Generally, when survivalists think of prepping for a crisis, they usually think of natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, etc. or events such as terrorist attacks or mass shootings.
Most do not consider an EMP attack as a very real possibility. Unfortunately, it is.
There was even an article in Forbes which highlighted the dangers of an electromagnetic pulse attack.
What is an EMP event?
Wikipedia states that an EMP event is…
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also sometimes called a transient electromagnetic disturbance, is a short burst of electromagnetic energy.
During such an event, almost all electronic devices will be rendered useless because of the damaging effects of the EMP.
An EMP event can be caused by devices (EMP bombs) designed to cause an electromagnetic disturbance, or other causes such as a nuclear detonation, solar flares, etc.
The problem of dealing with an EMP attack
Unlike natural disasters and many types of crises which to some degree can be predicted ahead of time, an EMP attack is usually so sudden that one barely has time to react.
While in terms of human casualties, the number is usually low in an EMP event… when it comes to electronic equipment damage and the devastating negative impact of having all your electrical equipment wiped out, this crisis is second to none.
Preparing for it is extremely difficult. Even if you have a Faraday cage at home, during an EMP attack, your mobile phone, electronic car keys, etc. will be on your person and be damaged. You don’t even have an opportunity to put them in the Faraday cage.
Household appliances such as refrigerators, televisions, etc. will be damaged too and there’s no way to protect them. Even with shielding in your house, they may still sustain damage.
So what do you do?
Tips to Survive an EMP Attack
For starters, make sure you have an emergency survival kit ready to go.
Next, you and every member in your family will need a spare burner phone. If you wish to still use a mobile phone after an EMP attack, there’s absolutely no other way around this measure.
Place all your spare phones, spare electronic car keys and other small electronic devices that you’ll need into a Faraday bag. Then place that Faraday bag into another larger Faraday bag. (This is known as nesting.)
You can easily purchase electro-shielding Faraday bags from Amazon
Besides these bags, you may also want to get a solid, formidable Faraday duffel bag here
The duffel bag is military-tested and the liner within the duffel bag will keep your electronics items safe, especially since they’re also in the smaller bags. ‘Layering’ your electronic items with shielding will help to protect them better.
Forget about building a Faraday cage if you’re not technically inclined. By purchasing the items mentioned above, you’ll save time and effort.
You may also wish to protect your car by getting an EMP shield for vehicle protection here:
There’s an important point to remember here: when your car and your electronic equipment is working while everyone else’s ones are not (because they were unprepared), you can bet that if you were driving around, you’ll be a target for a carjacking or a mugging.
Don’t forget, even the burner phones in the stores won’t work. Devices that are turned off still get damaged after an EMP attack.
So, you’ll want to be extra cautious about being seen with working equipment. It’ll be a good idea to have a firearm with you for self-protection and to prevent anyone from carjacking you. Rest assured, your gun will work just fine after an EMP attack.
What Else Do I Need Before an EMP Attack?
Other than protecting your electronic equipment, you might also want to get walkie talkies and batteries. Of course, these will go into your Faraday bags too.
Even if you have burner phones, you’ll want to have portable chargers/power banks to charge them. Make sure you keep the power banks charged and full on a regular basis. It’s a necessary hassle.
Despite your best preparations, since the electricity will be down, charging the phones after the portable chargers are used up will be difficult.
So, with long range walkie talkies that rely on batteries, you’ll still be able to communicate with family members should you be outdoors, etc. You can find many different types of walkie talkies on Amazon.
Besides these measures, you may also want to have enough canned and dried food supplies stored in the house. Having stoves and fuel will also aid in heating up your food.
An EMP attack will damage your microwave and refrigerator. So, you’ll want to start off by finishing up the food in your fridge first. Use a stove to warm up your food.
If you need light, you can use solar powered camping lanterns
In conclusion…
Preparing for an EMP attack is like firing shots in the dark at a target you can’t see. All you can do is think of how you’d survive if there was no electricity.
What problems would arise?
How would you overcome them?
What items would you need?
By picturing yourself in an ‘EMP scenario’ you’ll be more aware of what measures you need to take.
While the equipment mentioned in this article seem effective and you should get them, at the end of the day, you’ll only know if they work after an actual EMP event. So, be aware of that too.
You may wish to do more research on this topic and see what the possible repercussions are, and how to better prepare should an EMP occur. This is one crisis where the importance of preparing ahead of time cannot be overstated.
