were 10s of miles off the east coast. Suddenly you would be subject to the ebb and flow of the tides. Your powerful boat does not have masts and sails to return you to the sandy shores of the homeland.
No problem though, right? The coast guard would be out to rescue you, wouldn’t they? Not if their boats were also inoperable. You could be stranded for days, weeks or even months depending on the direction of the ocean. You may have a small survival kit on your boat but how are you going to get clean water and food for weeks under the searing sun. What about the battering waves of a storming ocean?
You would have to fish for food and create some sort of still in order to remove the salt from your water. Creating a solar still could work if you had the proper materials aboard.
IN ANY KIND OF AIRCRAFT
You are going down. Plain and simple. Americans are flying all the time. The disaster that would occur if something like this happened at any time during the day or night. There are an estimate 4000 commercial flights in the sky at any time. This does not include private flights or military in the air. It would be like a nationwide bombing effort as these planes fell. Some plains have a level of protection against solar EMP’s.
If you were on one your best bet would be to remain calm and follow the directions of those more experienced than you. In most cases the trauma of the crash would kill you and it might be better that way. You wouldn’t want to be drowned or trapped under debris and burned alive by jet fuel.
Read the safety manuals provided when you board a craft and take note of the various exits. These could become your only way out if you do survive a crash.
NEAR A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Per the energy information administration:
There are 61 commercially operating nuclear power plants with 99 nuclear reactors in 30 states in the United States.
We all witnessed the very real consequences of nuclear power in the Fukushima reactor disaster. We are ill equipped to handle a disaster of this magnitude. In fact, we are ill equipped to hand a disaster at all when it comes to nuclear power. How do we cool 99 reactors when we failed to cool one using the OCEAN?! More interested about this subject? Here you can find the US Nuclear Target Map.
Or take a look at the map of US Nuclear Power Plants:
If you are living or staying in close proximity to a nuclear power plant be sure to get as far away as possible in the event of an EMP attack. How would you know? Glad you asked. This link: Nuclear Power Plants will tell you the location of all the power plants in your proximity. You just need to click on your state.
It’s hard to imagine a version of the world like the one you would see following an EMP. It would be abandoned and hollow. The surviving souls that wandered this partially incinerated and partially radiated landscape would be in a desperate struggle for survival.
You may also like:
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EMP Myths and Facts. What’s BS and What’s True?
Top 10 Vehicles for Your EMP Survival
This Bug Will Kill Most of the Americans during the Next Crisis (Video)
One thing is perfectly clear – I do not have enough of anything stored, especially ammunition. One thing I Know I have enough of – CAN OPENERS! Think I’m joking? Try opening a can of food when you are hungry WITHOUT USING A CAN OPENER. You’ll get the idea real fast. BTW – there is a way to do it, and I have it with me all the time.
Rub the top (or bottom) of the can on the sidewalk. It’s not that hard to open a can without a can opener.
Look on YouTube for the video.
P38 can openers. Swiss Army knife. Multiple ways to open a can.
I saw a YouTube where the guy just turned the can upside down and scraped it back and forth on the sidewalk for about 20 to 30 seconds. It ground the seal off the top of the can and he just peeled the lid off. Just use your environment around you. My swiss army knife has a built in can opener as do most multifunction knives. I have a couple of P-38 can openers hanging off a shelf and one on my keyring from my old Army days. Plus the old standard can opener for when I feel lazy. 🙂
I’ve been buy ammo on sale since 1990, about 100-200 rounds a month. I recently bought a high powered pellet rife, ammo is very cheap for 1000’s of rounds, It passed my major testing by dropping a deer and turkey with it loaded with the hollow point pellets, so in a pinch it could drop a human if need be. So should I run out of ammo for any of the AR’s, AK’s, 9mm’s, 45’s, shotgun shells, HMR’s and 22’s, at least I’m still eating and defending!
Very interested if you can tell more about the pellet gun !! Thanks !
Finnigansmom
Like anything, it depends on how much you want to spend, a Big Bore .308 air rifle I’m waiting to be delivered was over $1000, the one I dropped a deer with was a .50 version and that one ran about $900 when finished setting it up. They’re are soooo many types out there now because they’re starting to get popular for prepper’s and competition shooters. You can just Google them and find what fits your needs and budget. The cheaper ones are great for rabbit and tree rats and I’m sure if you pop someone in the nads with it they would think twice!
Thanks !!
Those big bore air rifles need a source of high pressure compressed air to recharge them, which needs electricity!
Even better are the small bore 22 break barrel high power air rifles. They don’t need an air compressor to recharge them, and mine has 850 FPS muzzle velocity with 22 caliber pellets, which is about the same as 22LR subsonic rounds!
Even better is that a high end model with a nice scope and case only costs around $200, and the 22 caliber pellets are dirt cheap. Way cheaper than even 22 ammo.
Go to Remington.com, or places like Carbela.com. I buy ammo from Cheaper than Dirt.com. My Remington pellet gun is a break open to cock, so no CO2 cartridge. It shoots a standard pellet over 1000fps.
Pellet guns come in a variety of sizes from bb size to 50 calibre. Some can be pumped up by hand which is good in a survival situation. If you have a choice of buying a Chinese made or US made gun spend the extra money and buy the US gun. Your life may depend on it. See online Pyramid Air.
I have been doing the same as you for years (back when ammo was available & affordable)! A few years ago I bought a high powered pellet rifle to replace my BB gun for shooting squirrels etc., (to save my ammo). I still have my BB gun as it does kill squirrels but OMGosh at the power of that Pellet Rifle so I’ve been stashing away lots of different kinds of ammo for it! Don’t underestimate THIS BACKWOODS COUNTRY GAL in being prepared for most anything that could happen as well as being SPOT ON ACCURATE with my weapons…whatever that may be at the time of need! I also keep many cans of Wasp & Hornet Spray all over the property for personal protection as it will drop one or several marauders with one swoop of spray to their face (up to 20 ft) & put them on the ground in agony while I fetch my BACKUP arsenal to finish my business! Gotta do what I gotta do as this ole world has gone BAT SH*T CRAZY!!
The principal difference (unless you’re using CO2 propellant) between a spring-driven BB gun and a pellet gun is projectile weight. A .22 pell is much heavier than a .177 bead. A rifled .22 pellet rifle is also more accurate.
For surprising assailants, an available boar-spear, war-axe, or sword trumps any distant weapon. A dead invader will not only no longer trouble you, he (most usually a he) will never trouble nobody ever again.
I do NOT buy nor use any pesticides in my home. But Chick, you just convinced me I need some wasp spray anyway! Thanks for the tip!!!!
Thanks for the great idea about the wasp spray. I just ordered a bunch! 🙂
I’ve been doing the same since 1998. Buying in bulk when it is on sale helped build the stockpile quicker. I’ve even bought ammo in popular calibers that I don’t own just for bartering.
I have two 1200 fps pellet rifles and a crossbow in case I have to be silent.
How noisy are pellet guns? Are they noisier than subsonic 22 ammo?
How noisy a pellet gun is depends on several factors. My pump action .22 pellet gun is quieter than my pump action .177 pellet gun, even when they are pumped to the same number of pumps. I haven’t used a chronometer to clock the pellet speed, but I assume that the .22 at 5 pumps is moving slower than the .177 at 5 pumps.
When you get to the larger calibers, .357, .45 and .50 caliber, the noise is louder than a .22 subsonic round. You are expelling a lot more air to drive a pellet that size.
Overall, I think a general statement that an air rifle or pistol is generally quieter than a comparably sized firearm with out a suppressor.
Problem is that many will do what you will do and animals will be hunted to extinction.
Only ‘meat’ left will be fellow humans…
You may have heard on the news about a Southern California man who was put under 72-hour psychiatric observation when it was found he owned 100 guns and allegedly had 100,000 rounds of ammunition stored in his home. The house also featured a secret escape tunnel. By Southern California standards, someone owning 100,000 rounds is considered “mentally unstable.”
In Arizona, he’d be called “an avid gun collector.”
In Arkansas, he’d be called “a novice gun collector.”
In Utah, he’d be called “moderately well prepared,” but they’d probably reserve judgment until they made sure that he had a corresponding quantity of stored food.”
In Kansas, he’d be “A guy down the road you would want to have for a friend.”
In Montana, he’d be called “The neighborhood ‘Go-To’ guy.”
In Alabama, he’d be called “a likely gubernatorial candidate.”
In Georgia, he’d be called “an eligible bachelor.”
In North Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina he would be called “a deer hunting buddy.”
And in Texas he’d just be “Bubba, who’s a little short on ammo.”
you can open canned food without a can opener. rub the can back and forth on flat cement with pressure. the lid will separate from the can. But, I prefer to have can openers, so I have many, as it is less work.
Back in the Old Corps, if we didn’t have a p-38 can opener with us or didn’t want to wait until the only one the fire team had got to you, we opened our c-ration cans with the point of the WWII bayonet. Put the point in the middle of the lid. Hit the back of the bayonet with the palm of your hand, turn the can 90 degrees and repeat. Open up the cross you have made in the can with the flat of the bayonet and fold back the four pieces of lid. That’s why I like bayonets from WWII and prior. They were actual fighting blades intended for serious use. They won’t bend if they hit a major bone and they take a sharp edge. You can use them to dig in hard dirt without hurting the blade although you will have to resharpen it after such use. The hand guard is large enough to keep your hand from sliding forward onto the blade if you do hit a large bone and the knob on the back of the handle is large enough and heavy enough to put a dent in the thickest skull.
The military P-38 and P-51 can openers are great and easy to transport in your pocket. I have a P-51 on my key ring.
They are available and inexpensive at any Army-Navy Surplus store and can be ordered from Amazon, eBay, etc.
Invert the can and vigorously rub it back and forth across concrete. This will file down the edge so that you can easily remove the lid.
Can openers are for sissies. I always use my
bladed bayonet (well, not really); any decent knife will do.
You also wouldn’t want to be in any kind of elevator, let alone a high rise or deep shaft mine elevator.
Testify. Anyone who had been in a high-rise elevator during a power-outage understands.
Preppers who are truly canny will depart metropolitan areas now, before any real societal challenges arise. Anti-First-Amendment rioters are very small potatoes when earthquakes and hurricanes are on offer.
I want to know how anyone is going to KNOW when the EMP is coming, in order to stay out of an elevator, etc. The only place to be would be home in bed asleep!!! (I’ve read WAY too many books where people are far from home, or even across town! NOT FUN!)
No kidding, Elaine….I get nervous driving 2 1/2 hours away to visit family. That’s a very long walk!! (I always make sure to have my bugout bag and a comfortable pair of sneakers in the car!)
CJ, do you have a good bicycle? (Preferably with baskets) Keep one in your car, because if the EMP hits you’ll be without, unless you have an old car that will still run. Of course SOME people say that it won’t matter, that if there is an EMP the cars will all still be going. But MY take is always better safe than sorry. Because THEY don’t KNOW that the cars will work, no matter what they say. I read these novels all the time. They’re all different in the things they go into. But they definitely will give you ideas of stuff to stock up on, and to try! But that is one takeaway I got! Keep a good bike (with good tires) in your car, along with your bag! OH! And if you can! Get your company out of town to visit you half the time, then you have cut your risk in half! (I know you can’t always do that, but if you CAN, go for it!) Also, to me, if possible, wouldn’t it be great to be able to have your good location and have all your family members there? You know, kind of like it was in the old days (gosh, it’s a hundred years ago now, but when we were kids, it was just a generation or two ago) when the whole family kept living together, and the old people were just as important as the breadwinners? Of course, old people NOW are not nearly as valuable as they were back then, when they automatically knew how to garden and can and hunt and all that good stuff. Convenience and giving everything up for that has really cost this country in so many ways that people don’t even know yet.
No government will inform the people of any kind of attack. They do not want to incite panic. That and the politicians will run for cover long before you know anything.
The people always are the last to know.
From now on I will stay out of the icu, off the subway, never go boating again, never fly and stay away from my local nuclear plant. Lol. Well, I guess it is good to know how to help survive if an emp happens while In these places.
guessing antique cars and magneto type small engines would be fairly popular ? …..along with a siphon hose 🙂
Don’t forget the gas cans, to go with the hose! Will need several of those, and maybe some stabilizer!
They are planes not plains and their engines will continue to run. Only the fly by wire aircraft (newer aircraft) will loose operational control of the engines. All airplanes will not just drop out of the sky. They may loose some or all of their navigation ability though. Carry a handheld GPS in a Fariday bag.
It’s ‘lose’, not ‘loose’.
Thank you– I caught that also x2!
It’s Faraday.
LOL, that’s too funny. That’s what I get for being such a pedant and not proofreading myself. Thanks for the correction.
That’s peedant, not pedant. NOT! Just couldn’t resist it!
It does NOT pay to try to be the spelling police or the grammar police. This stuff is way more important than that anyway! (Of course, if an EMP DOES happen, and we go halfway back to the stoneage and have to homeschool, I wonder how important those things will be then. hhhhmmmmmmmmmm!!!
What happens to the fuel pump?
They’re engine driven.
Not all fuel pumps in newer cars are engine driven. The 2003 Honda Odyssey’s fuel pump is located in the gas tank and is electric. I had a 1994 Ford Explorer and when starting up, if I waited before I hit the starter position I could hear the fuel pump running. It was under the hood but not engine driven. If the rest of the electrical system in your car is fried, your fuel pump will be also. I don’t know enough about all the cars on the road to make a blanket statement, but I know from owning them that those two I mentioned have electrical fuel pumps.
I have a 1997 Toyota Rav4 would that fry? I do not know if that one is considered old enough?! Thanks
Remember the ol’ story, “He who points a finger at someone has three pointing back at himself”.
I was a Naval Aviator for 22 years.
There is an average of 9,728 planes — carrying 1,270,406 people in the air over the United States at any one time. Modern civilian and military aircraft rely totally on computers and WILL fall out of the sky.
Not only will the passengers be killed, so will those in the immediate impact area.
Not gonna be good!
As per subways, I was in one in NYC during the blackout of 2003. People handled it rather well actually. Doors were opened manually and we got to street level pretty quickly. No one got hurt on my train. Aside from a plane, I agree with ‘Russ’ that an elevator would be my pick for worst.
What about those with pacemakers?
As I wrote in a different article, you don’t need to worry too much about your Pacemaker… they are pretty much EMP – proof.
In the article you’ll find an answer from a doctor who is also a prepper:
”I have been a medical scientist working with pacemakers for 36 years, and I think I can give a definitive answer! The hermetically sealed can will indeed be a pretty good Faraday cage so no direct damage from an EMP. A bipolar system with, say, 5mm electrode separation will, with a major high-altitude EMP generating ~25 kV/m in the northern US, deliver a voltage pulse to the circuitry of about 900V – this won’t damage a pacemaker, they are designed to cope with external defibrillator voltages. A UNIPOLAR system, where the electrodes may be 15cm apart, will generate a bigger voltage, maybe 4-5kV, to the generator, and this could be damaging.”
Here is the link if you want to read more: http://www.askaprepper.com/emp-myths-and-facts-whats-bs-and-whats-true/
Bonjour à toutes et tous et bonne et heureuse année 2017. Pour ce qui est de l’EMP je n’ai pas à m’en faire. Etant cardiaque j’ai un peace-maker et en cas d’EMP je ferais parti des premiers à mourir!
Bonjour Jean, as I wrote in a different article, you don’t need to worry too much about your Pacemaker… they are pretty much EMP – proof. Here is the link: http://www.askaprepper.com/emp-myths-and-facts-whats-bs-and-whats-true/
In the article you’ll find an answer from a doctor who is also a prepper:
” I have been a medical scientist working with pacemakers for 36 years, and I think I can give a definitive answer! The hermetically sealed can will indeed be a pretty good Faraday cage so no direct damage from an EMP. A bipolar system with, say, 5mm electrode separation will, with a major high-altitude EMP generating ~25 kV/m in the northern US, deliver a voltage pulse to the circuitry of about 900V – this won’t damage a pacemaker, they are designed to cope with external defibrillator voltages. A UNIPOLAR system, where the electrodes may be 15cm apart, will generate a bigger voltage, maybe 4-5kV, to the generator, and this could be damaging.”
Depending on the boat. Many of the older ones would be fine as would sail boats. Non fly by wire a/c would also be good. I would not want to be too far away from home, like on vacation 2000 miles away with nothing but my clothes
you can open canned food without a can opener. rub it against cement back and forth with pressure and the lid will separate from the can.
I have learned that air can be turned into water. You can buy a commercial version: Atmospheric Pure Water Generator hr-77 or buy the digital book World Water War. I bought the digital teaching tool and am gonna be building one soon.
Also got over a gallon a day from my De-Humidifier !!!
thank you. that is interesting because the digital download, at first glance I believe, mentioned a part needed was a De-Humidifer. It claims to do 10 gallons a day. The commercial version I believe claims 50 gallons a day.
But doesn’t a dehumidifier require electricity in order to operate? If, as I suspect it does, then when the electricity goes out there goes your supply of water. Time to fall back on Plan B or Plan C or even Plan D. You do have back up plans, don’t you?
I have one and I built a solar system to operate it as well as my 12-volt refrigerator/freezer.
does it run on electricity?
On the boat item: real ocean-going sailboats with Marine diesel engines will be fine in an EMP situation. Except for any added radios, GPS devices, navigational computers, and 12VDC-120VAC converters.
Always have recent paper charts aboard stored so they won’t get wet. (Rolled and wrapped with food-wrap plastic works.
You could try keeping a Marine radio and a handheld GPS in a metal handtool box. (Don’t forget batteries / 12-VDC chargers for all handheld units stored in a ziploc baggie.)
Yet there may not be that many people with whom to speak (if you’d want to at all) and some GPS satellites may not function.
“If you are living or staying in close proximity to a nuclear power plant be sure to get as far away as possible in the event of an EMP attack.” Question is: How far away from the plant do you have to be to be safe?
Chief danger from a nuclear power plant is meltdown and outgassing, as at Fukuyama. If plant operators aren’t stupid like Japanese ones were, they’ll slam in control rods and prevent any real problems.
Before deciding to flee any event, you need to know the prevailing winds and water flows for your area. Generally in North America, being circa 30+ miles NW of a nuclear or chemical plant will be OK. Don’t forget chemical spills danger. Surface waters downstream may be contaminated.
Real problem unlikely to be direct exposure, but aftermath. E.g., dangerous to drink animal milk after a radiation release. Radioactive metallic salts get on grass, animals eat grass, their milk afterward contains radioactive isotopes. So will their internal organs.
Unfortunately, the rods are still VERY VERY HOT, causing the cooling pools to evaporate off the water if the cooling pumps aren’t working… this in turn causes the radioactive rods to overheat and meltdown ala the Japanese plant… wise preppers will also have on hand some iODAT potassium iodide tablets for the meltdown and release of radioactive clouds—wait to get ’em, and like everything else about EMP—AFTER THE FACT IT’S TOO LATE
Reactor cool-down period: that’s part of the point of having diesel generators, to power internal-loop circulation pumps, and external-loop intake and circulation pumps. And of course to power monitoring and control mechanisms.
(Another point involves an isolated cold restart. Alternating-current electricity generation entails books all by itself.)
Iodine (iodide) tablets have general utility. Everyone should have some; they don’t ‘go bad’ if kept in a humidity-proof container. Some, not a large number unless a clan / tribe / community is involved.
That map of the nuclear power plants is very interesting, in how few nuclear power plants there are in the western half of the US, and how many there are in the eastern half of the US. Many western states have none!
Especially New Mexico, which is the nuclear capital of the US.
That seems very strange and odd, does it not?
the biggest issue I see with nuclear is that the plants must have power to keep the plants cool. If they can not be cooled they will go off, the power plants and such that is. This would normally occur about 2 weeks after an emp if power isn’t restored. The generator needed for a nuclear plant is so huge that most roadways are not equipped to take the weight or width of one. And, there are very few out there to do so. An emp attack could equal a nuclear attack within 2 weeks. There is not much that can be done in this equasion except prayer
I beg to differ with you, especially if you are located on the distant perimeter of such a nuclear plant. RLH is a sometimes very effective means of escaping the devastation in the event of an EMP attack. Are you not familiar with the RLH protocol? You must commit it to memory because once it is upon us it will be too late to employ other methods. RLH is simply “RUN LIKE HELL!” Sorry, just couldn’t help myself!
Those thinking that they can outrun dangers must do prior research on which particular locales may be safer than the area(s) with which they’re familiar. And they must do periodic updates on that research, and replans based on that data, for things change.
Nuclear contamination frightens people, because it may be unseen. However, chemical contamination may also be unseen; when electrical power is suddenly removed from industrial plants, facilities which sequester chemicals and dangerous gases likely stop working. Either immediately, or when something else fails.
Years ago I worked at a complex near Mobile (AL) which made (probably still does) massive quantities of substances both innocuous and dangerous. Its outputs and byproducts were peculiar; one dangerous product was pure H2O2, and a byproduct was flamed-off hydrogen cyanide. That last is an invisible mass killer.
You should not only know what is occurring in your area, but also in those locales to which you may flee.
Lighten up. It was a joke!
Hundreds or thousands of ways to die, so few to live on.
My ironic jest: This Cosmos of Hate first delivers its ‘grades’, then perhaps some lessons. You may learn a lesson if you survived that ‘grade’.
If power plants use nuclear energy and they lose power after about 2 weeks those plants will explode and the wind will carry the debris where ever. There are nuclear power plants all over. I am not fearful knowing this. There are some things a person can prepare for. In the event of this happening, it is hard to prepare. I like to do what I can because I don’t believe in outside assistance but, this is something I probably won’t be prepared for. That being said I do celebrate Passover, and the Bible states Passover will protect you from the 7 deadly plagues coming. So, if a emp/nuc attack is a plague, I am safe. If not a plague, I will have an issue.
Nuclear plants: it depends. If operators are intelligent, they may form survival communities around plants and leverage energy outputs for advantage in a new order.
If said operators are smarter than Fukushima ones, they use emergency diesel power to reinsert control rods and do an orderly moth-balling. Then plant just sits until someone comes who knows how to do a restart. Out of fear, most folk will avoid except for looting easily-portable stuff around edges.
Greedy folk and desperate communities certainly would have their eyes on those diesel gensets. But they’re relatively huge.
What got the Fukushima folk in trouble was that tsunami, which only occurs along certain coastlines. Earthquake zones like SoCal also vulnerable.
Radiation releases hardly like Biblical plagues. A plague more usually transmissible from creature to creature, like Yersina Pestis.
Your comment that all airplanes are going down in the event of an EMP event is simply false. All commercial airliners are designed with major EMP protection of their systems.
I know this because I was involved in designing such protection for one of the components intended to be used on commercial airplanes.
Who posted that all commercial aircraft would stop working after an EMP?
Hard to predict which systems might stop working; would depend on their interdependency. ‘Fly-by-wire’ aircraft such as Airbuses might suddenly stop obeying pilots, but there are so many variables. And sadly, simply because some components are ‘hardened’, that doesn’t mean all are.
If you happened to be within the blast radius of a nuclear weapon, likely you and everyone else nearby would have other larger problems.
Folk have too much confidence in human-designed and -implemented systems. Let’s suppose that a North Korean missile survives its boost phase, but does that mean then that it will survive its reentry one? Or that it will strike an intended target?
Let’s suppose that Kim Jong Idiot’s regime targets the Seattle-Tacoma area, but does that mean their device won’t instead strike Vancouver? Or explode above Grand Rapids?
Or, more-or-less harmlessly scatter radioactive debris across the Humboldt Current?
The _real_ consequences may involve a nuclear exchange between Red China and the USA. Some folk are ‘too clever by half’.
if you have not a gun now what would be the best to buy to help you during EMP or just for food and how much ammo should you buy
i am on a fix income what’s the best gun and ammo to buy
Dear HotnSweet66: I certainly hope u r. Any number of firearms can work well for you and if you don’t have any physical limitations Enigma’s suggestion below regarding the 12 gauge shotgun is spot on. The Remington 870 modified properly for home defense is my preferred model but a Mossberg set up likewise is a good answer as well.
Regarding u r comments about huntinging, especially if it’s small game, the old tried and true Ruger 10-22, in 22 caliber rules supreme. lightweight, accurate, rugged and dependable: in my mind it is the ultimate survival rifle.
Now regarding a good handgun, if you want a well designed, extremely dependable handgun for concealed carry there are many excellent ones out there but it is critical you fire test fire those you are most interested in. Might I suggest a Glock 43; Just saying.
Good luck!
Ole SF Guy . .
The most practical firearm for home defense and hunting utility is the 12 gauge shotgun. Most people prefer the slide-pump mechanism with extended magazine. 12G also has the largest number of different loads, from slug to birdshot.
If recoil force is too great, gas-operated semi-auto 12G shotguns have lesser ones. Go to a gun range which rents firearms, and try out different kinds.
If portability and concealability are issues, then a 9mm pistol works as a purse or belt gun. They’re available in many different sizes.
Some women may opt for the .380 (9mm Kurtz), but that’s unnecessary unless a specialized tiny pistol is somehow needed.
Also recoil operated semi-automatic shotguns have less perceived recoil.
You can lessen perceived recoil by installing a pad on the butt of your shotgun. If that makes the length of pull (the distance between the end of the buttstock and the trigger) too long, have a gunsmith shorten the stock and install the pad. You can also purchase pads that slip over the buttstock. They help reduce perceived recoil.
The reason why I used the term “perceived recoil” is because that is what we feel. The actual recoil is a fixed formula that depends on Newton’s Law “For Every Action There Is An Equal Reaction.” Perceived recoil is affected by the weight of the firearm, the shape of the buttstock, how you hold the firearm, How the firearm actually fits your body — the variables are many. Perceived recoil can be affected by many factors. A competent gunsmith can adjust your firearm to help reduce perceived recoil. The actual recoil is affected by the mass and velocity of the projectile.
I am waiting to get a printer my old one died!!
Being stuck in an automated car wash or in the middle of surgery of any kind would be awful during a EMP. Your choice Pain or Losing your vehicle.
I will add one more place you don’t want to be and that is on any SoCal freeway during what is laughingly called “rush hour.” I don’t know how that misnomer ever got started because it is anything but “rush”.
Consider, there you are with thousands of already stressed out individuals from traffic and now their cars won’t work and they are afoot. And there you are with your knapsack hoofing it armed with you edc pocket knife and, hopefully, your Glock 43 with two magazines and 75 miles from home. Good luck.
That is just one of MANY reasons why no sane person would want to live in SoCal!
I read in the past that if your home has any of those long steel support girders in the floor or ceiling that the EMP waves can be focused in such a way that if you happen to be in the wrong spot near the steel that enough EMP energy can be focused to harm you. I just wonder if anyone else may be knowledgeable about this concern?
I live in Rhode Island, I was thinking of building a off-grid solar power Tiny Home in New Hampshire
What a helpful Article! It is always good to know where not to be when the Sneaky russians eventually decide to electromagetic pulse our beautiful country. Rest assured as a proud Vietnam veteran I will not be sitting around when this happens because when shtf you can be sure I will throw it right back.
So if I am on a subway use my phone’s flashlight?? I thought we just had an EMP so why would my phone’s flashlight work?
If on a subway you are: 1. underground and the pulse may not penetrate the ground above the tunnel. If there are wires and metal pipes that run over head between the tunnel and the surface, much or all of the energy of the EMP may be dissapated. 2. your subway car has a metal roof that comes down that may also reflect some or all of the EMP. 3. most batteries aren’t affected by the EMP. LED’s are fairly tough and neither of those components tend to be extremely sensitive to EMP’s, like a computer circuit or diode that can be fried fairly easily.
I almost forgot: 4. the subway car can act with the roof sloping down and a metal chassis as a faraday cage, even with the glass windows, since the EMP pulse moves in a direct line and doesn’t bounce off the concrete and earthen walls back into the subway car.
No dice on the planes falling out of the sky. I have built 3 (originally because I was to broke to buy one) and owned 9 over the years. And before someone calls BS, look up N1321 that’s the last one I built and still fly. All of them have dual magnetos, which is 1930s points and condenser tech. Plus they’re shielded to ground. This is done to stop ignition noise from interfering with the radios, but it’s effective against any kind of electromagnetic radiation. With jets it’s a mechanical pump and a turbine engine, which once running don’t need any ignition source. Now, that being said, the radios will likely be fried, so no communications, that’ll be a PITA, but certainly not going to cause a crash. A portion of jet traffic with insufficient hydraulic back-ups may go down. If you doubt the survivability of aircraft, consider the Enola Gay. I’d say it was pretty close to an EMP!