What would your scenario look like if say an EMP hit right now?

[maloy]

Go home and take a nap.

An EM pulse will not knock everything out. It may overload the electrical grid or cell towers, but most vehicles will still run. It is only in the movies that happens. Heck my truck was struck by lightning and fired up fine and its a '98 Chevy.

It will have the biggest impact on the economy for many weeks afterward. There will be layoffs in manufacturing and banks will take a while to sort things out much like the aftermath of Japan's earthquake, but with less physical destruction.

There will be looters as the biggest problem in large urban centers, and small town USA will be coping and working it out. As for the US military, hopefully they will be unleashed to do one big smack down on those responsible if it is man made.

Maloy

[Dragunov]

Jump in my '72 Mustang and go get my wifeand bring her home from work if EMP nuked her Rover. Kids would stay at home and wait for us. It is summertime and they're out of school and have loaded firearms accessable at all times.

After I get home, open a soda, add a shot of moonshine in it and some ice, kick back and watch what happens. I would set night watch in four shifts after discretely barricading the vulnerabilities in my house.

Next day, get up, slice about 70lbs of meat from my freezer and three very large salmon, hang 'em on the drying rack after they thaw. Break out the SHTF equipment and play a board game with my family.

[reb1861]

Dragunov, sounds like you got it figured out. Since we don't would more that likely be at home, out here in the woods. Will sit back and see how it plays out and go from there.

[reb1861]

Should say since we don't (work)

[orangerabbit]

well in mostly likely hood if a EMP has gone of im pretty sure there will be some bigger  problems to come soon. ill be lookin for a decent basement or cave/bunker to go and relax in. fall out is sure to follow after the rest of the nukes drop. unless a EMP was created differently then a nuke in the atmosphere. 

[thespork]

Go home and take a nap.

An EM pulse will not knock everything out. It may overload the electrical grid or cell towers, but most vehicles will still run. It is only in the movies that happens. Heck my truck was struck by lightning and fired up fine and its a '98 Chevy.

It will have the biggest impact on the economy for many weeks afterward. There will be layoffs in manufacturing and banks will take a while to sort things out much like the aftermath of Japan's earthquake, but with less physical destruction.

There will be looters as the biggest problem in large urban centers, and small town USA will be coping and working it out. As for the US military, hopefully they will be unleashed to do one big smack down on those responsible if it is man made.

Maloy

Thanks for the dose of rationalism..
Folks seem to want to believe that EMP means that every thing electrical, goes T.U. and never comes back up. Feeds into some sense of paranoia/fantasy.... It just doesn't work that way, unless you are close, so close that EMP is probably the least of your problems..

[yugoshooter]

Go home and take a nap.

An EM pulse will not knock everything out. It may overload the electrical grid or cell towers, but most vehicles will still run. It is only in the movies that happens. Heck my truck was struck by lightning and fired up fine and its a '98 Chevy.

Most vehicles will NOT run after an EMP. If EMPs from the sun in the 1800s can fry telegraph wires and telegraph tappers you can bet that an EMP will fry the sensitive circuit boards in todays machines.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0odJKYTzXg8


Besides as Freight has stated so many times on this subject, If there is no threat from EMPs then why did the gov spend billions of bucks on making all their equipment EMP resistant.

[Treeweasel]

Go home and take a nap.

An EM pulse will not knock everything out. It may overload the electrical grid or cell towers, but most vehicles will still run. It is only in the movies that happens. Heck my truck was struck by lightning and fired up fine and its a '98 Chevy.

Most vehicles will NOT run after an EMP. If EMPs from the sun in the 1800s can fry telegraph wires and telegraph tappers you can bet that an EMP will fry the sensitive circuit boards in todays machines.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0odJKYTzXg8


Besides as Freight has stated so many times on this subject, If there is no threat from EMPs then why did the gov spend billions of bucks on making all their equipment EMP resistant.

It's not that there is no threat but that the threat is not as all inclusive as many people think. Military vehicles have been shielded for decades for EMP so that they could operate on the proposed "nuclear battlefield" of the cold war.

[Goran]

It will have the biggest impact on the economy for many weeks afterward. There will be layoffs in manufacturing and banks will take a while to sort things out much like the aftermath of Japan's earthquake, but with less physical destruction.

There will be looters as the biggest problem in large urban centers, and small town USA will be coping and working it out.

Maloy

I concur.

In Smalltown we got six months of provisions so lets play dominoes. In urban centers any excuse is a reason for looting.

[pepsi71ocean]

hmmm, i would run out of work and try to start my old diesel truck up (the one i take to and from work). get home and then try to see what happened and plan accordingly.

[USAFgsm]

Been chatting with a friend over this, basically telling him to, at different points  in his day just imagine major disaster like EMP as an example.

Driving, at work, at the grocery store etc.
Home doesnt count as most would stay put, or you are home and your spouse/kids arent then what.

Try it sometime.


Right now I am in the basement of the building I work and boom, lights go out, no emergency back up as they are controlled by a UPS system (electronic).
Grab flashlight and head out to truck. See if it will start.

depending on what building I am working in I might have my work truck (09 tacoma) or my POV 74 Bronco, or commuter motorcycle.
tacoma and MC prolly not gonna start but Bronco should be fine.
Anyhow right now its the Taco, it doesnt start, people are starting to freak a little as everything is dead.

Time to grab my get home bag.
Backpack with essentials I think might be needed to get me the 23 miles home through Denver metro to the burbs where i live.

Do you just start walking straight down the street with purpose?

do you try to stay off the main roads and take side streets?
head for the native areas (non buildable green belt sections through city areas) and foot it through those?

try for the 10 mile walk to my other building where my Bronco is and see if it will start?

I have food provisions for me for about 2-3 days, a Katydyn hiker filter system, water bladder, rain gear, camp stove, mini saw. Large knife, small knife, decent first aid kit .380 sig P238 with 100rds etc etc

How long does it take to get 23 miles on foot with potential hazards and people freakin out?
crashed cars everywhere, planes etc

How long would it take the Sheeple to realize something bad happened and start freaking out? 10 minutes, 1hour, 5 hours?

do I become a target as i appear to be headed somewhere with a plan?
total civilian pack and clothing to try and blend.

So if it happened right now what would you do and how would you react?

12:37 pm Wed 5-11-11 (not this evening when you read this from home)

I think you would have plenty of time to get home.  You're way over estimating people's reactions.  Most people don't even know what an EMP is... they would just think the power was out, oh and their car won't start either, so bummer.  The last time the power went out for an indefinite period of time here, people were more concerned about drinking the beer out of their fridge before it got warm.  It actually brought people closer together for a couple days, because they weren't inside on their facebook... the only thing there was to do was to go outside and hang out with your neighbors.  I don't think you would draw much unwanted attention hoofing it home.  If you only go 2 miles per hour, thats around 10 hours to get home.  It would take much longer than that for people to REALLY start to freak out.

[2ndsight]

I would fire up my oil lamp and read a good book.

[ranger1968]

I would fire up my oil lamp and read a good book.

 Yup.

[Ride Naked]

I am completely unprepared for a situation like this, something I just realized after reading this thread that I NEED to work on.