So you are sitting at your computer drinking coffee and checking all the latest going’s on in the world when all the sudden your power goes out. There is no storm so you assume that maybe someone ran into a power pole or maybe they are working on the lines. You have a few phone calls you need to make, you pull out your cell phone and it isn’t working, darn, thought you had charged it last night. You go outside to go to your car thinking you will just plug your phone into your car. When you get outside you notice there are cars stalled on the road. Now you are starting to get a little concerned. You notice it is awfully quiet, you live in the country so there isn’t normally a lot of noise but now it is unusually quiet. You try to start your car and nothing, won’t even turn over. By now you are starting to get a pretty good idea of what is going on, there has been an EMP or CME.

Do you have food, water, food for your animals, some way to cook, keep warm, protect yourself, do you have a get home plan for family members that may be already gone for the day & do they have get home bags with them, do you have any idea what you need to be doing right now, do you have a radio and other electronics in a Faraday cage,do you have a garden planted or a place ready for a garden and seeds, Do you know the local medicinal plants and how to use them, how many do it your self-books do you have, how much information that you have bookmarked on the computer do you have copied off ? How many skills do you and your family possess to survive this ? Are you ready and can you live like your pioneer ancestors?

And a  few things a lot of people don’t think about, Is the laundry caught up ( do you even have a way to do it with no power?) You don’t want to have a massive amount to do by hand. Are the dishes caught up? What about all the food in your freezer? Do you have enough jars and a way to can it? ( Do you know how?) Is the mending caught up? Is the weeding in the garden caught up? You are going to be so busy with other things in the beginning that the last thing you want to be behind on is weeds, you don’t want the weeds to overtake the garden before you can get to it since that garden is now more important than ever before.

So just what is an EMP or CME?

EMP stands for electromagnetic pulse It is a burst of electromagnetic radiation that results from an explosion (usually from the detonation of a nuclear weapon) and/or a solar flare (CME A coronal mass ejection same effect but from a major solar flare ). Electromagnetic pulses were discovered in the early days of nuclear testing. The pulse was actually a side effect of a nuclear blast and early tests of nuclear weapons found that electronics were severely affected by these pulses, rendering electronic equipment useless. They are so high up that there isn’t any risk of radiation fallout. Today, the electronic circuitry in every-day devices is more complex and even more susceptible to this type of attack. It is a little scary knowing that there is a weapon that can do this to all our electronic equipment and thus sending back to the early 19 century. Several countries are working on and have some have perfected it. You can go here to learn more about EMP’s  globalsecurity.org

So you have figured out what has happened, Are you thinking I really should have done all the above or at least started. Or you didn’t really think it would happen or happen this soon, or I fully intended to do these things but other things got in the way. Or are you thinking I am so glad I put up food and water, figured out how to cook with no power, can keep my family warm in the winter, have light sources (and can find them), have a way to protect ourselves? Are you able to go into the house and get things done that you have already preplanned and do a rough calculation as to when the rest of your family members should be home or get ready to go or get them at the designated meeting spot? There has been so much talk lately of EMP’s, N. Korean, Russia, China, and Iran are just a few who would like to do us in.

Not only do we have the threats of EMP’s our power grid is so very vulnerable. If there is a cyber-attack or an attack on the power grid, how much fuel is in your vehicles? How much cash do you have on hand to run to the store for a few last minute things before the rest of the populace figures out what is up?

I read One Second After by William R. Forstchen it was a very eye-opening book. It follows a small town that has been hit with a EMP. I highly recommend this book. Newt Gingrich wrote the forward to this book. He and several other congressmen have been trying to get the government to take steps to protect our power grid form and EMP. Because this isn’t something we will recover from in a few months it will take years to get everything back online and that’s if they can. And they feel it isn’t a matter of if but a matter of when.

I feel that if you are ready for an EMP with a few extra things you pretty much are covered for most all other things that could happen.

I would like to add with all the things that are going on in the world right now ( civil unrest all across our nation, record high stock market with very wide swings. What goes up must come down, just to name a few) it would be very wise to stock up on a few things.

So how ready are you?

Here are a few ideas to help you get ready. Not only will these help you in the event of an EMP/CME they will help in the event of a job loss, major storm, temporary loss of power etc.

Food
Stockpile at least 2 weeks of the foods you regularly eat. Once you have 2 weeks, build up to a month, and so on. Extra stored food is useful for a snowstorm, tornado, short power outage or even simply feeding your family while you hunt for a new job. Don’t forget to have a way to cook your food, too You can go here for more information on food storage and what you should have.

Water
You must have at least one gallon of potable (drinkable) water person per day. Store at least 2 weeks worth of water, or have a guaranteed way to get water without electricity. Get a bathtub water bladder and fill it as soon as you can after any extended power event (or before if you have warning, such as a snowstorm or Solar CME). You can go here for more information on water 

Power
It is possible a household generator would still function after a small EMP, so having the generator and some extra gas, or propane, could allow you to have limited power for a while. It would also be useful in storms. A solar USB charger can keep devices that survived the blast running without grid electricity. This assumes you store the electronic devices in a protected location such as a faraday cage. You can go here for more information on heating, cooking, sanitation, lighting and communications.

Medical
Get First Aid and medical training, and you can use those skills for a storm, EMP ,car accident or at home accident . See Red Cross training programs,. Buy or build a First Aid Kit that would serve you, your family and if you have the funds, your community. You can go here for more information an medical and first aid.

Defense
During an extended event, people causing trouble will likely be armed. Emergency services such as the police will likely be overwhelmed and difficult or impossible to reach. If you obtain a firearm, get proper training to use and maintain it. Establish good relations with neighbors before emergency situations, so you know someone has your back. (And you have theirs.) You can go here for more information on Self Defense.

Skills
You are going to have to rely on your self and your family to get things done. There wont be any calling the repair man or hiring someone to fix or build what you need. So you need to start now learning some of the forgoten skills such as how to sew, reload ammo, basic carpentry, etc things that our forefathers did. Get a good basic tool kit (hammer, knife, screwdriver, etc.). Think about what would you need if the power was out for days or weeks? Think about getting non powered tools and household appliances and kitchen tools.
Not only will these skills help you in a grid down event they can help you now and help to save money while doing it. You can go here to learn more about Learning forgotten skills.

Something you might do is have a lights out weekend. Turn the power off for the weekend and plan to stay home. This will give you an idea of what areas you need to focus on. While you are doing it you might also think about alternatives for the things you are using and eating because even if you have pretty good storage you will eventually run out so you need to be survive with out all the store bought convinces. It can be done the pioneers managed with next to nothing so can we.

So how ready are you?