Tag Archive: EMP

July 13th, 2017
post by policysup | | 0

LONG-RANGE MISSILE THAT CAN FIT IN SHIPPING CONTAINER TEST-FIRED AT SEA

Long-range missile that can fit in shipping container test-fired at sea

An Israeli defense contractor has successfully test-fired a missile with a 400-kilometer range that can fit into a standard shipping container.

Launched from a ship, it joins the trend of weaponizing civilian freighters.

The missile that was fired on Tuesday, dubbed LORA or Long-Range Artillery weapon system, is produced by state-owned defense giant Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). According to company specifications, the solid-propellant ground-to-ground 1,600-kilogram projectile has a range of 400 kilometers and can be fired at a target in just 10 minutes.

First revealed in 2006, the missiles were originally designed to be secretly deployed. To protect them from detection, the missiles are stored in dedicated sealed canisters that can fit inside a standard shipping container and have a shelf life of seven years without maintenance.

From the start, IAI saw LORA as both land-based and ship-based system. This week, a missile fired from a ground launcher placed on a freighter vessel out at sea successfully hit its intended target on land.

“This was one of the most complex trials we held over the past few years and a technological breakthrough for IAI’s missile development operations,” said Executive Vice President Boaz Levi, according to an IAI statement.

“The trial was held according to a full operational outline, including an assessment of the system’s maneuvering, assault, and precision capabilities. The impressive results attest to the system’s maturity and advanced capabilities,” he said.

In theory, a complete containerized version of LORA would not need a dedicated launcher system. Rather a standard container would house four missiles and everything needed to fire them. A command and fire control section inside another container would be enough to serve up to four launchers.

The new technology could potentially turn any civilian freighter ship into a naval missile platform, a consideration that raises concerns about potential sneak attacks. Standardization would also make deploying such missiles on dedicated warships more flexible.

Russia has a similar system, a version of its Kalibr cruise missiles called Club-K, which was unveiled in 2011. Artist concepts show the Russian Navy’s upcoming Arctic patrol boat with two containerized Kalibr launchers on its stern.

 

 

Some comments say :

 

“Looks like the Sampson Option just got another big boost to actually happening .”

 

“Already here: Putin’s secret weapon 3M14 Klub (Club) missile. Russian weapons. SS-N-27. 3M-14, 3M-54”

 

“EMP Bomb Threat Scenario”

 

“The EMP Threat”

 

“Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack “

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

via:  infowars


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August 4th, 2016
post by policysup | | 0

Tips You Must Remember to Protect Your Vehicle from an EMP

If the US federal government says something is a threat — or if they happen to admit that something’s a threat — then it’s likely much more of a pending alarming situation than the government cares to admit.

Keeping that in mind, the federal government — which include multiple agencies and the military — have relinquished that one huge threat to our very lives is an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP).

Whether it takes place by intent (a nuclear detonation or terrorism) or by chance (EMP destruction caused by a meteorite or comet), an EMP event would no doubt be life altering.

If an event like this were to take place, one major challenge would be transportation. The majority of today’s vehicles are reliant on computers and electrical components which translates to if an EMP took place, a vehicle would become hunks of metal, rubber, and plastic.

Some estimates put the aftermath of an EMP to be weeks, some months and a few, more dire predictions put the recovery time at years.

That means you have to do what you can to ensure your vehicle(s) are as EMP proof as possible; here are some tips when choosing a vehicle and some ways you can further EMP-protect your vehicles.

First, there are factors to consider in choosing a post-EMP bug-out or survival vehicle:

1. Benefits of Diesel

A large and strong enough EMP could stop the extraction, refinement, distribution and sale of fossil fuels. Whatever gas you have on hand could be all the gas you get for years. The more highly a fuel is refined, the shorter its storage life. Diesel is less refined than unleaded so diesel stores longer.

You make biodiesel from crops that you grow. Diesel motors are somewhat simpler than gasoline motors in that they do not have an ignition system. This cuts down on some vulnerable parts.
Most tractors also run on diesel too, so for many homesteaders, it is worth considering.

2. Fuel Capacity

You can add oversized and/or additional fuel tanks to many vehicles, increasing the vehicle’s range. A post EMP world will likely have far fewer gas stations, if any. To get at any of remaining fuel, you will need a pump and hose like the Jackrabbit by Black & Decker.

Even though you’d like to bug out in your shelter or bug out cabin in the woods that may not be a possibility. It’s always a good idea to have a backup plan and one such backup is making sure your vehicle also has a cargo space, roof rack, or a swing out to create more space. In addition to that, a vehicle that has off-road capability will be essential to driving where you need to go no matter the weather or road.

3. Cargo or Towing Capability

By the time you pile in what will surely be everything you own in this world, your spouse, your 2.4 kids, grandma and the golden retriever, you may be looking for ways to increase your vehicle’s carrying capacity. So cargo space, a trailer hitch, roof rack, swing outs and so forth will come in handy. For many, the vehicle will likely double as their home.

4. Off-Road Capability

Features such as 4-wheel drive, a full size spare, plenty of ground clearance, all-terrain tires, lockers, extraction or trail gear, towing points, winch and off road lighting will come in handy post-EMP because roads will no longer be maintained, disabled vehicles and vehicles that have run out of fuel will litter the roadway. Imagine the highway or even your own street after a snowstorm without any snowplows or drivers to remove the snow and 4-wheel drive and over-size tires starts to look like a pretty good idea

Sure a souped up car may seem cool right now, but when SHTF it’s going to be the last thing you need. A vehicle that’s easy to repair and that also consists of parts that you could easily find or get if you needed to is recommended. It’ll make life so much easier for you during an EMP.

5. Ease of Maintenance & Repair

Simplicity is a good thing when it comes to survival. Without computers, there is only so much to “do it yourself” on newer vehicles so older vehicles have greater appeal. A good repair manual and well-equipped toolbox are mission-critical equipment.

6. Commonality of Parts

An expensive custom vehicle might look cool online or be fun to daydream about, but after a HEMP, the first time it needs a part, you might wish you bought something a little more pedestrian (no pun intended). Better still would be 2 or 3 less-expensive vehicles as opposed to a single vehicle that strains your financial resources.

My grandfather did this and I learned it from him. He would take multiple beat-up vehicles and turn them into fewer good ones … and have a bunch of spare parts left over. A bunch of spare parts would be a good thing post-EMP.

Again, newer vehicles have 100’s of processors that make everything about a car complicated and intricate. Avoid getting a vehicle with the systems listed below, as it will be very difficult to find replacement parts for them. Furthermore, keep reading to learn the best way to blend in and not stand out during an EMP — your lives depend on it!

7. Fewest Possible Microelectronics, Computers or Chips

Some newer vehicles have in excess of 100 processors that run on miniscule amounts of power. They sense and control virtually every function of the vehicle and are very sensitive to EMP.

How far are you going to get without an engine, fuel injection, transmission or 4-wheel drive system? Sure, car manufacturers take reasonable precautions to shield them, but not against such great field strengths or over the entire frequency range EMP covers. Any transistor-based technology is vulnerable.

Avoid vehicles with the following systems, rewire them or replace them with their non-electronic counterparts and/or stock replacements in a Faraday cage:

•    PCM (Powertrain Control Module)
•    Anti-lock Braking System
•    Electronic Fuel Injection
•    Electronic Ignition
•    Computers Controlling Critical Systems
•    Consumer Electronics
•    Long Antennas
•    Negative Battery Terminal Grounded to Vehicle Frame

8. Overt vs Covert

It is often best to blend in as opposed to standing out. In the city, that might mean driving a white sedan or van. In the bush, it might mean a camouflage or matte earth tone paint job.
Other times, looking like you are not worth tangling with might be the better option.

A durable metal body is crucial for your SHTF vehicle, as is EMP-hardening your auto. Rebuilding your vehicle may be necessary especially if you don’t have the funds to buy another vehicle. However, by investing your time to make sure your auto has the correct features for when an EMP arrives, you’ll be glad you took the time to make sure everything was setup correctly.

9. Conductive Metal Body

For the best EMP-resistance, choose a vehicle with conductive metal body enclosing the engine and passenger compartment or cab over a vehicle with body panels made of fiberglass, plastic or any other non-conductive material.

How to EMP-Harden Your Auto

If your vehicle already has these features or you are already doing these things, then you are already part of the way there. There are many features to look for and modifications to make to both your vehicle and your SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) regarding that vehicle.
No matter which automobile you choose, there is always more that can be done to minimize the effect of HEMP on the vehicle.

•    Ground all conductive components of the vehicle to a single point on the chassis. Do not ground them to the earth.

•    Rewire with shielded wiring: Verify that your wiring is shielded or replace all you can with shielded wiring.

•    Re-bond metal body panels: Remove body panels and make sure that you have good conductive bonds between body panels by removing paint and installing conductive gasket material or make sure you have metal on metal contact with as much overlap as possible. This will help the body conduct energy through the vehicle skin like the skin of a Faraday cage. Just do not allow yourself to be fooled into thinking that the vehicle skin is without holes that compromise its integrity.

•    Route wiring close to the vehicle frame

•    Install ferrite clamps or snap on cores on cable ends

•    Protect cable entry and exit points with surge suppression: This will need to be fast-clamping surge protection faster than one millisecond that will handle high voltages. (Think lightening protection.)

•    Mechanical ignition (points and condenser)

•    Install EMP-rated surge protection on antennas

•    Mechanical fuel & water pumps

•    Carburetor or mechanical fuel injection

•    Keep spares of vulnerable parts you cannot replace in a Faraday cage: You may have a vehicle that is mostly good to go, but it still parts like a starter, alternator and voltage regulator that do not contain microelectronics, but could still conceivably be affected.

•    Manual transmission: Some will surely disagree with me on this one, but they are easier to repair and make it possible to push start vehicles even if the battery is shot or missing. Even some diesels can be push or roll started if you wire open the fuel valve.

An EMP seems like a remote threat until you realize how many “rogue” nations have nuclear weapons or are desperately trying to get them. Add into that mix terrorists who are determined to alter our way of life and the threat becomes more real.

So real the US federal government has indicated they are worried and if they admit that, we all should be very worried

To learn more about vehicles that will stand up better against an EMP, please visit Survivorpedia.

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: diehardsurvivor


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May 10th, 2015
post by policysup | | 0

EMP Survival & The First 15 Things You Must Do Immediately After An EMP

Another great post from our friends at http://thesurvivalmom.com/

————


I’ve been working on a book about EMP survival for the past couple of months. It hasn’t been an easy task, since much of what I’m researching involves scenarios that have never happened, or have happened only in third world countries. It’s been challenging to apply those scenarios to the world in which I’ve grown up.

In a weird way, this research has been fun. I feel a bit like Dr. David Livingstone venturing into parts of Africa that had never been imagined, much less explored.

Will my lovely next door neighbors really turn into cannibals, given enough time and lack of food?

Will the gangs and violent predators in the big city nearest me really begin going door to door, as a sort of perverse version of the Jehovah Witnesses, robbing, raping, and killing or will they end up killing each other first?

If well-prepared preppers have the perfect bug out location, equipped with every survival supply possible, how will they get there if the electromagnetic pulse has destroyed the electronic-based engines in their vehicles?

The approach I took to preparedness and survival in my first book,Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family For Everyday Disasters and Worst-Case Scenarios, was all about common sense. My goal was to equip the average mom with information, checklists, and strategies for surviving the typical natural disaster, medical emergency, or job loss.

My second book is different. So far, it contains a lot of doom and gloom just because of the nature of a post-EMP world. However, it’s made me think twice about the predictions found in most EMP survival novels. I believe that desperate times encourage and, in fact, create just the type of environment that breeds innovation. In a post-EMP world, many communities may never need, or want, to go back to old systems once new and better ones have been devised.

Human beings are damn smart when they need to be.

EMP Survival for moderate preppers

That’s where, you, the moderate prepper can play an important role. Take practical steps now to prepare for everyday emergencies but also keep in mind that worst case scenarios are entirely possible.

  • Each month, you can add new skills and knowledge, which is why there is a Survival Mom Skill of the Month!
  • You can save money toward buying the gear and supplies that are truly necessary. (Have you joined my 52 Weeks Savings Club on Facebook?)
  • Prepare your body with exercise, training, and healthy eating so we are physically ready for difficult tasks, regardless of the crisis. (If you need a support group, join my Skinny Survival Moms group on Facebook!)

    I don’t believe that only Green Berets, Navy SEALS, and the most vicious, lawless predators will be the ones to survive. In fact, moderate preppers already have many advantages over these groups. We recognize warning signs that have led us to take proactive steps to prepare. We’ve incorporated both the mindset and lifestyle of preparedness into our daily lives and, by doing so, blend in with every other household around us.

    The “Gray Man“? Yeah, that’s us.

    Survivors of a worst case scenario will need to think on their feet, quickly adapt and improvise, and be willing to connect with others to form communities. Moderate preppers who continue to refine their skills and supplies, connect with like-minded people, and stay up to date with the world around them are excellent candidates for EMP survival.

    Here’s an EMP Survival tool I have for you

    I wish I could say that my EMP survival handbook was ready to put in your hands today, but it’s not. I’m finishing the book now and then it will require editing and more.

    What are the first 15 things you must do immediately after an #EMP? Get this FREE report!

    However, here’s what I can give you now, via email: A special report that provides details for, “The First 15 Things You Must Do Immediately After an EMP.” As a mom, and knowing the fears that moms have for their kids, I’ve included information for when and how to retrieve your kids from school. I’ve listed items that should be in everyone’s Get Home Bag, tips for informing neighbors about what has happened and why this is a vital thing to do, and specific places to shop for last minute supplies, even if you’re already well-stocked.

    Along with this Special Report, I’ve prepared follow up emails that will answer some of your most difficult questions:

  • Should I immediately evacuate my home following an EMP?
  • I don’t have a survival group or community. Can I survive on my own?
  • What if I have a newborn? What can I do to make sure he/she survives in a post-EMP world?
  • What can I do if I’m stranded hundreds of miles from home?

    Along with these follow-ups that you’ll receive every 3-4 weeks, I’ll let you know when my book is ready for pre-order and how you can get a signed copy.

    If you already get my weekly emails and occasional exclusive articles, this Special Report is sitting in your email box! Otherwise, sign up here:

    There’s peace in being prepared and EMP Survival is possible!

    Download link to Special Report: http://thesurvivalmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/One-Second-After-the-Lights-Go-Out-Special-Report-5-11.pdf


    Get this FREE Special Report! Sign up via email.

     

     

    Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

    Via: thesurvivalmom


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March 24th, 2015
post by policysup | | 0

Iran’s military endorses Plan to Hit United States with EMP attack

American officials are confirming that Iranian Military commanders have endorsed a plan to attack the United States with a strategic EMP blast that could cripple the country’s power grid for months, possibly years.

 

The news was leaked earlier this week when Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, Executive Director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security and Director of the U.S. Nuclear Strategy Forum, wrote a column for an Israeli news organization. He warned that American defense experts made the discovery when translating an Iranian military handbook.

 

The news is even more troubling, since the Obama administration is in the middle of nuclear negotiations with Iran that could allow the Iranians to keep 19,000 installed centrifuges – equipment that can be used to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs.

 

EMP plans mentioned over 20 times

The Washington Examiner reports that the Iranian document discusses an EMP attack over 20 different times. With a relatively small amount of nuclear materiel the Iranians could be capable of launching an attack that would cause a nationwide blackout.

 

Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks, who recently introduced a bill to protect the grid from EMP attacks, is also warning of the threat from Iran. He wrote on his website:

 

“The threat of an electromagnetic pulse weapon represents the single greatest asymmetric capability that could fall into the hands of America’s enemies. Should a nuclear weapon from a rogue state such as Iran be detonated in Earth’s atmosphere at a sufficient height above the continental United States, the blast of electromagnetic energy could immediately cripple America’s electric power grid. Currently, the vast majority of the United States’ infrastructure is unsecured and exposed.”

“According to some experts, just one properly placed EMP blast could disable so large a swath of American technology that between 70-90% of the United States’ population could become unsustainable.”

Obama administration continues to ignore the threat

As the Obama administration continues to make excuse after excuse to defend the Iranians, the government of Iran seems to be preparing to go to war with the West. In fact, last month Iran’s Military Chief said, “we are ready for a decisive battle against the U.S.”

 

Late last month, Iranian military officials conducted military drills, named Great Prophet 9, where their military attacked and destroyed a replica of a US aircraft carrier. Iranian TV aired pictures of the mock U.S. aircraft carrier as the ship was attacked during the Revolutionary Guard naval exercises near the Strait of Hormuz.

 


The Guard’s navy chief, Admiral Ali Fadavi, said on state TV, “American aircraft carriers are very big ammunition depots housing a lot of missiles, rockets, torpedoes and everything else.”

 

What would an EMP attack look like?

 

If the United States were hit by an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) the damage would be catastrophic. In a matter of minutes, everything our country depends on would come to a screeching halt.

 

From ATM’s and banking systems, to key infrastructure like power, water and gas utilities, you would immediately see failures across the board. Our way of life would change in the blink of an eye, and it would take years to even begin to repair the damage.

 

Dr. Peter Vincent Pry’s Column warns:

 

Iran armed with nuclear missiles poses an unprecedented threat to global civilization.

One nuclear warhead detonated at high-altitude over the United States would blackout the national electric grid and other life sustaining critical infrastructures for months or years by means of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). A nationwide blackout lasting one year, according to the Congressional EMP Commission, could cause chaos and starvation that leaves 90 percent of Americans dead.

Iranian military documents describe such a scenario–including a recently translated Iranian military textbook that endorses nuclear EMP attack against the United States.

Thus, Iran with a small number of nuclear missiles can by EMP attack threaten the existence of modernity and be the death knell for Western principles of international law, humanism and freedom. For the first time in history, a failed state like Iran could destroy the most successful societies on Earth and convert an evolving benign world order into world chaos.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via:  offgridsurvival


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March 3rd, 2015
post by policysup | | 0

Congressman Urges Protection for Power Grid: EMP Attack “Could Bring Our Civilization to a Cold, Dark Halt”

When it comes to an EMP attack, the question remains “when” not “if” the SHTF. Few other scenarios hold as much potential for disaster and disruption to the lives of everyone in society. At a moment’s notice, 300 million Americans could be made instantly desperate – and even likely to die in the aftermath. A single event could easily be enough to take down the power grid and render inoperable all the computers and electronic tools that individuals, businesses, banks and governments all rely upon.

Arizona Congressman Trent Franks recently reintroduced a bill intended to provide better security for critical infrastructure, with particular emphasis on the threat posed to the power grid by an EMP – which Rep. Franks points out could occur either naturally from a solar flare or by way of a targeted man-made weapon.

In reintroducing the bill this week, Franks said, “The Department of Homeland Security has the specific responsibility to secure the key resources and critical infrastructure in the United States, to include power production, generation and distribution systems. Yet thirteen years after this job description was enacted, our nation’s most critical infrastructure — and the systems that more than 300 Million Americans depend upon every day for basic activities — are still vulnerable to large scale blackouts.

“Anyone who understands how critical our power grid has become in modern America to feeding our families or keeping our children warm will understand why this act is so crucially important. The Critical Infrastructure Protection Act will enhance DHS threat assessments for geomagnetic disturbances and electromagnetic pulse blackouts which will enable practical steps to protect the vital electric grid that serves America….”

The electromagnetic pulse (EMP) resulting from an extreme solar flare or a targeted nuclear blast has the power to single-handedly wipe out the electric grid, and permanently disable nearly everything hooked up to it, from computers to electronic devices and much more.

Back in September, Frank layed out the consequences of an EMP attack:

Our entire American way of life relies upon electricity and electronic technology. Our household appliances, food distribution systems, telephone and computer networks, communication devices, cars, airplanes, factories, power plants, bank ATMs, even water and sewage plants could potentially grind to a halt without it. Moreover, while much of our critical military hardware is shielded against EMP, our military relies upon our largely unsecured civilian grid for more than 90 percent of its electricity needs in this country without which it cannot affect its military mission.

According to experts, including Dr. William Graham, who was the White House science adviser during the Reagan administration, an EMP attack over the continental United States could render 70-90 percent of our population unsustainable.

Rep. Franks is urging legislation on the basis that Homeland Security is charged with protecting America, yet unable to do so. Failing to guard against an EMP means a threat to civilization itself:

“Passage of this legislation will help the United States prevent and prepare for such an event by including large-scale blackouts into existing national planning scenarios… Most importantly, it requires specific plans for protecting and recovering the electric grid and other critical infrastructure from a dangerous EMP event.”

Continuing, Franks said, “There is a moment in the life of nearly every problem when it is big enough to be seen by reasonable people and still small enough to be successfully addressed. Those of us across America live in a time when there still may be opportunity for the free world to address and mitigate the vulnerability that naturally occurring or weaponized EMP represents to the mechanisms of our civilization. This is our moment.”

However, it is unclear whether or not Frank’s legislation would be practically effective in protecting the grid, nor is it clear whether or not it will become law. A previous version of his SHIELD act passed the House but stalled in the Senate.

Franks echoed the sentiment of former CIA director James Woolsey, who warned that an EMP “could bring our civilization to a cold, dark halt.” As Forbes notes:

Congressional studies quoted by Woolsey estimate that two-thirds of the population would die of starvation, disease, exposure or violence related to social breakdown in the first twelve months alone.

And to make matters worse, we would never even know what hit us, because we would have no means to investigate, to say nothing of respond. Just darkness.

What can you do about the potential coming collapse of civilization?

“Island yourself” from the central grid… that’s former FERC chief John Wellinghoff’s advice to individuals – preppers if you will – for surviving any grid downs that could occur from an EMP, a cyber-attack or other event powerful enough to interrupt the highly vulnerable primary grid.

People are beginning to understand that they need their own onsite capabilities to island themselves from the grid. That’s because the grid’s external vulnerabilities will continue to be a problem until we do have substantial amounts of distributed generation. I have a solar photovoltaic system that provides 100% of my power needs. I am looking into how I can island myself off the grid. But it is not just me, the military is moving toward micro-grids at all of their bases because they understand the vulnerability of those bases to outages.

In the longer term, Wellinghoff hopes that distributed grids will become a major component of the solution – decentralizing power production at the local and regional level so that system-wide destruction of the main grid would not interrupt local power service. Likewise, targeted attacks on hundreds or thousands or distributed grids by an enemy could occur, but would be unlikely to derail all the power at once.

These distributed grids could generate power through any practical means – conventional sources of natural gas or coal, they could use solar, wind or newer methods of renewable energy… the point is that they are independent and scaled to individual communities (or even individual homes):

The key is that they are located within that particular sub-region and can run even if the there is some cascading failure throughout the main grid. Solar is a good example. If everyone had solar panels on their respective roofs then we could adequately disperse power generation in such a way that it makes nodes practically irrelevant. It is easy to hack into a node and cause it to malfunction but it is basically impossible to hack 10 million solar power systems.

Preppers can take special note here: when major figures in government, science and national security are sounding the alarm over the threats of an EMP attack and the looming failure of the grid, it is high time to make a backup plan:

That is, make preparations to survive with no power or electricity during a short or long term disaster, make plans to protect major equipment or backups with a faraday cage, and, if possible, make or adapt plans to generate at least some electricity using off grid or ‘distributed grid’ networks.

Without picking any favorites, solar may be the most practical option for individuals at this point in time, though solar panels can be quite costly. Anything else that works is also a good option.

Nevertheless, be warned that this could literally happen at any moment. Extreme space weather may be capricious and occur without warning, while those who would benefit from sowing chaos and disaster over the civilized world – or those who seek to gain power in the aftermath of disruptions to ordinary life – could unleash an electromagnetic pulse that would effectively pull the plug without any given notice.

Are you prepared?

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: shtfplan


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December 15th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Homeland Report Warns Solar Storm Could Leave 100 Million Without Power: “We Are Running Out of Time to Prepare”

Homeland Security officials are warning that a major coronal mass ejection, solar flare or electromagnetic pulse may be inevitable and catastrophic to modern civilization. The devastation to the electric grid and modern infrastructure could impact the lives of more than 100 million, and cause untold casualties during prolonged outages.

Homeland Security conducted a study assessing the risks with these extreme solar events (as well as manmade EMPs).

Via Free Beacon

DHS’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) stated in an internal 2012 fact sheet outlining its response plan for severe “space weather” that the actual impact and damage from a future solar storm is not known.

[…]

The report outlines the scenario for a major “coronal mass ejection” from the Sun that will first be detected by U.S. satellites. The magnetic band reaches the earth within 24 to 72 hours, affecting up to 100 million people.

The largest such storms, called G-5s, would cause transformers and transmission lines to be “severely damaged.”

The storms last from hours to a day but can disrupt electric power grid operations, GPS satellites, aircraft operations, manned space flight, satellite operations, natural gas distribution pipelines, and undersea communications cables.

Though acknowledging they lack sufficient information about what exactly might happen, it is clear enough what kind of damage and disruption of service it might pose for the infrastructure that everyone depends upon.

Major solar events happened in 1859 with the Carrington Event and in 1921 with huge magnetic storm. The federal government and the utility companies both admit that another event of this magnitude would take down the existing power grid and could affect some 100 million people, likely damaging many other services as well.

Former CIA official Peter Pry warned that a large solar flare “could have catastrophic consequences for civilization.”

“We are running out of time to prepare,” Pry said, noting that NASA reported in July that Earth narrowly missed a second Carrington Event.

While the grid might be repaired within in hours and days for most, as many as 10 million could face prolonged life without electricity. It could be literally months – and possibly even years – before the power is restored.

Are you even remotely prepared for that kind of event? The government is admittedly NOT prepared and has no way to feasibly take care of that many people during a mass disruption event:

“How would the government deal with 10 million, or many more, Americans without power for two months, or even longer?”

[…]

“An analysis of the space weather impacts indicates that the greatest challenge will be to provide life-saving and life-sustaining resources for large numbers of people that experience long-term power outage from damage to the U.S. electrical grid,” the FEMA document, dated March 1, 2012, states.

The FEMA fact sheet noted the findings of a 2010 study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency that monitors sun storms, warning that an extreme solar storm could leave “130 million people without power for years,” and destroy or damage more than 300 hard-to-replace electrical grid transformers.

Even more worryingly is the government secrecy and failure to adequately prepare the public for an event that could happen at any time, and is considered ‘overdue.’

The report was released only after Mark Sauter, a security adviser and published author on Homeland Security, filed a FOIA request:

Sauter said FEMA’s more-than-200-page response plan for dealing with a solar storm was blacked out from the released documents.

“This makes one wonder why FEMA is refusing to release the government’s space weather response plan,” he said.

Sauter questioned whether the government is taking the threat of a major solar storm seriously, or is “just going through an obligatory bureaucratic exercise that in reality reflects DHS/FEMA crossing its fingers and hoping that such a plan will never need to be used.“

Though it should be strongly noted, it should come as no surprise that the federal government cannot and will not be able to take care of everyone during a massive power outage, and especially not during an extended breakdown of society, services and infrastructure.

Many preppers have been hedging for this cataclysm for some time, and have known that extreme solar events pose a significant threat that, again, may prove to be a question of when not if.

Daisy Luther outlines several important areas to consider when preparing to survive potentially prolonged power outages and disruptions to services. Going off-grid requires significant planning, investment and a reorientation of mindset – but it can be done.

Have you planned for:

Off-grid Water

If you haven’t located water sources near your home,  it’s time to break out the topographical maps of your area and find them!  A low-tech water plan might include some or all of the following:

  • A manual pump for your well
  • Buckets and wheelbarrows for hauling water from a nearby source
  • Rain barrels for water harvesting (THIS is an inexpensive option with mixed reviews)
  • A gravity-fed water filtration system (we have THIS ONE)
  • A water dispenser for convenient access to filtered water (Be sure to get one with the bottle on top so that it can be operated without electricity, and not one that uses an electric pump to pull the water up from the bottom)
  • Storage units for water such as cisterns or tanks
  • Portable water filter bottles for safe water when you are away from home (we have THIS ONE)

Off-grid Shelter and Warmth

Homes these days aren’t built to function without a connection to the power grid.  If you aren’t fortunate enough to live in an older home that was designed for off-grid living, look at some ways to take your home back a century or so. A secondary heating system is vital in most climates.

  • An antique oil heater can use lots of different oils and requires little effort for installation (THIS SITE is loaded with information about Perfection oil heaters)
  • Have a woodstove installed
  • Clean your chimney and get your fireplace working
  • Set up an outdoor fireplace with large rocks to bring inside for radiant heat (this won’t get you super warm but it’s better than nothing)
  • Have a good supply of blankets, warm clothes, and cold-rated sleeping bags
  • Learn techniques to stay warm with less heat

Off-grid Food

Not only do you need access to food, but you also need a way to cook it and a way to keep your refrigerated and frozen items from spoiling.

Off-grid Sanitation and Hygiene

How will you keep clean and deal with human waste in the event of a long-term emergency?

Off-grid Lighting

The world is a scary place when it’s dark, and most of us have forgotten how dark TRUE dark really is, due to light pollution and the proximity of neighbors. Here are some lighting solutions for an off grid world:

  • Solar garden lights – store them outside to be charged during the day and bring them in and put them in vases where they’re needed at night
  • Oil lamps – you can recycle used cooking oil or use rendered fat to power these – they give a brighter light and can be used for reading and close-work (Learn more HERE)
  • Candles – stock them and learn to make them
  • Solar powered flashlights

Renewable power is practical power.

One exception to my no-generators rule is renewable power. If you can afford a solar set up for your home, then very little would change about your day-to-day life, aside from you being one of the few people with power.  You don’t have to go totally solar to have power for a few important items.  Assuming you have electronics in working order, they can be powered with solar, wind, or water.

Most of us can’t afford an entire set up but these are some options to consider:

  • Build a DIY portable solar recharging station – learn how to make it HERE
  • Solar-powered systems for specific items – learn more HERE
  • Use wind power – learn more HERE
  • Use water power – learn more HERE

Recommended Resources:

The Prepper’s Blueprint: Prepare Yourself For Any Disaster

52 Weeks to Preparedness (Free Online Web Series)

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via : shtfplan


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November 24th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

NSA Director Confirms: Entire U.S. Power Grid could be Shut down by Single Cyber Attack

It’s something that has been talked about for years, but up until this point nobody in the federal government would confirm it; until now.

Speaking at a House Intelligence Commute hearing, Admiral Michael Rogers, director of the National Security Agency and commander of the U.S .Cyber Command, admitted that China, and a handful of other countries currently possess the power to launch a cyber-attack that would shut down the entire U.S. power grid.

At the hearing, Rogers said U.S. adversaries are performing electronic “reconnaissance” on a regular basis so that they can be in a position to disrupt the industrial control systems that run everything from chemical facilities to water treatment plants.

“All of that leads me to believe it is only a matter of when, not if, we are going to see something dramatic,” he said.

This comes weeks after the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning that Russian hackers had successfully penetrated, and inserted malware into some of the nation’s most vital infrastructure systems.

The Malware, which experts say has the power to trigger the shutdown of vital public utilities throughout the country, was found in software used to control industrial operations like oil and gas pipelines, power transmission grids, water distribution and filtration systems, wind turbines and even some nuclear plants.

The Coming Cyber Wars that Could Shut Down Everything

The threat has actually been known for some time, this is just the first time someone at this level is actually admitting there’s a problem.

In 2013, two engineers discovered a major vulnerability in the Industrial Control Systems that control our power grid, a flaw that allows hackers to take control of the entire U.S. power grid.

During the course of testing, the engineers found they could penetrate and shutdown almost every major Industrial Control System they tested. This would give hackers direct access to control everything from our communication infrastructure, to our drinking water and our electric power grid.

The two compiled a 20-page report detailing the vulnerabilities they found for the Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team. The report was used in a massive cyber drill that simulated the take down of the entire U.S. power grid.

Is the Obama Administration Preparing for a Coming Cyber War?

In his testimony, Rogers admitted the Obama administration was in the process of outlining our military cyber operation’s rules of engagement.

“We need to define what would be offensive, what’s an act of war,” he said.

With people like former CIA Bureau Chief Claire Lopez warning, “9 out of 10 of all Americans would be dead,” within a year after this type of attack, the threat is something we can’t afford to ignore. This country can barely manage a small-scale disaster – just look at what happened during Hurricane Sandy, or the recent Ebola Crisis – what do you think will happen if someone shuts down the entire power grid?

All Hell is going to Break Loose!

America was founded on a spirit of self-reliance and freedom, sadly somewhere along the way the country lost its way. Over the last couple of decades that spirit of self-reliance has all but faded away, replaced by a country full of takers who only exist because they constantly suck off the system.

While this may sound a little harsh, it’s the truth, and sugar coating the sad reality of the situation does nothing to help prepare us for what I believe is coming – the eventual downfall and collapse of the entire system.

Whether it’s a cyber-attack that plunges us into the abyss, or the 18 trillion dollars in debt that eventually pushes us over the edge, the need to prepare should be more than obvious at this point.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

 

Via :   offgridsurvival


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June 1st, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Why I Read Disaster Novels, and You Should, Too


When I was a kid, I was a voracious reader. I read a novel a day and if I couldn’t find something new to read, I would read a book over again. The variety of genres and subjects I read were all over the place and I have gone through phases of reading only mystery or only non-fiction.

While I have recently been on a fantasy/fiction kick (HONOR HARRINGTON SERIES, anyone?), I have also been reading books that deal with some country or world-changing scenario and follow people as they try to survive. I call them “disaster books” for lack of a better term. I suppose they could be called apocalyptic books, or SHTF books, or survivor books. “Dystopian” is the most recent popular term for them. Whatever you call them, these books have a value that many people do not recognize.

 

With all of the kinds of stories and different perspectives I have read about in my life, I have a great imagination and can put myself into pretty much any role and understand why the character would think, or feel, or act in certain ways. Even the ‘bad guys.’ The entertainment value and escapism is wonderful, of course, but the fact that it enriched my way of thinking and increased my ability to see both sides of the story is far more important. It has allowed me to adapt to odd situations more easily and handle emergencies with calm focus (I tend to ‘freak out’ after it is all over, haha!) and that is vitally important in disaster situations.

Disaster Novels (Dystopian Literature)


With the overall shift of our lifestyle, enter my interest in disaster stories. Stories depicting an EMP taking out the electrical grid in our country


 

or a meteor hitting the planet and sending tidal waves across the oceans, helps the reader visualize and consider things what they would do and need to counter such an event.


By reading books that present these scenarios in a non-threatening way (it’s just a story, right?), readers can safely get caught up in the emotions and truly contemplate how they would feel, react, and respond. It is easy to judge characters’ decisions while you are safe and secure in your home reading. If you apply what they are going through to your own situation and how it would truly affect you, the realizations may be huge (as in you are NOT prepared at all) or they may simply reaffirm that you have been on the right track for years.


For me, reading these types of books has opened my eyes to areas in which I need to improve or things that I have overkilled. They give great conversation material with your spouse or group on how you would collectively respond. They can expose areas you all need to address to be better equipped to overcome a disaster.

The largest and most valuable side to reading this particular genre of book, though, is the mental aspect of. Reading these books help to expose your mind to these unlikely (but possible) scenarios. If you take it a step further and form a plan in your mind or go all out to improve your chances, you are ahead of the game so far that you have lapped the people on the couch twice already.


One of the biggest skills we can learn as preppers or self-sufficient people is how to react when sudden and unexpected events occur. We have to mentally train our minds to react instead of freeze up. It is my strong belief that reading some of these types of books and really letting yourself get caught up in them will help on that path.

There are dozens of books like this on Kindle and Nook that are usually $3 or less – many are free. Some aren’t the best story or written very well, so choose at your own risk. Reader reviews and rankings can be helpful, if you read them. When a book doesn’t have many reviews, a single person who rates it as one star because they hated the hero(ine)’s name (or five stars because they loved the cover) can seriously skew the results, so it’s worth taking the extra minute. Also, an outstanding book may have only a few reviews if it is new or poorly marketed.

Here are some of the books I have read recently that are not only well done, they can really make you think:

Other books that are recommended:

Survival Books for Your Collection

Here are the books I recommend for every bookshelf, along with Amazon links so you can read more about them, including reader’s reviews.

 

Wake Up, People! : Books for motivating you to prepare

One Second After by William Forstchen

Patriots by James Wesley Rawles

299 Days Series, by Glen Tate

 

Last Light by Terri Blackstock

Lights Out by David Crawford

Stacey’s Quest by AK Steele

 

The Night the Lights Went Out, by John Eider

Back Across The Pond, by Susan Gregersen

A Tale of Two Preppers, by Susan Gregersen

The Rally point: Bugging Home, by Susan Gregersen


77 Days in September, by Ray Gorham

 

Mental Preparedness

Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzalez

The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker

The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood

The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley

 

Wilderness and Outdoor Survival

Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before it’s too Late by Scott B. Williams

Survive! Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere – Alive by Les Stroud

Will to Live by Les Stroud

 

TEOTWAWKI Survival

The Backyard Homesteadby Carleen Madigan

Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag by Creek Stewart

Crisis Preparedness Handbook by Jack A. Spigarelli

Dirt-Cheap Survival Retreat by M.D. Creekmore

The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook by Joseph and Amy Alton

The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery

Gardening When it Counts by Steve Solomon

How to Survive the End of the World as we Know it by James Wesley Rawles

LDS Preparedness Manual (free download)

The Modern Survival Manual by Fernando Aguirre

The Prepper’s Pocket Guide by Bernie Carr

Prescription for Herbal Healing by Phyllis A. Balch

When all Hell Breaks Loose, by Cody Lundin

When There is no Doctor by David Werner

Where There is no Dentist by Murray Dickson

 

Food Storage and Preservation

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judi Kingry

Cookin with Home Storage by Peggy Layton & Vicki Tate

Dinner is in the Jar by Kathy Clark

Food Storage 101 by Peggy Layton

Food Storage Made Easy

Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook by Mary Bell

Poverty Prepping: How to Stock up For Tomorrow When You Can’t Afford To Eat Today , by Susan Gregersen

 

Here’s a link to the Survival Mom’s book, Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst Case Scenarios.

 

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: thesurvivalmom


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May 25th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Korea Prepares for EMP Attack


Just a couple weeks ago Peter Vincent Pry, a member of the Congressional EMP Commission and executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, gave a dire warning to Congress.

He had warned that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on our power grid and electronic infrastructure could leave most Americans dead and send the U.S. back into another century.

“Natural EMP from a geomagnetic superstorm, like the 1859 Carrington Event or 1921 Railroad Storm, and nuclear EMP attack from terrorists or rogue states, as practiced by North Korea during the nuclear crisis of 2013, are both existential threats that could kill 9-of-10 Americans through starvation, disease and societal collapse,”

North Korea and Other Rogue Nations Pose a Very Real Threat

Pry, who is a former CIA nuclear weapons analyst, believes that Korea’s recent low-yield nuclear tests in addition to their launch of a low orbit satellite may actually be preparations for a future electromagnetic pulse attack.

What This Means to You

The Heritage Foundation explains what an EMP is capable of in this way:

“Airplanes would fall from the sky; most cars would be inoperable; electrical devices would fail. Water, sewer and electrical networks would fail simultaneously. Systems of banking, energy, transportation, food production and delivery, water, emergency services and even cyberspace would collapse.”

It’s not that the EMP pulse itself is deadly but the effects that it has on electronics can regress our cutting-edge 21st-century technology back a few centuries.

It would in essence “fundamentally change the world”.

What You Should Be Doing

So what’s the important lesson in all of this?

Well, if you haven’t yet, it’s time that you start securing your crucial electronics like communication equipment, medical devices and so on with your own faraday cage.

There are plenty of resources online where you can find out how to build these but be sure to do your homework because there’s a lot of misinformation about the correct method of building a faraday cage.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 
Via: tacticalintelligence


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May 21st, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Building Your Own Faraday Cage

A Faraday cage is an enclosed space with an outer layer that conducts electricity. The physical shape of the Faraday cage does not matter: it can be spherical, cylindrical, or a box. Either the cage itself can be made of a conductive material, or the cage can be built of a non-conductive material such as wood and then covered in a conductive material.

The conductive material can be as simple as several layers of aluminum foil, which makes constructing your own Faraday cage a fairly simple and inexpensive affair.


What are Faraday Cages Used For?
The Faraday cage is designed to guard whatever is inside of it from excessive levels of static and non-static electricity. This can be accomplished either by reflecting incoming electric fields, absorbing incoming fields, or creating opposing electrical fields.

The Faraday cage can help to protect whatever electrical equipment is contained within it from the kind of electromagnetic pulse (EMP), it’s a good practice to keep your emergency electronics such as radios and GPS devices stored in a Faraday cage so they are not incapacitated in the event of an EMP.

How Does a Faraday Cage Work?
Incoming fields are cancelled when the free electrons in the conductive material on the Faraday cage instantaneously realign themselves and block the incident electric field.

For this to work, the cage has to be made from a conductive material; otherwise, the free electrons are not sufficiently mobile to realign themselves. The layer of conductive material can itself be quite thin. This is thanks to the “skin effect,” which is a term that describes the inclination of electrical currents to move mainly on the outer layer of a conductor. Provided that the conductive layer is more than the skin depth of the material, the electrical shielding of the Faraday cage will be outstanding because there will be very high levels of absorption loss.

The skin depth is a function of the material the conductor is made of and the frequency of the incoming wave. Typically, wrapping your Faraday cage in several layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil will give you the needed skin depth to protect your electronics from high-frequency radiated fields like the kind generated by a EMP.

Building a Faraday Cage
The material you use for your Faraday cage does not have much influence on how effective the cage will be at protecting your electronics from high-frequency fields. Virtually any metal has the necessary conductivity to allow free electrons to realign and cancel out incoming electric fields.

Certain metals, are more conductive than others, which gives them a reduced skin depth – for example, at 200 MHz, silver has a skin depth of less than five microns, as compared to aluminum, which has a skin depth of 24 microns at the same frequency. But on a macro scale, that difference is negligible, which is why you can use heavy-duty aluminum foil, instead of far more expensive materials.

Your Faraday cage can have small holes in it, provided they are not too large with respect to the wavelength of the incoming electromagnetic wave. This is why you can also use fine aluminum mesh to build a larger Faraday cage. For example, a 1 GHz wave has a wavelength of 0.3 meters in space.

Generally with these kinds of mesh cages, the cage door is typically the part that causes the most leakage, but this can be fixed by taping the seams with conductive tape.

You can also use existing metal containers as Faraday cages, including metal ammunition boxes, metal garbage bins, anti-static bags, and even unused microwave ovens. Each of these has its own level of effectiveness: the main concern is that gaps and seams are minimized to reduce leakage.

You do not have to ground your Faraday cage in order to protect the electronics contained within, although doing so will help to keep the cage from becoming charged and possibly re-radiating charge, which could be dangerous if you touch it.


Large Faraday Cages
If you want to build a larger “shield room,” as engineers refer to rooms that are essentially large Faraday cages for storing electronics, you can do so by covering the inside of a small room or closet with several layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Overlap all of the seams and tape them with regular cellophane tape. Cover all outlets, light switches, and other conductive breaches with aluminum foil, and do not plug anything into any outlets. Once the floor is covered in foil, place a piece of plywood over it so you do not damage it by walking on it. Such a room can store all of your emergency electronics and protect them from incoming high-frequency radiated fields.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 
Via: thereadystore


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