Are We Prepared to Stop an EMP Threat?

As we now know, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s missile launch tests have proven he can reach at least the western half of the United States.

There has been much speculation regarding whether he has a nuclear-equipped ICBM. Especially one that could withstand reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

But what if that fact doesn’t even matter?

It might not because he has threatened to hit the U.S. with an electromagnetic pulse. He would attempt to do that by detonating a nuclear weapon two or three hundred miles above our country.

And North Korea has already shown this ability. They’ve reached those heights in separate satellite launches.

There Would Be Catastrophic Consequences

What if Kim Jong Un were successful with such an attack? The consequences could be devastating for millions of Americans.

The attack would have the potential of carrying enormous destructive power. The same type of power as an atomic device, according to Harry Kazianis, director of Defense Studies at the Center for National Interest.

Radioactive fallout would spread through the atmosphere. It would leak into lakes, oceans, and into the soil. Cancer cases would dramatically increase over the decades.

What if – and we’re pretty sure it would – the EMP fried our electrical grid? We would be without power for an extended period of time. Many would perish from that situation alone.

Kazianis told Fox News:
“The casualty rates would be off the charts” if major cities such as New York or Washington, D.C. lost power for “only” a week.

East Coast May Be the Target

It’s likely the East Coast would be the target of an EMP. Why? Because of the huge population base and the centers of government in the nation’s capital. But also because it’s the area serviced by our oldest electrical grid.

The East Coast is a very electrical-dependent region of the country. If that grid goes down for weeks or months, the infrastructure will break down. We’ll see death and destruction unlike anything we’ve ever seen in this country.

Even if we were able to launch nuclear missiles at North Korea and annihilate that country in response… it would still not change the situation here.

We would still revert back into the 1800s. We’d go from being the most powerful nation on Earth to one of the weakest.

Why Isn’t the Government Focused on an EMP Attack?

With this type of attack, “There would be widespread and probably long-lasting power outages. Wire-line telecommunications systems… such as telephone and TV/Internet cable… would suffer serious damage,” according to John Gilbert, a retired Air Force colonel and senior science fellow with the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation.

The U.S. has known about the dangers associated with an EMP event for many years now. Former Nightline host Ted Koppel even wrote a book about this possible scenario in 2015. He titled it Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath.

But what has the government done in the meantime to combat this potential disaster? Not much, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Eight years earlier, this agency made recommendations to the government. Specifically on how to prevent calamitous outages triggered by an EMP. Last year they reported the federal government failed to set up these precautions.

More Important Than Ever to Be Self-Reliant

“The United States can provide better protection of the nation’s infrastructure (than it does),” said Richard Schoeberl, a terrorism analyst and former unit chief at the CIA’s National Counterterrorism Center. “The threat of EMP is completely plausible.”

Kazianis said that the U.S. is “highly vulnerable” to such an attack. “We should work quickly to make the necessary upgrades to ensure North Korea can’t catch us by surprise,” he said.

As self-reliant Americans, we know we can’t depend on the government to keep us safe. Looks like once again it is up to us as individuals to protect ourselves and our families.

That’s why many Americans are taking matters into their own hands and are securing their own solar powered generator.

Solar generators are a smart choice because they produce an endless supply of life-saving electricity when you need it most – and without gas, fumes or noise.

Our top recommendation in portable solar generators is the Patriot Power Generator 1500.

It’s a breakthrough device that generates up to 1,500 continuous watts of clean, quiet, and free renewable power.

That’s enough to power lights for safety and comfort, your computer, TV, or cell phone. Even small appliances like a small freezer or critical medical device that will sustain your family during a power outage.

You can see a live demo of it in action here