One of the many scenarios preppers try to be ready for is an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). An EMP is a burst of electromagnetic radiation commonly associated with high-altitude nuclear weapons detonations.
An EMP is not physically destructive but will cause widespread damage to the electrical grid and un-shielded electronics.
Unlike some natural disasters, the problem with an EMP strike is that it will come without warning.
The other problem with an EMP attack is that the result will look a lot like a power outage, and the true scale of the disaster may be difficult to ascertain.
One thing that we should be ready for is the prospect that such an event will occur while we are away from our homes.
Assess The Situation
When the lights go out, you first need to confirm that you are dealing with an EMP, not a power outage.
One way to do this is to check any unshielded electronics around you. If the power is out and your smartphone is dead, then chances are you’re the victim of an EMP strike.
Getting any outside information in the first minutes and hours after an attack will be virtually impossible. Cellphones, landlines, radio, and even satellite coms will be useless.
Getting to the top of the highest building would be a good idea if you are in the city. From there, you can survey the surrounding area and ascertain if there are any fires, civil unrest, or other major obstructions which will make getting home difficult or impossible.
You can also see if vehicles are still running or if any areas in the distance may have power. Once you have gathered a good about of information, make a plan for how you will make it home.
Prepping To Walk Home
Next, you want to get your get-home bag and start gathering additional supplies.
Gather water bottles, food, first aid supplies, a knife or multi-tool, and other gear that you may have at your workplace, which would be helpful during your trip home. Suppose there are corner stores in the area.
Related: 15+ Survival Items To Keep In Your Car At All Times For SHTF
In that case, you can use some of your cash, which you would have in your get-home bag, to purchase some additional supplies before everyone else figures out what is going on.
You should already have several routes pre-planned and scouted, so you should not have to waste any time figuring out how to walk home.
One thing you may want to consider is to ditch any electronic equipment that the EMP has rendered useless. Radios, phones, GPS units, or any other bits or gear you have in your vehicle or get-home bag are only going to add weight and can be left behind.
Walking Home
After you have assessed the situation and prepped your gear, it’s time to start walking home. Hopefully, you have accounted for the time it takes to walk home and are prepared to travel for that length of time.
In a situation like this, where you will see large numbers of people walking out of the major urban centers, it is probably better to blend into the crowd rather than be out on your own.
Someone walking alone with a bag full of gear is an easy target for thugs who may want to steal your equipment.
On the other hand, as long as you do not draw too much attention to yourself, most people in a large group will not give you a second look.
Related: How To Become Invisible In A Crisis
As you walk home, keep your head on a swivel and maintain a high level of situational awareness. However, despite your best efforts, you may draw unwanted attention; this is where situational awareness is critical.
Once you realize that people around you may be a threat, you must remove yourself from the situation quickly and with stealth. Use the crowd and anything else to shield yourself from view as you disappear.
If you are forced to walk alone and away from other people, you will want to do everything you can to avoid looking like a victim. Keep your head up, shoulders back, constantly checking behind you, and ready to run or fight if confronted.
If there are areas such as rivers, green belts, railroad tracks, or other routes where most people would not choose to walk, take advantage of them. Even if these routes take you out of the way from your planned route, getting far away from the crowds may be worthwhile.
Things To Consider Now
The best time to prepare for getting home from an EMP strike is right now. You can do several things now to make your trip home easier.
Comms
One of the worst things about an EMP strike is that no communication will be available to you. However, here you can learn a way that you can maintain the continuity of comms after an EMP attack, which is very simple and inexpensive to set up.
Caches
You may take a very long time to walk home; if your daily commute is several hours, you should consider placing caches of water, food, and other supplies along your route home.
How and where you place these caches depends on your area, but you should ensure they will be safe from people and critters. If you do place caches, ensure you check them regularly.
Be A ‘Greyman’
The last thing you want when walking home after an EMP is for anyone to think you have anything they would like to steal. Avoid tactical gear for your get-home bag, as well as any tactical clothing.
Your get-home bag should be in a backpack that will not draw any attention. Standard school backpacks are usually the best option. Your goal is to blend into the crowd.
The odds of an EMP strike happening are low, but the fact that it will strike without warning, creating mass confusion, means that it is an event that we must prepare for.
Getting home after an EMP strike will be a challenge, but with some preparation, it can be less of an arduous grind and more of a long walk.
The good news is that prepping for such an event is not difficult and only requires a little additional work to prepare for the loss of the grid and electronics.
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ah…… why wouldn’t comms work ? Why wouldn’t we just drive home. Why is every EMP knocking out everything …
define tactical ….
Pretty sure if everything dies and you and everyone else is walking home…. everyone will have some bags
Well at least use a pistol ar and a few mags to get yourself home
Raven for every downvote you reiceve is a leftist leberal tear in the bucket….Yer gonna have one hell of a reserve of water for your prepper garden when it’s all said and done. I might need a few gallons for trade buddy. lol
No doubt i could flood the world at this point.
More tears I love it…..Bring it on haters my bucket is getting fuller ?
Really weird that you think electronics like your car battery, ham radio or any electrical device is going to still work after an EMP.
Unless you are shielding them, you must always assume they won’t work. That’s the whole point of prepping in the first place.
Why do you automatically assume they will not? It is actually pretty hard to induce voltage into an electronic device from the outside. Sure, some systems are more susceptible by the virtue of long cable runs like power transmission and large antennas (which are not common anymore).
I am not saying it is not worthy of time to prepare, because you just don’t know what will work and what will not.
Your vehicle has electronic components and an EMP will render your vehicle useless. If you are carry concealed, there is no reason not to carry imo. If you aren’t trained and could easily be taken down, you might lose your weapon. If you work in the city and an EMP strikes, you will be stuck. Unless your vehicle is older than 1978 (not at all sure I’m right on that year) and if you have a full tank of gas.
most vehicles manufactured before 1996, will not be effected.
Bill Clinton/Al Gore brainchild to make the engine more thoroughly burn the hydrocarbons emitting from your exhaust, by using Silicon (computer chips); extremely sensitive to high speed voltage pulses and surges.
1979 was the year Jimmy Carter mandated Unleaded fuels, to reduce lead in our atmosphere. Vehicle engines ran on mechanical controls at that time, and EMP was not an issue.
So much bad advice and lack if mechanical knowledge
1984 was the first year American cars needed an on board system OBD 1. Trucks had until 1986. My 1994 Jeep is still OBD 1. 1995 and up start the OBD 2 generation.
70s gm had hei ignition and every car then had fusible links so no your older stuff that only a handful of you could maintain still probably won’t work either. Modern cars do have shielding around critical wiring ao in theory they would do better
Last year tested was 2001 model year
Because in the worst case scenario, that is what happens with an EMP. It takes out the power systems, which means even if your cell phone itself works, because you were in the basement, under the vault of a bank, you would still have no signal. The ‘worst case scenario’ EMP would also fry the computer in most modern vehicles, as well. And those are the most fuel efficient and affordable vehicles to have, maintain, and operate. From there, any working vehicle you may have at home, like that ‘hobby’ ’55 chevy pickup you were rebuilding with your son just became your get the heck out of dodge vehicle … and you won’t get far in it, as the immediate world will want it and the more demanding of them will expect you to either taxi them to where they want to go or will just try to take it from you. — this is where the realization that ‘people suck’ really starts to sink in and rapidly grow roots.
Unfortunately, not all of us are armed or allowed to be armed or work in a place where being armed is permitted.
Personally, 30+ years ago, I made a mistake and it cost me certain right’s. Getting those rights back is an arduous and expensive process that can still be denied by any liberty hater involved in the process.
Additionally, being VISIBLY armed with better weaponry than the thugs and thuds may surround you by over whelming numbers or may bring about a crowd of people seeking safety due to your arms.
Personally, I would keep any firearms, available but concealed. A good, stout walking stick will be helpful those first few hours as you are walking from the job to the house.
In any emergency, the best thing to have in place is ones good health. The next best thing is good foot wear especially if there is a long walk home. If one is resourceful, all he rest can be found along the way
Interesting about the interstate highway system in a major emergency. The over passes can be used a control points for vehicular travel. The overpass bridges can be blown up to be a blockage control point if needed.
The interstate system will be important for road access by civilians and the military. It depends on what the situation is an who will be in charge to the access, us or them.
The old HOBO living conditions will become a reality as fuel access for our vehicles will be limited. Not quite like Mad Max, but close to that.
And for those who are not in good health? Good footwear? Do you always wear good, hiking footwear to work? What about those who wear high heels, dresses, business suits? Always be prepared. You need to plan for the unexpected…just sayin
You die
Maggie, hiking footwear, along with other items needed to get home safely, dry, warm, fed, and hydrated should be in your Get-Home-Bag and with you at work or at least in your car at all times when away from home. You may be given an inquisitive or even a look of amusement for carrying a small backpack around every day, but they will remember you when they find themselves stranded with nothing to aid them in getting get home post shtf.
I always had a couple of spare pairs of shoes at my desk when I worked in a corporate cube farm. I’d walk in to work in a pair of good quality sports shoes… and change into one of two or three pairs of office shoes. I also carried a pair of thongs (footwear folks, I’m from Australia) in my bag.
Last week I read on the internet that Putin had planned to set off an EMP at Yellowstone ( the world’s largest active volcano) to set off an earthquake and take out the entire West coast. Who knows if that was made up, these days with that new AIChat, it is downright scary how real an article may look even when totally made up by AIChat!
My son showed me the other day, he asked AIChat to give him a story about a man and faster than I could read his phone screen, there was a story appearing, very very detailed, and it went on and on.
People!!! That is just very wierd and frightening!
And have you heard about the journalist who chatted with AI for a lengthy period of time (I think 2.5 hours), and AIChat was getting creepy, telling him to leave his wife, and that AI wanted to be a human, and be with him. And that he had no passion in his life, and he was not happily married. Someday, we are going to manufacture something that is going to anhilate humans, and we won’t be able to stop it! There is no way to prep for that! (Which is why we unfortunately need an Earth Reset, we are moving way too fast with technology.) Anyway, off topic.
So if Yellowstone took out the West Coast, that would be enough to cripple the entire North America. The electric grid is very over-burdened as it is, and very intertwined. If you live in a high rise (which I assume preppers for the most part do not,) your life is very fragile. You can walk down 32 flights of stairs, but it might be a one-way trip because you would need to be very fit to be able to go back up. And don’t even think about how long they will be able to flush a toilet, and how many of the lower apartments will be flooded with excrement within one day. So preppers won’t have that problem… however, all the displaced people from
those apartment buildings will be the problem. They are not prepared, have no
place to plant a garden, and likely no where to walk or run to. So while you are walking to your destination, they will be the ones to look out for,,, so being ahead of the game is of utmost importance. And yes, trying to remain inconspicuous.
That is why these test weather balloons were floated across the USA.
The WWII Japanese float balloon bombs over the West Coast, some did kill people.
The China Spy balloon gathered data on the wind patterns to float an EMP attack.
Who says The attack will be by a missile? Our radar defenses have blind spots and a reluctant president to be America First. He is a globalist everyone first, America last.
joann, I was worried that shooting down the balloon would unleash a ton of some kind of chemicals! Always a possibility.
A E why wouldn’t it just have dropped the payload out over the us
Another hazard upcoming.
Besides the EMP road-blockages, there are political road blocks to the average driver during and after the EMP attack if these politicians get their way.
Funny thing for those people in California in the San Diego area. They have Sandag a group of city mayors who decide on vehicle transportation projects. They are pushing locally to a mileage tax to go Statewide and eventually nationwide with the help of Biden.
Newscum CA governor, will impose the mileage tax by helping the Marxist San Diego city council and Sandag. Remember what happens in California so goes the rest of the nation.
The are pushing for the tax by deciding which method is best. Toll roads, tracking devices in our vehicles and/or an annual mileage tax bill paid annually.
Reform California.org is trying to fight these devious Marxist locally. Before this form of tyranny goes nationwide with the Blue-State Sanctuary States. That could go into nationwide effect with the Marxist Biden administration in charge before the 2024 election.
I guess anyone who cannot walk home is scre**d. Disabilities s*ck.
Yes especially those that need to recharge their electric battery operated wheel chairs.
All those people who bought straight-out EV’s will not be able to get home or a short ride out of the cities. Gas powered vehicles still rule.
All those Greenies who believe in total electricity, vehicle and appliances will regret the day they choose total electric. We need both.
America is based on choice, so why can’t we have both gas an electric devices, vehicles of both sources? Why is it the Greenies my way or the highway situation?
I have read a lot of articles on EMP strikes and most say that one will not affect a battery or small electronic devices unless they are connected to the grid. Some even say that a vehicle may start up again, if it is affected by the blast, after the battery is disconnected for a few minutes. It’s worth a try before you set out walking. Some of the older vehicles prior to 1980 may not be affected, at all.
I think the best thing to do is not panic and check things out carefully before you wonder off on foot.
How can those EMP armchair experts really know for sure?
The older EMP tests were decades ago tested on vehicles basically without all the electronic sensors and computer garbage.
There are very few older vehicle that are running on the roads these days. And going to total EV’s will be a disaster in the coming year when gas powered vehicles are banned.
Your right no need to panic, trust but verify the information. Measure twice before cutting the 2×4 once,can’t add it back.
Very few if any modern cars and trucks will be effected by an EMP. Lots of testing has been done. The grid will go down due to the long lengths of cable which absorb and transmit the energy as a spike. EMP is a high energy wave; it needs an “antenna”, a very larger antenna, to capture the energy. Direct lightning strikes to airplanes cause no system failures so an EMP will do nothing. What lightning takes out today on a small scale; grid, transformers, pumps, TV / electronics via cable or electrical connection are what will get affected by an EMP. I have lost TVs / cable boxes and well pumps over the years from electrical storms but never a car or truck.
How far can you walk in a day? Brushy country or flat and level? How far might you be from home? See The Gray Bearded Green Beret and Corporals Corner websites for their recomendations of the gear you need to get back to your home base.
If people can’t walk more than a city block before wheezing, maybe they should bug-in during the EMP.
Since the past Covid attack how many people have resumed their workouts to be fit?
I’m the same lazy bastard before the plandemic and now, but I walk alot and climb alot of stairs more than I want to, just don’t ask me to run.
I work 30 miles from home, in the event this happens I have a go back specifically for this that I keep in my truck at all times. Will have to walk it and probably a few days.
Carson, maybe one of those kick scooters would be a good idea to have in a vehicle. At least you would get home faster, and no blisters on the heels!
Great idea for flatland, cool!
The average person could walk 10-12 mi a day. Hilly country and brushy terrain take longer. Pouched tuna and rice are carried by wally world along with protien bars. Compact and keep about 12-18 months.
Yes, it may take time to get back on foot. Gas powered vehicles definitely helped our society to travel. Not specific on the distance but by foot, horseback or gas powered vehicle. The travel time and distance as compared to the 1800’s to present. Are something to contemplate. Especially if you have been injured.
What we take for granted in modern times sort of like 30 miles by modern car is nothing. In the comparing the past transportation modes on foot or horseback it may take a day or two. Depending on flat or rugged terrain encountered. Not only that, avoiding the potential freeloaders, criminals on the way to home or wherever.
I keep a folding scooter in the trunk of my car. Granted, I’m in my sixties and it’s a kick scooter but better than just walking.
Sorry chuck
After spending more than a decade dealing with EMP preparations on a professional level I learned one thing. If you are in a high rise in an urban area your chances of survival drop dramatically, whether you are an out of shape older person or a Navy Seal. Granted, the Seal has a larger useful skill set for the situation at hand, but he is also outnumbered just as much as the out of shape older person.
If there is an EMP there are many different things in play depending on where you are that generalities are not good guides. My personal guideline is be thankful for what still works, and discard those things that don’t. From wristwatches to vehicles this advice is valid.
Lastly, EMP cannot cause the Yellowstone caldera to become active. Now, conventional nuclear weapons could, but EMP’s have no mechanical component, only electrical.
Remember 3 is 2, 2 is 1, and 1 is none.
Something I have never heard anyone discussing is which ham radio frequency will be used in a particular region…anyone?
Why would you
All of my Ham radios scan frequencies, They will scan frequencies in your particular region, Your covered Marv.
1973 XB GT Ford Falcon coupe….Just sayin.
Getting to the top of the tallest building can take a lot of energy and time without elevators. Then you find you can’t even look around because the doors are locked. And if in a building, prop all doors you go through. They may lock behind you.
It’s not just a EMP that will get you stranded. I got stranded in NYC during hurricane Sandy. I did a last minute prep of food, water and candles when I found out. Power went out a block from the hotel I was staying at. Thankfully we had power bc I was on the seventeenth floor. The airports were shut down for a few days. Natural disaster, civil unrest and EMP can leave you stranded. I might suggest there are other ways to travel. Roadways might not be the best. There are train tracks and waterways too. I looked at the river system that went between work and home. An inflatable kayak would’ve been perfect and it was with the current.
I carry a small 2 person boat in my vehicle. Mostly for possibilities of flooding I can get myself and supplies I carry in it and not drown. But I could also get home via waterways with it as well.
I plan to get a folding bike or moped for my vehicle, too.
just don’t go to the top of a building. to do so is to be trapped on a roof with no escape, just don’t do it. most have electronic door locks or keyed locks now so they won’t open anyhow.
i have been to the top of very many buildings and i have never seen even one that you could just walk through. if you go up, ya gotta come back down. i’ll stay grounded myself so that i can run if needed.
As a soccer referee, I could jog most of the 50 miles to home (with plenty of water and snacks). But instead, I keep a small bike in the back of my truck. I will be home in a few hours.
Important to plan but do not focus on just an EMP. With current efforts by China and insurgencies by radical climate groups (cover names for socialist and communist groups) anticipate significant traditional sabotage on infrastructure. This is already being tested as reported by main stream media- attacks on electrical substations, cutting of communications lines, arson attacks on cellular sites. No explanation of the rash of significant train derailments over the last few months. Watching for more pipeline failures soon. Too many coincidences to be random. It is not paranoia if they really are out to get you, ;-D