Pulfnick wrote:
The impact of a major EMP attack, like North Korea could launch simply by getting a nuke on a barge up the Mississippi and detonating it way up would effectively end our country forever, with mass starvation wiping out much of the population, followed by violent thugs terrorizing survivors.
I highly recommend reading "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen. This wholly realistic and plausible book is well written and is a good read. It helps put things in perspective, and will make even survivalists rethink beyond storing emergency rations, generators, etc. to survive.
The impact of a major EMP attack, like North Korea... (
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I read that book and it does paint what I think is a pretty accurate picture of what would happen if a couple of EMP's were to hit this country. It seems that most people think that an EMP would bring down the electric grid, which if would, but they don't realize that's just the start. It would also destroy all solid-state electronics. This means that any gas or diesel engine built in the last 20-30 years would not run. No cars, trucks, ships, generators, phones, radios, computers, internet, etc.
While the consequences of such an attack would be devastating and hundreds of millions would die, I personally don't think the likelihood is all that high. Remember, we (the USA) also have the capability to do this to every other country on earth and, since our military is spread over the entire planet, our capability to respond would not be eliminated by an attack on our mainland.
Personally, rather than an enemy country doing this, I'd be more worried about environmentalists or other terrorists. Remember, this would cause the death of hundreds of millions of people, which the environmentalists consider a good, if too small, start.
If I were going to try to prepare for this unlikely scenario, I would not try to stock up on food or supplies, since doing so is a fools errand. It doesn't matter how many consumables you stock, eventually you'll run out. Also, unless you are part of a very large, well-armed group (many mouths to feed) you won't stand a chance against the roving bands of thousands of well-armed and brutal marauders. Also, what's left of the military will come calling demanding you 'share' your bounty at gunpoint. Instead I would move close to the seashore and get an ocean-going boat (sailboat with a modified diesel engine w/o computer) with enough fuel, weapons and stock to get me to a country which was unaffected by the EMP. Since US currency would be worthless, and any money in banks would be inaccessable anyway, I would also bring gold with me to pay for initial expenses in the new country, until I could get a job. The boat would be walking distance from my dwelling.