EMP Commission warns ‘blackout’ of electricity, food, water to last ‘year or longer,’ (TR)

Washington Examiner ^ | May 9, 2018 | Paul Bedard

[Perseverando]

In this May 21, 1956, file photo, the stem of a hydrogen bomb, the first such nuclear device dropped from a U.S. aircraft, moves upward through a heavy cloud and comes through the top of the cloud, after the bomb was detonated over Namu Island in the Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said his country may conduct a "historic" hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific Ocean. Many experts think North Korea wouldn't do something so risky, but it's hard to rule out given North Korea's steadily expanding nuclear and missile tests. AP

Parts of the United States would be starved of electricity, water, food, internet service and transportation for a year or longer by the smallest electromagnetic pulse attack on the electric grid, according to a newly declassified report from a federal commission.

The so-called EMP Commission report said that the threat is real, jeopardizes “modern civilization,” and would set back living conditions to those last seen in the 1800s.

And as a result of the chaos, millions would likely die, according to the report titled “Assessing the Threat from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP),” from the recently re-established Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack.

“A long-term outage owing to EMP could disable most critical supply chains, leaving the U.S. population living in conditions similar to centuries past, prior to the advent of electric power,” said the July 2017 report provided Secrets.

“In the 1800s, the U.S. population was less than 60 million, and those people had many skills and assets necessary for survival without today’s infrastructure. An extended blackout today could result in the death of a large fraction of the American people through the effects of societal collapse, disease, and starvation. While national planning and preparation for such events could help mitigate the damage, few such actions are currently underway or even being contemplated,” added the executive summary.

Three reports on the issue have been declassified by the Pentagon and seven more are awaiting clearance.

The warnings in the report somewhat echo those made a similar commission a decade ago. But this time the feared attacks aren’t just from a solar event but a potential atmospheric nuclear blast or cyber hit launched by North Korea, China or Russia.

What’s more, the report warns that despite President Trump’s focus on the issue and demand for action, federal agencies are fighting over the issue and the Defense Department, which is factoring in EMP protection into its plans, isn’t sharing critical information to help civilian agencies and private firms make similar protections.

Also declassified was a report from Peter Vincent Pry, who served on a prior EMP Commission and is executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, spelling out the human toll of an EMP attack on the electric grid. He also advises the current commission.

In “Life Without Electricity,” he said the results would be:

Social Order: Looting requires dusk to dawn curfew. People become refugees as they flee powerless homes. Work force becomes differently employed at scavenging for basics, including water, food, and shelter.

Communications: No TV, radio, or phone service.

Transportation: Gas pumps inoperable. Failure of signal lights and street lights impedes traffic, stops traffic after dark. No mass transit metro service. Airlines stopped.

Water and Food: No running water. Stoves and refrigerators inoperable. People melt snow, boil water, and cook over open fires. Local food supplies exhausted. Most stores close due to blackout.

Energy: Oil and natural gas flows stop.

Emergency Medical: Hospitals operate in dark. Patients on dialysis and other life support threatened. Medications administered and babies born by flashlight.

Death and Injury: Casualties from exposure, carbon dioxide poisoning and house fires increase.

“President Trump’s withdrawal from the bogus Iran nuclear deal, and his determination to denuclearize North Korea, are all the more important because even a single nuclear weapon possessed by these rogue states would pose an existential threat to North America by EMP attack,” Pry told Secrets.

He also praised Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson’s focus on the issue in his role as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Reform Committee, but slammed “Obama-holdovers and Deep State bureaucrats” for ignoring the report.

The report warned that the type of conditions spelled out by Pry could last a long time due to the difficulties fixing the electric grid, which many have testified would be fairly cheap to harden against an attack.

“The United States -- and modern civilization more generally -- faces a present and continuing existential threat from naturally occurring and man-made electromagnetic pulse assault and related attacks on military and critical national infrastructures. A nationwide blackout of the electric power grid and grid-dependent critical infrastructures -- communications, transportation, sanitation, food and water supply -- could plausibly last a year or longer. Many of the systems designed to provide renewable, stand-alone power in case of an emergency, such as generators, uninterruptible power supplies, and renewable energy grid components, are also vulnerable to EMP attack,” said the 27-page report.

It called for a new wave of cooperation among government agencies to set protection standards, an EMP czar, and called for testing current systems against a simulated EMP attack.

“With the development of small nuclear arsenals and long-range missiles by new, radical U.S. adversaries, the threat of a nuclear EMP attack against the U.S. becomes one of the few ways that such a country could inflict devastating damage to the United States,” concluded the report. It added, “It is critical, therefore, that the U.S. national leadership address the EMP threat as a critical and existential issue, and give a high priority to assuring the leadership is engaged and the necessary steps are taken to protect the country from EMP.”

[kaktuskid]

What happens to all of the solar panels and wind towers?

[CottonBall]

“Those with proper prepping will have arms, food and water to survive at least three months. They will have to fight off the city folk for resources.”

I love my neighbors. And it was totally by accident that we ended up moving to a place where the neighbors were all prepared. I mean, we didn’t realize it at the time. We live on a short holler, that ends in the Cherokee national Forest. The neighbor at the very front of the road talk to me about how we could drop trees to stop anyone from coming in. And from his house he can see the road and take out anyone coming up. He also said he is keeping his black Angus herd for food and to barter, although he is retired and would rather give up all the work they entail. The guy at the very end of the holler has volunteered to be the armory for the road. He has enough ammunition to supply all of us, he says. However I don’t think that’s necessary since everyone else has their own supply. Everyone has Gardens. Most are from around here so they have the knowledge from their grandfathers and great-grandfathers. There are numerous Wells about, and people take power outages in stride.

I really had no idea we were moving into an area with people with the same mindset as us. It’s kind a hard when you’re looking at houses to go around and ask the neighbors about that sort of thing. Plus we didn’t want to tip our hand at what we were doing. And we really haven’t, we just kinda nod our head with these people but we don’t say too much. I don’t know if that makes them nervous about us or not, But they act like we fit in OK.

[palmer]

The solar panels are vulnerable to higher frequency EMP, but the effects are speculative mainly because nobody has really tested high frequency EMP-producing nuclear weapons. The turbines are primitive and should be resilient to most types of EMP. But I think solar would be fairly resilient too, and fine under a solar or lower frequency nuclear scenario.

[publius911]

That report is dated 2008.
Surely, some additional precautionary safe warehousing and protection of essential components have taken place since then.

On not.
Obungo was president and no one really knows where or how he blew 16 $trillion...

[DCBryan1]

FORTUNATELY, he had a coal stove and a good supply of coal.

WHere in the world would could a southerner get ahold of that!? I'd love to have one.

[metmom]

Actually, he moved from that place.

But the dream house, now.

That’s a different story.

While mr. mm is not a prepper or really prepper inclined, after that little episode, even he agrees with the basics of having an alternate course of heat and something for water.

Besides, there’s NOTHING that can beat wood stoves for steady heat and lots of atmosphere.

We had a wood stove in our old house that we supplemented with and sometimes depended on when the furnace went out and the part didn’t come in as promised.

I ws very surprised at how it changed the atmosphere in the house. The kids were much calmer in the living room when the wood stove was going. Not that they were so bad, but it’s a very peaceful thing.

[metmom]

I hope we get prepper neighbors but I don’t want to announce that we’re ready should the zombie apocalypse happen.

I’ll just surreptitiously plant nut trees and apple and cherry trees and raspberry bushes, and do my usual garden.

[palmer]

I think that 2008 report is what they are talking about in the article with some minor updates. The physics is unchanged. The nuclear EMP is still just as difficult to do effectively. The warehousing of parts is somewhat of a red herring. It is much easier and cheaper to protect transformers than to replace them. I don’t know how much protection has been done in the last 10 years, but it’s neither rocket science nor very expensive.

[polymuser]

Yep, we have a pretty exposed system of uninsulated above-ground wires and cyclone-fenced substations. Mainly unhardened, open to many forms of assault, from nature or men.

We’re able to go for a couple months, but even that takes planning, rotation, etc. Having propane (tank kept > 40%) heat + gas log, well & generator, and being very near game & fish would help some.

[Vermont Lt]

I was thinking the same thing.

One guy writes a book and the whole country goes nutty.

Yes...it could be a local issue. No, no one is going to detonate a nuclear bomb above our heads any time soon.

Yes...a Solar flare could do us in. But, not at this point in the solar cycle. Maybe in 20 years. Not now.

[Vermont Lt]

We are not deniers. Most of us have done some research.

Carrington event? Sure.

Full scale nuclear war? With what former nuclear power is that going to take place against?

[laplata]

I’m not going to go back and forth. Deny all you care to.

Logics and logistics dictate that it would be extremely serious and even deadly for many people.

[laplata]

A team of snipers could disable a portion of the grid by shooting out the largest transformers.

><

You think those huge transformers would be replaced in a few hours?

[CottonBall]

I agree, you can’t beat that ambience. Building the fire, lighting the match, watching it take hold, - it makes just flipping a switch seem so boring.

[CottonBall]

Yeah, we were just going to fly under the radar as well. Planting trees and doing gardening would fit in around here. As would practicing shooting. But the neighbors just brought all this stuff up on their own. The one at the beginning of the holler, they are very religious. He is preparing for the end times. I’m glad they’re so open about it because otherwise I wouldn’t know what they were thinking. But we tend to say a lot less, and they have no idea about all the food storage in my basement. But I will be happy to barter some of my homemade bread and beans for some of his beef!

[RegulatorCountry]

The mentality of the upland south being such as it is, it’s never good to be showy even if you can well afford it. Don’t get above yer raisin’ and all that. Low key is the key.

[GailA]

A Year? try decades. These Millennials won’t know how to function with out Tech equipment. They are so stupid about survival they’d have no stock pile of food, water, heirloom seeds, or know how to prep Faraday cages for some electronics. Much less know how to protect themselves from gangs that will take over.

[RegulatorCountry]

Flowers are going to be putting on a show right along about now into June up on the Parkway too, by the way. Have you made it for that yet?

[RegulatorCountry]

I’m honestly afraid my niece would just stop eating, curl up in a ball and die without her iPhone and social media. It’s really strange how it’s rewiring their brains, I dislike it intensely even though I’m online a fair amount myself. I can walk away though, know a world without it She doesn’t.

[Hugh the Scot]

"EMP-deniers"
What kind of crap is that?

Do you have any first-hand experience with EMP effects? Global warming? AIDS? The Holocaust?

Everyone who has a different opinion to yours is a DENIER?

You're apparently an imbecile.