The White House is preparing for catastrophic solar flares which can destroy the grid. What will you do to prepare for an EMP event?

CPO Andy Carrillo, MS — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 22:31:39 -0500

If a giant solar flare hit the Earth, it could knock out the entire power grid, meaning no more new Justin Bieber singles, no more televised presidential debates, and no more Facebook photos of babies [or, heaven forbid, RP postings!]. But it wouldn't be all good news. The Washington Post reports the electromagnetic pulse—or EMP—created by such an event could wipe out electricity for months on end, creating a global catastrophe. That's why the White House released its National Space Weather Strategy on Thursday. According to the Houston Chronicle, the multiagency plan details how the US will prepare for—and deal with—a massive EMP from space weather. The six-step plan requires government agencies, schools, the media, the insurance industry, nonprofits, and more to work together. In other words: We might be doomed.
http://www.newser.com/story/215329/white-house-preparing-for-catastrophic-solar-flares.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=foxnews&utm_campaign=rss_science_syn

A Giant Solar Flare Could Be Catastrophic for the Earth. The White House Has a Plan

"This is a real and present danger."

Response by CPO Andy Carrillo, MS made Nov 2 at 2015 10:37 PM

CPO Andy Carrillo, MS — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 22:37:11 -0500

NatGeo created American Blackout, a video that follows the first 10 days after a cyberattack.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/american-blackout/

American Blackout

Discover how people might react if the entire America is subjected to a blackout because of a cyberattack. Will the fear take over or will the human spirit win?

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Nov 2 at 2015 11:27 PM

Capt Seid Waddell — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 23:27:40 -0500

My life is about over anyway. It sucks to be young in such an eventuality.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 2 at 2015 11:33 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 23:33:41 -0500

Become a friend to the Amish folk and help them build a barn. They never worry about this.

Response by MAJ Keira Brennan made Nov 3 at 2015 12:43 AM

MAJ Keira Brennan — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 00:43:22 -0500

Are they wrapping the White House in foil like this house??

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 3 at 2015 2:19 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 02:19:31 -0500

no more Justin bieber and those kind of things? I'll cause the emp myself if I could

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 3 at 2015 4:58 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 04:58:33 -0500

What's pretty horrifying about this is, it's not that hard to build a device that emits an EMP. I'd be more worried about the nuclear reactors failing because the electronics in the control systems are fried. I guess it's a good thing that there's a plan being developed, but I wonder if it'll be swept under the rug, as solutions to this problem might prove expensive.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 3 at 2015 7:55 AM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 07:55:04 -0500

my family will be fine. enough food and water, and enough ammo for a small platoon, and know my neighbors are self reliance too ... just life become a lot harder.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 3 at 2015 7:56 AM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 07:56:32 -0500

Regard the topic of how USA recover from it? I prefer the government just concentrate on national defense. The people themselves and each states will do the rest.

Response by MSgt James Mullis made Nov 3 at 2015 9:57 AM

MSgt James Mullis — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 09:57:31 -0500

OK, despite what the article says, Solar Flares or Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) do not pose a significant threat to the National Electrical Grid. When a solar flare occurs it takes approximately 4.5 days to reach the earth. This gives electrical plants (and the public) plenty of time to shut down critical equipment and protect the grid from catastrophic damage. What does scare me are Electromagnetic Pulses created by upper atmospheric detonation of nuclear weapons (Iranian and North Korean nukes placed on simple single stage rockets and fired from cargo ships off the US coastline). The only real defence for this is an active missile defence system that can shoot down a missile in its initial boost stage (i.e. Star Wars). To defend the US we would need either a Geosynchronous Space based system (smart BB's or Lasers) or Airborne Laser systems that fly over both the US coasts and borders 24/7.

Response by MSgt Curtis Ellis made Nov 3 at 2015 11:51 AM

MSgt Curtis Ellis — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 11:51:08 -0500

Not a darned thing! LOL! Grab a lawn chair, pre-popped popcorn and a beverage and watch the Gov't comedy sideshow!

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Nov 4 at 2015 7:35 AM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 07:35:33 -0500

Living off grid wouldn't be so bad think of all the money you could save. It would be difficult for a lot of people who are so technologically dependent however.

Response by SSG Kevin Wells made Dec 4 at 2015 8:54 AM

SSG Kevin Wells — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 08:54:08 -0500

I find it funny, in the Emergency Management realm, we have worked hard over the last 15 years to go to an "All Hazards" concept of planning yet still insist that we need an individual plan for every conceivable scenario. While there are some scenarios that may not be covered by an All Hazards approach (CBRN events, Pandemic, Etc) because they present factors not previously considered, creating a new plan or annex because we changed flavors is ridiculous. Is an EMP destroying the power grid really that much different than say a Category 5 Hurricane destroying the power grid, or a terrorist attack taking out the grid, or any other number of conceivable events which may damage or destroy the grid on local, regional, or national levels. In the end its about managing our resources. A national event just means I can not depend on national resources coming to my aide. It might help us in convincing the political pundits in procuring more local resources, but in the end its all about resource management and community relationships.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Dec 4 at 2015 2:02 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 14:02:15 -0500

I would assume there is not way to really prepare and react to that. Does it means I can put my mind at ease about Global Warming?