EMP / Electromagnetic Pulse

Heat Wave

Electromagnetic Pulse

EMP (electromagnetic pulse) is different from all other natural and man-made disasters, most disasters are either local or regional in nature but a disaster of this type would be nationwide.

A nuclear weapon or a solar flare can create an EMP.

On March 13th, 1989 a huge solar induced magnetic storm that played havoc with the ionosphere, and the earth's magnetic field. This storm, the second largest storm experienced in the past 50 years, totally shut down Hydro-Quebec, the power grid servicing Canada's Quebec province.

A nuclear weapon detonated in or above the earth’s atmosphere can create an EMP (electromagnetic pulse), a high-density electrical field. It can seriously damage or bring down the entire power grid of a nation. This includes communication systems, computers, water treatment systems, electrical appliances, and automobile or aircraft ignition systems; a nations entire infrastructure.

The damage could range from a minor interruption to actual burnout of components. Most electronic equipment within 1,000 miles of a high-altitude nuclear detonation would be effected. The initial impact of an electromagnetic pulse is unlikely to harm most people; however, it could harm those with pacemakers or other implanted electronic devices. It's the long-term effects on a population who aren't prepared to survive without electricity that has many concerned.

Watch this short video of an interview with EMP expert and author of the 'One Second After' Bill Forstchen.

Commission to Assess the Threat

William R. Graham, chairman of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack and the former national science adviser to President Reagan, testified before the committee while presenting a sobering new report on 'one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences.'

The immediate effects of electromagnetic pulse are disruption of, and damage to, electronic systems and electrical infrastructure. Such a detonation over the middle of the continental U.S.'"has the capability to produce significant damage to critical infrastructures that support the fabric of U.S. society and the ability of the United States and Western nations to project influence and military power,' said Graham.

'Recovery could take months or years,' Graham warned. The fact that key components of the U.S. electrical grid are not even manufactured in America and must be ordered a year in advance from foreign suppliers suggests just how complicated and time-consuming recovery might be.