EMP. Mass Casualty Event.

While it wouldn't be an immediate mass extinction event, or extinction level event, an EMP would have catastrophic effects on our way of life.  This would take us back to lifestyle that used to be enjoyed 100 years ago.  While some of the peace and quiet would be nice, why isn't our country taking more of a proactive stance regarding this type of event?  After all, there will inevitably be millions of casualties directly and indirectly from the effect of this EMP event.


Even the U.S. Government Accountability Office says that work to mitigate the danger of an EMP and other threats to the electrical grid needs to have more attention, much more attention right now. More threats to the electrical grid include

• EMP
• Solar Storm
• Large Space Objects Colliding with Earth (Asteroids, Alien Ships:)
• Terrorism
• Cyber Attacks
• The Age of Our Electrical Grid (and expense of rebuilding)
• Squirrels (true)
• Nuclear Attack

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Energy are not doing anything towards reaching a safety goal or plan for the impending event, as recommended by the EMP Commission.

Communication is more important than much of what our technology is used for, other than for medical.  Without communication methods, there would be no news on what happened to cause an event or how big the event was.  There would be no leaders to gather people even at the city level (in most cities).  The communication would have to start from scratch from the natural leaders within various neighborhoods. 

After all, most of the things listed as threats to our electrical grid would cause permanent damage. In the case of an EMP caused by any of those threats that can cause an EMP, there will be widespread (even country-wide and further) damage. Even telephones would not function (except for the antique ones with the ear piece that you take off the hook and the mouth piece that you speak into).

EMPs have been a concern of Presidential Administrations since George W. Bush. Estimates say that a large scale EMP there cause at least 2/3 of the population to die within the first year.  If that doesn't say concern, look into the details and into whether your family and friends are dependent on technology to live.

Who do we rely on in an emergency that would not be able to respond?

• Police
• Fire Department
• Hospitals
• Paramedics
• Doctors Offices
• Etc

The GAO has put together a plan, as of March of 2016 to protect critical infrastructure in the case of an EMP. The document is here. In this document, there are strategies regarding the possible causes of EMPs, but the strategies are a paragraph long at best with basically statement reaffirming that an EMP is possible in those scenarios, therefore offering no real strategy.  This is due to the fact that the fixes to prepare for any of the possible scenarios is extraordinarily expensive and time consuming. Few security exercises have been performed to prepare as well.  In other words, we are on our own to rebuild society if there is a large-scale EMP.

Any country with nuclear capability can hit us with an EMP, or hit any other nation with an EMP. This would completely bring our nation to its knees.

Just days ago was a Hospital Emergency Response Training exercise for mass casualty events, run by FEMA.  The document is here. I don't see EMP as part of the exercise topics, so I hope what they taught covered emergency for mass casualty without electricity. What they really should mandate is localized training on how to build communications and electrical, as well as transportation from scratch, because that is what it will be.

The bill (H.R. 1073) shown below has yet to pass through Senate, after passing through the House last year.  I think more priority needs to go into our nation's military defense.  This EMP issue is a straight forward one that can come from most of our enemies with the touch of a button.  Talk about a "reset". I don't want to wake up one day to a literal do over.  I think I can speak for most out there when I say that it's time for the powers that be to wake up and get ready for what is around the corner.

Shown Here: 

Passed House amended (11/16/2015)(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on August 4, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Critical Infrastructure Protection Act or CIPA(Sec. 2) Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to define "EMP" to mean: (1) an electromagnetic pulse caused by intentional means, including acts of terrorism; and (2) a geomagnetic disturbance caused by solar storms or other naturally occurring phenomena.

Directs DHS to: (1) include in national planning frameworks the threat of EMP events; and (2) conduct outreach to educate owners and operators of critical infrastructure, emergency planners, and emergency response providers of the threat of EMP events.

Directs DHS to conduct research and development to mitigate the consequences of EMP events, including: (1) an objective scientific analysis of the risks to critical infrastructures from a range of EMP events; (2) determination of the critical national security assets and vital civic utilities and infrastructures that are at risk from EMP events; (3) an evaluation of emergency planning and response technologies that would address the findings and recommendations of experts, including those of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack; (4) an analysis of available technology options to improve the resiliency of critical infrastructure to EMP; and (5) the restoration and recovery capabilities of critical infrastructure under differing levels of damage and disruption from various EMP events.

Includes among the responsibilities of DHS relating to intelligence and analysis and infrastructure protection, to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees: (1) a recommended strategy to protect and prepare the critical infrastructure of the American homeland against EMP events, and (2) biennial updates on the status of such strategy.

Requires DHS to report within 180 days after enactment of this Act on the progress made in meeting, and on an estimated date for completing, the requirements set forth under this Act.