“If a nuclear device designed to emit EMP were exploded 250 to 300 miles up over the middle of the country, it would disable the electronics in the entire United States. That would disable the entire electric grid. It would disable communications, it would disable fuel manufacturing and production, it would disable hospitals and medicines, it would disable 911 call centers. Everything else would be shut down.” says Gail Nordling, president and CEO of Minneapolis-based Emprimus. 

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The electrical substations could go down permanently. Then 
what? No lights. No hospital. No trucks to deliver food. No 
civilization! An ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) has the power to 
disrupt, damage or destroy life as we know it through starvation, 
disease and societal collapse. Life will never be the same after 
an EMP, which is why you need to take immediate action towards 
a survival plan. You need to prepare for EMP attacks and solar 
storms.

In an ElectroMagnetic Pulse, mankind will be trapped by the 
reliance on technology. Over the past decade, Americans 
dependence on electricity and the power grid has changed 
dramatically. Electricity started as a convenience and has 
transgressed into something that our very lives depend. It's 
happened so gradually that most people haven't even noticed 
that this society would live in a new frontier wilder than the wild 
West without electricity.

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We live and operate in a fully connected and dependent system. We will observe the many consequences of an EMP attack on our highly-integrated systems.

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Banking and Finance

According to the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC):

“The financial services industry has evolved to a point where it would be impossible to operate without the efficiencies of information technology and networks.”

There are trades happening electronically faster than we can even fathom. The scary thing about all of this is that we have created a system that can only go forward. There is no standing still or going back. Banks would go into panic mode and they would be hard pressed to give out any cash money. Cash on hand is not the strong suit of most Americans.

Related: Emergency Bag to Keep in Your Car in Case of an EMP

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Petroleum and Natural Gas

Though we are dealing with natural substances born of the earth the systems in place to refine, hold and transport this energy would be affected. Just as we discussed in the section on infrastructure valves, shutoffs and other components would be rendered inoperable. The flow of energy will come to a standstill in the face of an EMP.

Related: How to Store Fuel Long Term

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Telecommunications

This powerful report describes telecommunications about as thoroughly as possible.

• The mix of equipment used to initiate and receive voice, data, and video messages (e.g., cell phones and personal computers).

• The associated media (e.g., fiber optics and copper) and equipment (e.g., multiplexers) that transport those messages.

• The equipment that routes the messages between destinations (e.g., Internet Protocol [IP]-based routers).

• The basic and enhanced services offered by communications carriers such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Comcast.

• The supporting monitoring and management systems that identify, mitigate, and repair problems that can impact performance of services.

• The supporting administrative systems for functions such as billing.

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This explanation helps you understand just how much of your own life would be effected. Now imagine a world that is inextricably tied by these services. The true effect of the EMP is not merely the loss of electricity but a punishing blow to these systems that all depend on one another.

Related: The Only Form of Communication After T-SHTF

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Transportation Infrastructure

Whether we are talking about railroad, trucking, maritime or air travel each will be drastically affected by an EMP. The very GPS and satellite information that drives these modes of transportation could be compromised not to mention our discussion on the energies they need to be fueled.

Of course, without these heavy freight transports food and textile resources would no longer move either. By now you are probably starting to understand just how connected and dependent these systems are.

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Water Infrastructure

Now the obvious challenge with water will be the machinery that skims and cleans it as well as the pumps that prevent backflow. I want to present a different concern to the ‘pool’ of issues.

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The analysis of our water is done primarily by TOC (totally organic carbon) analyzers that measure pollutants and other disease causing pathogens. Without our ability to analyze the water we would have to create a common and consistent method of measuring water quality. This could result in hundreds of thousands of sick people if not done correctly.

Related: 5 Water Storage Myths

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Food Infrastructure

Food processing—cleaning, sorting, packaging, and canning of all kinds of agricultural and meat products—is typically an automated operation, performed on assembly lines by electrically powered machinery.

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Like so many of the systems we have created our food system has worked us into a corner. We would have to build new machines and employ hundreds of thousands of people to do the cleaning, sorting, packaging and preserving of all the food required to feed our nation.

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That said we are in luck in that most of it grows in the nation. Many countries struggle to feed themselves on domestic product. Still, much of our farming is based on gas powered equipment as well. So, we would be stifled there as well.

Refrigerators and freezers would stop working immediately after an EMP strike and the food will spoil in a matter of days.

 

Emergency Services

Whether we measure the effectiveness of emergency services by their access to energy, emergency supplies or ability to communicate it’s clear that these services will be insufficient. We have very real deficiencies in our emergency systems in today’s fast paced world. An EMP would place the burden of emergency services on local resources only. In areas like Manhattan there simply wouldn’t be enough to go around.

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Space Systems

A high altitude EMP could damage satellites directly. There is some debate on this topic. What is not up for debate is that ground communications to those satellites will be disrupted. That is crucial because most satellites operate unhindered after the initial programming. The ping back of information from the satellite is often what counts. On the ground there would be no way to receive that information or communicate additional programming to those satellites above.

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CBRNE

is an acronym for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high yield Explosives. These types of weapons have the ability to create both mass casualties as well as mass disruption of society. Emergency responders are taught how to recognize and mitigate attacks from such weapons.

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It is important for the public to be aware of these types of weapons. By becoming educated on the various types of weapons and how best to respond in the event of an attack, your chances of surviving are significantly increased.
 

For more information, visit:

• FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness

• Homeland Security’s National Strategy for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) Standards

 

Service Contact: 

Bioterrorism Division of the Department of Health - HEPRA

Contact Phone: 

(202) 671-4222

Contact Fax: 

(202) 671-0707

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Contact TTY: 

711

Office Hours: 

Monday to Friday, 8:15 am to 4:45 pm

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