An EMP Drops - What Is Your Plan?

[JohnyMac]

With D.C. in total turmoil, with the Chinese refusing to talk to our State Department or old poopy pants, and with Russia moving nuclear tactical weapons into Belarus; what is your plan for when an EMP is executed over part of the USA or some other drama befalls the country causing a WROL (Without Rule of Law) situation?

According to Jonathan Hollerman once the EMP drops, you only have 72-hours to get to your bug-out location if that is the plan.

Then the next 3-4 weeks will be complete WROL where a large percentage of the American population will die of natural causes along with unnatural causes. Then things will settle down. Settle down to well fortified defensive positions within tribes, villages, towns, etc.

If you plan on traveling after that 3-4 week grace period, it will be a crap game as to whether you will make it to your destination.

So I have friends and family who live within 30- minutes of the new murder capital of the U.S.A., Philadelphia. They have no plan of what to do when the SHTF. They do not have enough ammo to stop the hordes coming out of Philly. They do not live in a defensive position to begin with. Most of their neighbors are blue voters and will be slaughtered. If those blue neighbors are prepared along with your red neighbors, what happens when their ammo and food runs out? Again, they live in stick houses which are undefendable.

So, what is your families plan? Share it here so we can all learn before the storm comes. Think PERSEC as you share your plan however, sharing your plan could help to get someone here at UP off the couch and help them put a plan together.

Here is MrsMac and my plan.

Nothing to much changes with the exception of heightened security around the AO. I will give out the extra BaoFeng radios to the neighbors I have held off doing so, so far. Wait for the refugees that have been invited to arrive from their suburban hell holes. The arrivals will of course be here within 3-4 days after the event or I will probably never see them. 

So what is your plan? 

[Felix]

"Plans?   We don't need no stink'n plans"...

My "family" (by wife's lineage) lives down in Phoenix, AZ.   A hellhole in best of Summertimes if you ask me and an absolute death-trap the rest of the time IF services take a hiccup, such as an EMP would be.   Back "in the day" peoples could and did travel across the Arizona territory covering distances like those between Flagstaff and Phoenix on foot and on horseback.   So I know it is possible.   By my calculations, figuring best, safest (avoiding other people) routes, their physical challenges, I reckon the journey could be made in about one very long week (on foot).    Yet their normalcy bias precludes any planning, prepping or serious forethought of the matter.  A "conspiracy theorist" like me only brings up unpleasant BS.
I doubt I'd ever see them again.
So my plan?
Is to survive and serve as a resource in my neighborhood.   "When you can't be, with the ones you love, love the ones you're with".
Garden expanded again this year, learning seed-to-seed continues, all focus on maintaining life in a world with no more resupply, no more electrons flowing from afar.   Without knowing, I would reasonably guess that at least half the folk around here have made no provision for disaster.  Will I survive them?   Only God knows...

[JohnyMac]

Thank you Felix for sharing.

I have a MAG member who's wife is 100% any prepping. She feels it is a worthless waste of money and energy. He was very frustrated so I suggested the following.

Rent a self storage unit within an hour or two walking distance of your AO. Fill it up as money allows and not tell his wife.

Even better, go 50/50 with another MAG member who has similar issues or storage space.

I spoke with him a couple of weeks ago that he and another MAG member did just this thing and he feels a lot better.

With that issue solved for him, what is security going to look like? One man is not an island. Stick houses will not stop 5.56 rounds. What do your comms look like? I bummed him out with these additional questions, however, they have to be asked.

Admittedly, this is a tough question.

[Jackalope]

    Funny you bring this up, as I was talking with a prepper friend on Memorial Day about EMP strikes and how it would be handled.

    In my situation, not much would change, we're prepared for most probabilities.  Neighborhood defense is the primary priority.  If the outer perimeter is well established, then you shouldn't need to excessively worry about 5.56 rounds hitting your home.  The attacking forces should worry more about the reach of a .50 BMG round.  I plan on just hunkering down in my neighborhood, growing vegetables and raising my poultry, while heavily armed.

  I think most average citizens would be psychologically overwhelmed if the U.S, suffered a direct attack.  Most baby boomers and younger generations have never faced true, physical hardship.  It's going to be quite a blow to urbanites, that's for sure.  Imagine, no running water, as the toilets fill up with crap. 

   After 4-6 weeks of hell, the true survivors should be left.  I think we would see a return to 19th century technology for everyday life.  Solar systems would provide enough power for crucial electronics, but I don't think there would be much excess available for other things.  Life would be back to basics.  I imagine we would fracture politically, fiefdoms may end up being reality. 

    It's an interesting thought exercise.  Personally, I don't want to experience such a possibility, as I think life would short and brutal.

[DMCakhunter]

JM,

Basic plan is that if something happens (collapse, emp, nuke, major earth displacement) it comes down to transportation. If my vehicles work, we go to Wisconsin, if not, we stay put. Both locations are decently set up, but Wisconsin would be easier to manage.
Biggest fear would be I am traveling for work when it happens. Then I only have what I am traveling with.

[Sir John Honeybucket]

First, immediatelty turn off the main breaker for your house to isolate from follow on effects, additional attacks,  voltage surges incase some surviving power stations are Convulsively switched ON and off repeatedly, with little or no  voltage/phase regulation as might occur in a cyber attack to cause additional damage and electrical fires. 

SECOND: ASSESS AND INVENTORY your home, VEHICLES and electronics for damage. If it works and small enough, put it into a Faraday cage to protect it from follow-on attacks unless NEEDED immediately.

-----

1. Plan ahead:
     a.  I routinely keep x amount of electronics in a 'can'.  general listening radios, ham transceivers, calculator, old school/pre-cell gps...I should be able to listen and (GASP!) transmit when needed.

2.  Pantry (on STEROIDS).Begin wet jar canning,and/or  drying all meat from the deep freeze/freezer, and having gluttonous steak dinners whjile the meat is fresh.

3. Our garden is already producing strawberries, and other CROPS are -already- close to first harvests.  Our main problem here is bunnies, which are of course also a food source.

4. We live on the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  big water means, food (Fish, crabs, oysters shrimp &etc), transportation & etc.  Pro Tip: Read the ILLEGAL PRACTICES  section in your local FISHING REGULATIONS and then use these methods they listed, so that you will eat well.

5.  Being an EMP scenario, there is no radioactive fall-out from a high altitude burst. HOWEVER, I would make the point to do rad surveys multiple times per day, just in case SOME TARGETS UPWINd were hit with ground bursts, which DO produce radioactive fall-out..

6. Information.  Using one of my 'little plastic radios' kept in a 'can', I'd begin to map how large the EMP effects are noticeable.  I/e  If I hear WWV in Colorado, or CHU in Canada, I know that at least some stations on this continent are on the air in those regions.  AM radio stations, like Boston, Philly, Cleveland & etc. also help to map disruption in regional States and I will try to get some LOCAL NEWS from those regions.  National official government broadcasts are likely to be less reliable than the COVID information they were selling. Shortwave broadcaster from outside of North America might be on the air and maybe their nations were not hit.
- SCANNER: for local county information. Do we have ANY county emergency services on the air, Sheriff, EMS, local hams, marine VHF, Coast Guard (CH: 16 and 22A here...)?
MURS,GMRS/FRS, CB...

QQQ: I have excellent ham gear, connected to large antennas.  Why don't I use it to do this initial gathering? 

AAA: Because there likely might be more than one EMP strike, and a shrewd enemy might launch a second or third strike, days or weeks after the first strike to destroy the SPARE/emergency back-up equipment in use.  If I loose a $20 dollar plastic AM/FM/SWL radio, I have not lost much. If I 'have' to use any ham gear, I plan to be ON, and off the air quickly.  send my report - let's say and then tear down the station and repack it into the 'can'.  I do not plan to transmit from home...

7. We have several pounds of coffee, including nitrogen packed green, coffee beans, and about two pounds of pipe tobacco...  So, I only need  a smooth, aged Scotch to maintain mytraditional diet.

Back to cooking.  Beef vegetable soup, well spiced.

de Sir John Honeybucket.

[pkveazey]

Hmmm...... Well, the first thing that I would do is go out on my front porch and yell as loud as I could, "I TOLD YOU SO." Then I'd check every electronic device that I have. Next, I'd drag out all the Prepper Supplies and try to inventory them so I would know what I have and what I can trade away. That inventory thing should take about 2 days. Then I'd check with all my MAG members to see if their two way radios still worked. Hopefully, most of them would still work and if they didn't, I'd have to break out a few more from their Aluminum Foil Cocoons. Now, if there was any warning to expect an EMP, I'd break out the Aluminum Foil and wrap every two way radio, and every piece of electronic test equipment. I have multiple Bug Out Bags and each one has a two way radio and extra batteries. Hopefully my Generator would be OK because its kept in a metal shed. If it was OK, I'd fire it up to run the House. To save gas and preserve refridgerated food, I'd run it 4 hours on and 4 hours off. When there was no more fuel, I switch over to my smaller Solar System and run it 24/7. At some point, soon after the event, I'd get the MAG together and discuss our options and security measures.

[Sir John Honeybucket]

..."yell as loud as I could, "I TOLD YOU SO."   

GOLDEN COMMENT !




Then, get ready for all those people who said  : "If anything happens, I'm coming to YOUR HOUSE."     

[JohnyMac]

WOW! Great stuff folks!

[Sir John Honeybucket]

Oh and, if no fall-out detected after a few days,  EXPAND GARDEN IMMEDIATELY.

[grizz]

Pray its a worldwide event and go on with life

[JohnyMac]

I had my hair cut yesterday. I do not know how the conversation started however, the lady who cuts my hair told me that she through out all of her husbands preps. Her reasoning was that many of the canned items were past the expiration dates.

I asked her what would they do for food if Armageddon befell the USA? Her response was, "it's Armageddon who cares". Well now...

A couple of months ago I was facilitating a prepping lecture on dry good storage. One of the audience told the group the pastor of their church did not believe in prepping for a EMP level event as the good Lord will provide. Preparing for a blizzard or flood is okay, however, a EMP type of event will be the Rapture.

I asked him what are you doing? His response was that he is prepping and is taken during the rapture than someone that wasn't will benefit by his forethought.

Now I call myself a Christian. With that written, I believe as Algernon Sydney wrote, "God helps those that help themselves".

 

[Sir John Honeybucket]

That "pastor" needs to do a word study on the word "STOREHOUSE" and it's relation to tithing.  If he is not building and maintaining a STOREHOUSE 'that there will be food in my house" then he is derelict in his duties.  He should study the captivities of Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah/Benjamin (Southern Kingdom) and read anything dealing with "famine": and the absolute horror of death by starvation in Biblical times.  If he drove a car in the same irresponsible manner as he is (mis)guiding that small flock, he'd be either dead or in jail.  A pastor is to be the 'under shepherd', and the MASTER SHEPHERD assigned some very specific duties (responsibilities) to those who aspire to be undershepherds, as opposed to mere 'hirelings' who keep the flock for their desire to receive praise, while they eat mutton and wear wool. 

And remember:  2 Thess 3:10...

we would give you this command:
If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 

-...-

BANG! FLASH! WOOSH!  "Oh HONEY!!! What are we going to do?"

Don't worry, I already thought ahead to care for you. I worked a ton of overtime and already bought a year of preps during the past five years.  You threw it all away. Now YOU can take the shovel and walk down to the dump and try to dig it all up.

The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

[JohnyMac]

Amen Sir John. 

[Felix]

Good series of videos, perhaps suitable for your MAG meetings/training discussions/activities?
Here's one example...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OZTP-Y7Cy0

[Nemo]

Short answer, I have ties and setup to a working 220 acre beef cattle farm.  With sufficient housing and water/septic capabilities to take care of about 40 adults.

Nemo

[Trail Ninja]

Great ideas... I really like the mental exercises, keep them up.

My Plan A was 80% sustainable: homestead in rual setting, reliable neighbors, and a good network. But, too close to St Louis Metro Area. 

All that changed about 18 months ago. Now, here I am in cookiecutterville.

I'm in middle TN, SE of Nashville, looking for land further East. I don't know if you've been paying attention, but real estate pricing has gone insane!  I'm not happy with my current situation, but I am working to make it better.
Having said that, I have many preps and resources at my disposal. I managed to bring things of value to MidTen.

Plan B: (in motion as we speak) 
I live in an area that must be evaluated.  I have two trailers and two tow vehicles that are crucial to the plan.
T1. Supplies and Skills trailer. Ideally, this stuff should be at our BO Destination - if we had one (real estate prices...) but, it is what it is and that's where we're at.
T2. Living quarters/supplies trailer.

We are diligently working towards finding our BO location. 
We are preparing to form a MAG or join one.
What we really lack at the moment, is a network, due to the fact that we are relatively new to the area.

Plan B is not an actual plan as I see it.  But, with an actual BO Destination, within a realistic geographic area, it is sound, in my opinion.

I want to say that I really appreciate these posts. I've been on the couch and these posts have given me a new sense of purpose and motivation.

Trail Ninja out