The threat of an EMP has been around for many decades, but in the past several years, the concept and potential for an EMP attack have become mainstream.
There are many books, TV shows, and movies on the subject, and a Google search for EMP delivers 273 million results.
The problem with preparing for an EMP attack is that we do not know what will happen in the days, weeks, and months after the lights go out.
To this end, I have compiled a list of 10 events that will probably happen after an EMP.
Confusion
The first thing that will happen after an EMP attack is mass confusion.
This will be especially so if the EMP is strong enough to destroy electronic devices such as smartphones and radios. That is why you should learn here the only way to communicate after an EMP.
We are all accustomed to power outages, but when the power outage is coupled with other electronic devices being rendered ineffective, the average person will be perplexed about what is happening.
Panic And Looting
Once the confusion wears off, the general populace will panic immediately. When the power goes out, we expect it to be restored soon.
Related: Places To Avoid: Where Looters Will Strike First When SHTF
Even after major disasters, the power never stays off permanently. As soon as people realize that the lights are not coming back on, there will be panic, and that panic will lead to widespread looting.
Food Shortages
No power means that food production will grind to a halt.
This means that what is on store shelves is all the food that will be available.
Local distribution centers will have some additional stock, which will be exhausted in only a few days.
The result will be that whatever food supplies people have in their homes will be all they can expect to live off until help arrives in the form of international disaster relief.
Water And Sanitation Will Cease
Without grid power, the pumps which supply us with water and sanitation will have to switch to backup generators.
If those generators are destroyed by the EMP or run out of fuel, we will not have a source of fresh water, and the sewage that each home produces will have nowhere to go.
The result of this is going to be a massive resurgence of waterborne diseases.
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Furthermore, since the average person has never been forced to consider how to dispose of human waste properly, they will probably discard it in the most unsanitary ways. This will contaminate many freshwater sources in the area.
Hospitals Will Shut Down
An EMP will cut off the supply chain and the fuel for a hospital’s backup generators.
Without power or resupply, the doctors and nurses will have to cope without access to the equipment they rely on and a dwindling supply of drugs and other essentials.
Some hospitals outsource certain services, such as food, laundry, cleaning services, and security. After an EMP, the employees of these subcontractors will not show up for work.
Related: How To Properly Store Over-The-Counter Drugs And Medical Supplies
The workload placed on nurses and doctors will definitely cause most of them to go home to their families, especially when the news that the power will be out for months reaches them.
Prison Wardens Will Have Hard Choices To Make
When an EMP strikes, the electronics inside of a prison will also shut down. With prisoners outnumbering guards by a massive margin, the wardens of these facilities will have to place them under lockdown.
Once the wardens realize that the lights are not coming back on, they will have to decide what to do with the criminals.
Food, water, and supplies would cease to enter the prison; one by one, the guards would abandon their posts to return home and protect their families.
The choice would be to let the prisoners go, keep them under lockdown to die of either dehydration or starvation, or execute the lot of them.
Planes May Fall From The Sky
An EMP may knock out the electronics of the aircraft flying above us.
These planes will be turned into gliders.
Some pilots may be able to bring these planes to the ground in relative safety, but many aircraft will crash and burn.
There is little doubt that some of these planes will crash into densely populated areas causing mass casualties on the ground.
An Unprecedented Death Toll
It is estimated that an EMP attack could result in up to 90% of the US population perishing.
Without food, water, sanitation, or access to healthcare, the death toll would continuously ratchet up as the general population succumbed to dehydration, starvation, violence, preventable disease, injury, chronic illness, and a host of other causes of death.
There are a lot of people who live with illnesses that can be treated and managed through medication and regular treatments.
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Unfortunately, once these options are removed, these people will fall prey to their conditions in probably very horrific ways.
The Economy Will Drastically Change
When the electronic banking system fails, it is said that cash will be king. After an EMP, however, cash will have little value because the government that backs that cash is doomed to implode.
So instead, gold, silver, ammunition, medicines, liquor, tobacco, and other vices will be their own currency.
Likewise, food, clean water, and survival gear will be big-ticket barter items, and local economic systems will be formed based on the supply and demand of those areas.
One of the most valuable commodities that one could have to trade for anything is knowledge and skills. A jack of all trades could live like a king in a post-EMP economy.
Nuclear Plants May Meltdown
An EMP would trigger nuclear plants to do an emergency shutdown. The problem is that the fuel rods will still need to be cooled, so the pumps will still need to circulate the cooling water.
These pumps require power, and the diesel generators will only run for as long as there is fuel. Eventually, these plants will melt unless creative measures are taken to prevent it.
These meltdowns will result in an unprecedented nuclear catastrophe.
These are only ten probable events that an EMP will bring along with it. If we experience an EMP attack, we will likely see many unforeseen circumstances.
This means that the best thing we can do to prepare is to expect the unexpected and be as adaptable and creative as possible.
It is also critical that you develop as many practical off-grid skills as possible so that when the grid fails, you can stand a fighting chance at being around when the lights turn back on.
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