Prepare: Remembering Civil Defense

Once upon a time ago, long before FEMA botched up hurricane relief and the TSA went around feeling people up in airports, the United States used to have a program called about civilian preparation called Civil Defense. Run by the Department of Defense, Civil Defense was charged with providing for civilian relief and response during natural disasters, but was primarily for preparing for the populace war and surviving the aftermath.

Civil Defense had its origins during World War 2, but that organization was concerned with blackout drills, aircraft spotting and civilian war effort organization. Following World War 2, civil defense fell by the wayside, until the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb. At that point, the US realized that the potential of a intercontinental nuclear war and its effects on the civilian population. Unlike preparing cities for convential bombing, nuclear weapons brought a new dynamic into play.

Cities struck by atom bombs required suitable sheltering in place and avoiding the by produced effect of nuclear weapons; radioactive fallout. That meant an appropriate shelter underground and stocked with adaquate supplies of food, water and medicine to support the shelter inhabitants. It was assumed that a nuclear war could come with little notice so shelter dwellers might arrive with nothing more than the clothes on their back.

Further, civil defense required new communications between the public and the military. The use of air raid sirens and the new Conelrad radio plan were devised and developed to alert civilians in the event of attack. The air raid sirens were the same ones used during WWII, but were soon upgraded and made part of every city and town. The Conelrad radio system designated two separate radio frequencies found on any AM radio. Listeners were instructed to tune to either one (or sent to the other by the originating station) for important alerts and news. The Conelrad system was replaced with the Emergency Broadcast System which basically commandeered all radio stations. This system is still in effect today.  

Through the 1950's, individuals purchased or built their own fallout shelter at home. It was quite common during this time period, and especially after the Soviet Union demonstrated the first intercontinental rocket, for homeowners to dig a shelter in the backyard or convert part of the basement for fallout shelter duty.

When John Kennedy became president in 1960, the US kicked off a true nationwide, civilian civil defense plan into action with the Community Shelter Program. Thousands of office buildings, churches and schools were inspected and determined to be adequate for sheltering civilians for a period of up to two weeks during a post-atomic attack period.

The shelters were stocked with federally designed and funded supplies. Food, in the form of crackers, wafers and high cabohydrate candies, barrels of water, radioactive detection equipment, medical supplies and hygene items. The supplies were meant to last for years and upon regular inspection, could be rotated and replaced by the Civil Defense in concert with local authorities.

Some of the public shelters were huge and could house thousands of civilians. There were public shelters which were elaborate and were cleverly placed in chambers attached to massive bridges and overpasses. Rows of boxes and barrels of supplies filled alcoves and closets deep under public offices and schools. By 1965, more than 100 million civilians could be temporarily housed and fed up to 700 calories daily while sheltering for 10 days to two weeks underground. 

By 1970, Congress lost interest in funding an active nuclear war civil defense and preparation system. Shelters were ordered to keep supplies in place, but replacements were no longer available. Many of the supplies went bad; crackers turned rancid, water barrels rusted, medical supplies expired.

In the late 1970's, President Carter changed the name from Civil Defense to Office of Emergency Management reflecting a change in the federal government's plans for dealing with potentential nuclear threat. Despite the constant and real threat of nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union, the government adopted the philosophy that the cost of providing some basic protection for civilians was too high and the maintance work too much.

By the 1980's, at the height of the Cold War, most public shelters were cleaned out of decaying supplies and closed up. The familiar yellow and black signs remained, but little else was prepared for civilians in the event of an all out attack. The government recommended that civilans evacuate from cities and created a paper only plan which would shepherd civilians out of major cities along packed highways and direct them to overwhelm unprepared rural towns.

With the formal end of the Cold War in the late 80's, civil defense for all intents and purposes died. Weekly siren tests were cancelled. Remaining equipment like survey meters and dossimeters were auctioned off. Fallout shelter signs came down and public shelter areas were closed off. Many of the buildings which once held shelters had long been torn down or refurbished. A 1960's list of Community Shelters might only contain one or two buildings in a city which were still standing or had the same name 30 years later.

To this day, the news often reports of the discovery of an old abandoned and forgotten public shelter still stocked with molding crackers and rusted barrels of water. Writers scratch their collective heads and comment on the assumed futility of such preparations. The idea that the government would create a cost effective and workable plan which could have sheltered at that time, half of the civilian population, seemed ludicrous.

With the attacks on September 11, 2001, many asked where the public shelters were in the event of a nuclear attack and most were shocked to learn that there were no public shelters any longer for civilians. While the heads of government had secret bunkers scattered throughout the US, civilians were left to fend for themselves. Instead, the population was advised to purchase some bottled water and plastic wrap, hide inside their condominiums and wait for FEMA to show up.

What's worse, is there are no stockpiles of supplies, no matter how crude, available any longer. There are no readily available long term food supplies, hygene kits or survey meters available. In the event of an attack, cities and civilian governments will be left to distribute what food is available in grocery stores and warehouses and depend upon radiation detection equipment available to first responders or hobbyists. There are few who have any idea how to construct a fallout shelter or determine if a shelter is adequate for use.

Ironically, nuclear weapons have not gone away like the Civil Defense system has. More countries have atomic bombs than did during the early 1960's with more working on acquiring the technology. In many ways, the threat is higher than it was during the Kennedy era. Yet the US government, for the past thirty years has hoped that the "head in the sand" mentality will make the problem go away.

Regardless, it is up individuals and groups to prepare for the potential of a nuclear attack. Fortunately, the knowledge and supplies are available thanks to the internet. Anyone can prepare a simple shelter at home and stock it with food available from the grocers. Even survey meters and dossimeters are available online. The problem, however, is Murphy's law states the shelter will be in one location and the owner in another the day the nuclear weapon goes off. That was the beauty of the Civil Defense system - a shelter could be only a few blocks away from 90% of the population at any given moment.

This post is nothing more than an overview of the Civil Defense system we once enjoyed in the United States. For a better and more conise history with lots of great pictures and personal experience, please visit http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/

Water Barrels and Storage

Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food

Prepare: Vivos Constructs First Underground Shelter

Remember Vivos? I posted the story here not long ago. There is a follow up story on CBS of all places today. Fair use applies.

Vivos is the brain child of inventor and real estate investor Robert Vicino of San Diego. The concept behind Vivos is simple; a network of underground shelters with space for sale to persons wanting to avoid end of the world scenarios like nuclear war, plague or some "2012" disaster.

In my origional review, I was skeptical about Vivos for a variety of reasons namely, none of the shelters had been built. That is allegedly not the case now.

Vicino announced that the first shelter is under construction in an undisclosed location (near Barstow, CA). Using a defunct, Cold War era telecommunications shelter as the framework, founder Vicino has plans for a fourteen thousand square foot underground compound.

That's good news for the reportedly "hundreds of investors" who have given money for the project as they now may soon actually have somewhere to go in the event of a disaster.

There were some points made in the announcement which struck me...

"There will be double layers and razor wire. This will be an impenetrable compound when we're done," Vicino said  

We all know, no compound is impenetrable. If the front door is locked, go find a window.

The first is being built here in the Southland this summer, converting an old blast-proof Cold War relic, which was designed to keep copper phone lines alive.

Well, we know where it is (Southland, Barstow, CA) and it is part of an existing facility (phone lines) which means Joe the Raider or one hundred thousand refugees know where to go as they flee from LA.

In the event of a disaster, Vicino said owners would meet at rendezvous points and could be escorted in by helicopters before the facilities would be secured.

Even the government has a hard time gettting that plan to work well.

"You know, I've had a lot of people say, 'I don't know if I want to be around after something like that happens,'" Vicino said adding, "Why? It could be a nuclear blast, you need shelter, but the rest of the world might be fine. Who is to say that the world won't be fine afterwards? Might have a lot less population, but it could be very nice world."


To be fair, this actually is a good point which nay sayers overlook. A nuclear war will most likely be limited in today's world. Having a shelter to go to will put survivors ahead of most of the populace. I just have a hard time with the $50000.00 price tag per person. Oh well, time to start digging.

Prepare: The spectre of nuclear war

 The meeting in New York this week between several nations discussing the proliferation and threat of nuclear weapons brings up today's post. The threat of nuclear war is still with us, but is far different than it was originally.

In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the possibility of full scale nuclear war appeared imminent, here is what the family of the time faced. Dad might be a few miles away at the factory or office, or maybe downtown whereas the family lived in one of the new tract home suburbs popping up across the United States.

A fallout shelter might have been in the basement or perhaps in the backyard if they had the time or money. It was stocked with cans of Campbells Soup, powdered milk and Sanka instant coffee. In the event of a nuclear attack, Civil Defense sirens would sound their low warbling tone, and radio stations would switch over to the Conelrad system with the purpose of instructing listeners of what actions to take.

An nuclear attack on the US in 1962 would have been carried out with long range bombers, some short range submarine launched missiles and a several intercontinental ballistic missiles. The US would have had anywhere between twenty minutes to an hour or more before a bomb might land near their location. At the same time, the US would have scrambled hundreds of bombers from across the US and launched its own intercontinental ballistic missiles once confirmation was received. Submarines would have moved to launch positions and wait for the second or third salvo. Some US Navy ships would do the same.

1962 Dad may have time to get home and get the family to the shelter. Mother would have filled water containers and collected more canned food from the kitchen. Sissy would get her favorite doll and Junior his baseball glove. Dad would have collected a flashlight, batteries and maybe a portable AM radio and placed them in the shelter. The family might have to spend as much as two weeks in the shelter to avoid fallout.

If Dad could not get home, or if other family members were away, they might have had to shelter in one of the public fallout shelters found in many office and public buildings. There, they would have access to basic medical supplies, energy biscuits, canned water and other supplies put in place by the Federal Government Office of Civil Defense.

Today would be a different situation. Very few countries possess the ability to launch multiple nuclear devce bearing vehicles at the US. In today's terrorist attack world, a nuclear device may be smuggled into the country and detonated in a van or storage container. The nuclear weapon may actually only be a conventional bomb with nuclear material creating a "dirty bomb" instead.

In this case, there would not be any advance notice or time for preparation. If a country did launch an attack on the US, most people do not have a fallout shelter or access to one. The US Civil Defense Department was renamed FEMA and in the past thirty years, has removed nearly all Civil Defense supplies and closed public shelters. Even the old Fallout Shelter signs have been taken down.

People who used to work in the same communities they lived in, now may be 40,50 or 60 miles away from home. Mom and Dad both work these days and Junior and Sissy might be at school, an activity or at a sitters home. Basically, the whole family could very well be miles apart when an attack happens. Further, as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina showed, a nuclear attack would quickly overwhelm city and public services nationwide and the government may be days away from any response.


In a nutshell, let's hope that the world powers work out a good way to avoid nuclear war, rather than make it a possible reality. Simply put, we are not ready and as a society, would most likely not survive.

Do you have food insurance?

Prepare: One Nuke Attack In The US

There is a program coming on one of the cable channels soon which explores what happens when a nuclear weapon is detonated in Washington DC.

Of course there will be some incredible graphics and special effects which will make this worth watching. The rest will all be fantasy as well as nobody can accurately forecast and plan for what would surely be the worse disaster in U.S. history.

That being the case, let's consider what might happen if Washington DC or another large metropolitan area were attacked with nuclear weapons.

First, the country will be stunned. Remember September 11, 2001? Most of us sat in front of the television for hours (it seemed like minutes) as we witnessed that terrible attack on the country. Many of us were to shocked after seeing the first tower go down to get up and do anything. For hours.

If a nuke goes off, expect that to be ten times worse. Some will sit still. Others will go into shock, hysterics and panic. Some will get on the phone, others in the car and others will try to book flights and start packing bags.

Here is what you should consider now: There may be more bombs. Soon. And maybe where you live. Get the shelter ready or get out of dodge.

If you are not supplied, you could go pick up a few more things. But remember, there are plenty of older Americans who remember the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as millions of panicking others wanting canned goods and bottled water, and they will be emptying out the stores just as fast. Plan and shop now.

Next, there will be panic. As stated above, some will jump in their car, get the kids and start driving to the boonies even though they have nowhere to go and did not even pack a bag. Others will go the airport. There will be misinformation spreading as people in California and other distant states panic over getting fallout from DC. They will call the city and government demanding to know where the nearest "bomb shelter" is. They will call the Congress person and mayor wanting to know where to go.

Then comes the first boot to fall; the government's initial reaction. The government will not want to panic anyone and will release a statement about what they know and a few preventative measures they are putting in place now. For instance, the government may ground civilian aircraft, limit phone calls or close certain roads. But that is the light response. The next shoe to fall will be much louder. That is why you need to prepare now.

The next communication from the government will put most of the U.S. under some sort of martial law. Most likely, it will limit travel (no panicking mobs allowed to leave the cities), they will limit firearm and ammunition sales (a dream come true for the Feds and now they have the chance), they will limit food and water purchases to stop "hoarders" (useless now that most of the stores are empty) and they will suspend most Constitutional rights in order to "bring to justice those responsible for this heinous crime". I would not want to be out on the streets or having to deal with law enforcement when this happens. They will nail you for having an expired license tag and throw you in the gulag.

Afterwards, will come the rules change which is necessary to meet this new "challenge". Many resources will be sent to the affected zone including some things taken by force. Emergency workers will be nationalized and sent to dangerous areas to help the injured. Most of the Guard and Reserves will be called up. A crisis like this will present unparalleled opportunities for the Federal Government to fully take over many parts of the nation and its resources.

I have a hunch two things won't happen. First, a response commensurate with the attack itself. The U.S. will wring its hands and look for a scapegoat in the desert or somewhere else far away. Second, there will be no planning or preparation for the public if a nuclear attack were to happen again. No Civil Defense revitalization, no call for fallout shelters in backyards, no stockpiling of food and medicines for an emergency. Rather, it will be time to create a new Federal agency for our protection such as Department of Man Made Disaster Planning and Response. Thousands will be hired to "raise awareness" about disasters.

So right now, your best bet is to a) stock pile supplies now, b) get away from the big cities or have a place to go to with little notice, c) be prepared to live low profile for as long as possible, and d) learn to do without. There may be a time when all help and services come from the government and the requirement is total subservience and forfeiture of assets.

Good luck

Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food

Prepare: North Korean Nukes and You

"North Korea said Tuesday it would use nuclear weapons in a "merciless offensive" if provoked"

OK - so what does this mean to You?

First, let's set something straight; North Korea does not have the ability to fire a missile at the continental U.S. and hit Los Angeles, Seattle, New York or Houston yet. But they do have the ability to hit Alaska, Tokyo, several targets in China and of course South Korea.

So, if you live in Indiana, New York or Florida, how will that really affect you.

Here's a scenario for your Tuesday afternoon:

North Korea keeps making noise and South Korea, realizing they have the military edge on the North and knowing that each day means the North will be developing more nukes and the means to deliver them, invades the North.

Within hours, the 38th parallel is overrun by the South and Pyong Pang is in danger of falling to ground troops. The mighty nutjob running the North not only pulls the nuclear option by nuking two or three targets in the South, he also fires a few missiles at neighboring states China, Japan and Russia to spread the pain around.

China drops a few back on the North and Russia does as well. Japan officially does not have any so the U.S., after taking a poll and checking with a focus group, decides to fire a tiny nuke at the already smoldering ruins of the North.

Suddenly, without any further escalation, we have a dozen or so nukes being detonated in a tiny area of the world. Guess what happens then?

We have fallout spreading from the east and drifting to the west from the Korean peninsula towards the U.S. Guess what happens then?

After the news media reports fallout is on the way (and not having any understanding of the subject) panic spreads across the U.S. and every unprepared, ignoramus runs out to the store and starts piling Spam and Campbell's soup into their grocery cart.

Or loads up the car and heads "to the country".

Or flocks to the nearest official looking government building and asks "Where is the fallout shelter?".

And then Mr. Unprepared looks over at your house and says, "That nutjob next door was always buying big bags of rice at Costco and he has all those guns and that funny thing for radiation on his keyring. I am heading to his house!".

And then the Federal Government, already in the process of commandeering food and fuel for the Korean Cleanup and Mobilization, decides that too many Americans running around and panicking are a nuisance and distraction from their real job of "governing". Ta-Da! Martial Law is declared, (temporarily of course) nationwide to bring order to the country.

Naturally that order includes making sure everything from housing, food, fuel and money is equitably distributed for the "common good". Suddenly, that stash of Mountain House and Emergency Essentials food at your house is declared to be a community asset and you are arrested for hoarding.

Those with foresight have already headed to their "Bug Out" location, but under martial law, they find themselves at a temporary address and not at their permanent address which is required to receive food and fuel allotments. The Bug Outers may then change their job description to Raider and Looter (temporarily of course) and begin resource allocation.

In the cities, the urban elite decry the lack of shelters, food and other preparations for their comfort at the expense of others and begin to vocalize their discontent. Destruction ensues.

Meanwhile, some leaders in the world, upon seeing that a nuclear weapons can indeed be used for "limited" warfare, decide to drop a few more just to "finish up the job". Soon all the members of the World Nuke Club decide to hurry up and use their stored weapons before the other guy does.

And so begins the great decline across the whole world all because of a few nukes in another country. Could this happen? Sure, why not? But what matters more in the above scenario is what will you do?

Wouldn't it be nice to have ..

- a supply of food carefully obtained over time far from the probing eyes and curiosity of neighbors?

- a secret location off the beaten path to wait things out?

- some basic protection and detection gear?

- lots of basic knowledge such as where to get water, grow food and repair things?

You can. By taking a single nuclear weapon serious and making some plans and getting prepared now. Wouldn't you agree?

Prepare: Nuclear War Preparedness

North Korea has allegedly detonated a nuclear device. While the U.S. news media is still pondering the question and intelligence agencies question the claim, those nearest to the location, namely Russia, say a nuclear device has been set off.

That aside, while North Korea does not have the ability to rain atomic warheads across American cities, it highlights the dangers of nuclear war in the world we live in. While some readers may think "cooler heads and diplomacy will prevail", what happens in the scenario South Korea decides to take out the North with conventional means drawing China and Russia into the scrape and thus the U.S. and bingo! Global Thermonuclear War'.

What would happen if a nuclear bomb or device was detonated nearby?

First there is the blast. Depending upon the size of the device, the area of immediate blast destruction may only be a mile to several square miles. The thermal effects would be far reaching, perhaps up to several miles as well as structures and flammables (like clothing and air) ignite.

After the blast, debris, in a ground detonation, is thrown upwards and out into the atmosphere. What comes up, must come down and it does. This radioactive charged material is called fallout and it is where the most injuries and deaths in a wide area will occur. Fallout is disbursed by the prevailing winds thus, a city or home downwind from a detonation will receive some fallout from the explosion.

How can anyone get prepared for a fallout?

First, dispel the notions that the world will immediately come to an end. Google "Creason Kearney's Nuclear War Survival Skills" (the link is to the PDF of the book). This book was written by a researcher at the Oak Ridge Nuclear Facility in Knoxville, TN. Kearney spent years researching the outcome of nuclear conflict during the Cold War and the affects on society. Based upon his research Kearney made several proposals, many of them small protection steps normal Americans could do which he tested, for preparing and surviving a nuclear attack on the United States.

When this report was released in the 1980's, it was promptly attacked and debunked by the media and others with little if any knowledge of nuclear technology or the effects of radiation. Rather, suggestions for civil defense were tossed out in favor of the supporting the nuclear freeze movement of the time. Too bad. The information, while dated, is still relevant.

Don't forget, when it was written, the U.S. was staring down the barrel of the Soviet Union which was targeting thousands of multi-megaton weapons at nearly all of our cities and military installations. The situation today, while dangerous, does not have as grave of outcome as then.

Now, take a visit to KI4U. Read every link on the first page. Believe me, it will open your eyes and leave you in a better prepared state of mind.

If you can afford it, pick up the Package from KI4U. You will know it when you see it.

Next, consider going to Amazon and picking up some extra KI tablets. I purchased two bottles there and they last for years. Read about KI and you will learn that it may protect the thyroid from absorbing radiation which may prevent cancer later on.

Prepare a shelter at home.

If you have a basement, you are in better shape than those without. The secret to a fallout shelter is mass between you and the radiation outside. The more mass, the better off you are. KI4U has expedient shelter designs anyone can do. Don't forget to plan on air circulation!

Next, get supplies.

Food -
Long term storage foods like flour, rice, dried beans, cooking oil, sugar.
Canned foods.
Easy to prepare and eat foods like canned ravioli, chili, canned beans, canned fruits and vegetables. Protein bars and snack foods are good as well.
(Don't run out and buy 10 cases of MRE (meals ready to eat). If you have not lived off them before, your body will need time to adjust). Don't forget the beverages like coffee and tea if you drink them regularly.

Water -
Lots of water. Get bottled of course because it is easy to purchase and store, but also store your own in buckets, old soda bottles or water storage containers. Also fill the tubs at home as well when an attack comes. Stock plenty of bleach and water filter systems.

Medicine, health -
This means over the counter (OTC) drugs like aspirin and cold remedies. Hand sanitizer. Bandages. Vitamins. Prescriptions.

Tools, lights, cooking -
Hand tools, flashlights, lanterns, batteries, (candles are a no-no in a home shelter if possible - they eat precious oxygen). A Coleman two burner stove for cooking or a hot plate and batteries.

Protection equipment -
Don't go looking for a radiation suit, they do not exist. Rather, after and only after the REM level has dropped off, a Tyvek suit, with respirator, gloves and boots may be worn outside to check the shelter. This suit is only worn to protect the wearer from beta particles (gritty ash and dirt fallout) which may have accumulated outside. This must be washed off before reentering the shelter. For that matter, a rain suit or poncho may work as well, but keep exposed parts of the body covered.

Aftewards -
After a nuclear weapon is detonated, whether it is one, a dozen or several hundred nationwide, there will be a severe disruption in activities and response from the authorities. You will be on your own.

Plan on providing your own food, care and protection. If you have the means to evacuate to an are free from damage and radiation, and you have somewhere specific to go, then leave.

With so many countries now possessing nuclear weapons and more struggling to join the club, sadly, it is a matter of when and not if a weapon is used. Please get ready and prepare for the worse.

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

SHTF: EMP Attack

Last month, everyone was talking about the new book, "One Second After" and for good reason. It is a mainstream publication (not a story on a survivalist forum), was written by an established author with several other respected works and has been touted by famous authority figures (Newt Gingrich, for instance).

"One Second After" follows a single father of two daughters who has to deal with a sudden Electro Magenetic Pulse (EMP) attack on the United States which leaves anything and everything connected to the electrical grid or dependent upon modern electronics dead in the water.

If this were to happen here and now and if you have not researched EMP and its effects, let's take a walk through what might happen.

First, an EMP attack involves a high altitude nuclear detonation over the continental United States, maybe even a number of them. Within seconds, theoretically (we do not know the full potential damages or limitations, it has never happened outside of a test zone), all electronic and printed circuit boards would overload unless they were shielded and grounded.

That means all cars not running, all aircraft, all modern powered systems, all forms of transportation would cease to operate. There are some who believe that an automobile already running may continue to run until the fuel systems ceased delivering fuel correctly - maybe for a few minutes, maybe until the car ran out of gas.

Aircraft without proper shielding would lose power and would fall from the skies or crash at take off/landing. This is the most chilling ituation as thousands of aircraft fall from the skies. Older aircraft would still be airborne, BUT, would not be able to use the air traffic control system. They would quickly have to land wherever it is safe to do so.

Cars would not start. Some older models might be able to (pre-1970's to make it easy for shoppers checking online for an EMP safe vehicle). But those vehicles would find roads and parking lots grid locked. A case where the car runs, but there is no way to go anywhere may quickly develop.

Those cars that are running and shut down would create slow moving catastrophic chain reaction car wrecks in every major city and interstate.

Power would shut down almost immediately. Power stations, transformers and relays would all die and power generation stations would have to shutdown, if they are still running, to avoid power feedback.

Loss of power would mean a lot of things would have no lights and power. But here are some serious implications: incubators, respirators, operating rooms, and other medical equipment. Those on the table may die; those in ICU may as well.

Loss of power means all hospital and health care functions, short of administering medicine would come to an end. Generators may come on with manual assistance, but they will not kick in automatically. Those systems would also go down.

So would traffic lights, air conditioners, the 911 system, computer call centers, credit card processing, automatic doors, scooters, call boxes, and every other electronic based device in the path of the EMP burst.

What would happen first?

A lot of confusion. Most people will stand around and wait for something or someone to do something.. Those with children, older relatives and pets will go at once to their charges. Some will take advantage of the situation. Looting, theft and random acts of crime.

There will be panic, especially as airplanes and cars crash. There will be fear as many will rightfully believe this is terrorist attack and will expect worse soon after.

Most of all, there will be little if any communication. There will be no radio, satellite television, cable or internet. No instant communication which we are accustomed to. If the government, local or federal, manages to put together a broadcast, most of us will never hear it nor know where to tune in as we will have no notice or system of communication.

The government brings up another issue. Much of the military has "hardened" hardware in the event of an EMP burst. There is a good chance different chains of command could be organized and put to use. However, the U.S. military is limited in size and much of it is overseas. There would not be an organized effort directed at every city in the country. Don't expect to see National Guard troops in your neighborhood handing out MRE and water bottles.

Here is something more. With no communications, don't wait wait for some sort of organized plan regarding food and medicine distribution. Many will get emergency supplies (small amounts from under prepared and overwhelmed adhoc efforts) simply because they were in the right place at the right time.

But wait, it gets better. What will happen to the two million prisoners in our city, county, state and federal prisons? With no power or food deliveries, expect them to be released en masse by who ever is left guarding them. Or perhaps they will have already broken out within a few days anyway.

What about law enforcement? There are no working radios or police cars. No dispatch. No 911. Other than randomly walking around (or riding horses or commandeered working vehicles), police will be limited to what they see and hear. And most law enforcement, unable to contact the family, will simply find a way to head home to protect their own.

Within one day, expect chaos in most urban areas simply because nobody in our information driven society will know what is going on.

Within three days expect the deaths and injuries from the initial attack start to overwhelm survivors.

Within a week expect the point of no return, that is, unless some miracle takes place and power is restored. By this time, there will be no running water in the cities. There will be widespread crime and looting. There will be no force sufficient enough to organize any sort of reconstruction or rebuilding.

At this point, the only fortunate ones left will be those who are far enough from large groups of the hungry, sick and dangerous who will begin moving out from their current location to new parts where supplies may be found.

The fortunate will be those who have either sufficient medications for their illnesses and conditions to see them through the crisis or simply are healthy enough to not need regular medications.

The fortunate will be those who have a supply of food, clean drinking water, means of protection (both from bad guys and disaster) and the ability to grow more food in the future.

An EMP attack is probably one of the worse scenarios imaginable. 300 million otherwise healthy twenty-first century people, completely unprepared for life "on their own" cast into the equivalent of the 1800's without warning. Ugly.

You see who will be prepared. An EMP attack could happen tomorrow. Most of us will be caught with our pants down. However, we can make plans to get ready for this sort of disaster along with our normal emergency preparedness plans.

- Store food
- Store water and have a way to get more, clean water.
- Can you grow food? Raise meat?
- Do you have all the normal medicines you need? Do you have extra?
- Do you have a running pre-electronic ignition vehicle? How about a horse or bike?
- Do you have a working tube radio? How about a working short wave radio?
- Do you have at least one firearm and no how to use it? What about ammo?
- Do you trust your neighbors? Do you know them?

Lots to think about.

An EMP attack can happen. The technology is here and those with the motivation are legion on this planet.

Be Prepared For Anything Survival Guide

SHTF: Best You Can Do Scenario

Note: Michael - this one is for you!

Best Case You Can Do Scenario - Part 2 of yesterday's post.

For the past several months, you have been quietly purchasing extra food and storing water. The events of Hurricane Katrina, compounded with the gas and food shortages of 2008 have prompted you to make some real changes in you and your families' lifestyle. It just so happened that a new government, more terrorism and nukes in every other third world nation coincided with your decision.

Having kept a close eye on the news, you saw the writing on the wall. Clearly there was going to be a global war or as close to it as possible. With military forces spread so thin, it would most likely escalate to nuclear war and soon.

You called your boss and took advantage of that two weeks of unused vacation time a little bit earlier than usual. Rather than be stuck twenty plus miles away in downtown, you plan on staying close to home.

Your wife could not take time off, but is not going to work unprepared. Her car has a full tank of gas, or as near to it as possible, at all times. In the trunk is a "bug out bag" containing shoes, change of clothes including socks, food, water, flashlight, N95 masks, a first aid kit, a .22 semi pistol with 50 rounds spare, a multi tool and a folded tarp which can be made into a shelter or rain cover if needed.

In addition, the two of you have agreed upon alternate routes from her office to home. Along with her cellular, she has a FRS radio with a five mile range and spare batteries in the car as well. In the event of emergency, she is to head for the house without delay.

The kids are still in school, but with you nearby for the crisis, you plan on picking them up no matter what happens. The kids know to stay at the school until you arrive. Three other families have been given permission to pick up the children should you not be available. There are code words and procedures in place for the children to follow in the event of emergency.

The kids have their own mini emergency kits in their backpacks. They include extra food and water, but also a poncho, flashlight and another FRS radio in a plastic bag with extra radios. They know when to turn it on and not to play with it.

When the President's announcement goes out over the air, you go into action. Your first job is to get the kids from school. You phone your wife and tell her to head home directly. In the car, you speed dial the children's school. As expected, its busy, but you know how to get them out of there.

Once at the school, you get both kids and get them in the car. Heading home, you see the first lines forming at the gas station. Your car is full and there are five five gallon cans full at the house waiting.

Once in the door, you direct the children to start filling both bathtubs with water. You splash a bit of bleach into both tubs and get in the kitchen. You pull the contents of the pantry down to the basement. In the corner, you have a bricked off 10 x 10 section. Sure, its not NORAD, but it will provide more protection than 99% of the population has right now.

Besides the contents of the pantry, you move down stairs everything from the medicine cabinet, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, all the batteries and lighting you have carefully stored.

You already have "The Package" from Rad Meters so you are good to go there. But you supplemented by picking up extra KI online.

Your wife comes in and announces there is a line out the door at the Kroger grocery store down the street. No, she did not stop in. She has been tripping over the extra canned and packaged food in the house for weeks now.

You direct the family to continue bringing things downstairs while you mount the pre-cut plywood over the windows. You put both cars in the garage and lock the house down tight. You put out the solar panels you purchased at Harbor Freight in the back yard and make sure the line running to the basement is well hidden.

In the basement, the six 55 gallon drums are full of water. There is a basement faucet you will use until water pressure drops too low. The bathtub water is for when you come out.

Around dusk you here the sirens going off upstairs. Your turn off the main electric breaker and gas line to the house, secure the house one last time and get to the basement.

Outside you think about the poor souls still on foot trying to make it home. You did not have a fortune or a well stocked hidden retreat, you just did the best you could with what you had.

Maybe you will make it. Maybe not. But at least you tried.

Prepare: Nuclear War

I watched this clip on You Tube this morning. There are several others related and like it on their so there is plenty of depressing footage available if you are so inclined.

What struck me are the people either standing around with their mouths open or panicking like morons. Yes, I have never been in a nuclear war, but these are actors and the directors/producers obviously wanted to create an image of how people would react in this scenario.

I know a bunch of people who would go into "ready mode"; that never gets portrayed in films though.

For instance, I have my computer up most of the time. The TV is almost always on and I carry a Blackberry 20 hours a day. If something happens news wise, I am usually on it. Example: During Sunday's Easter Egg hunt, I was the one who informed the other party goers of the rescue of the Maersk Alabama's captain moments after it was announced.

So, I find out that nuclear missiles are being launched. The internal clock in my head says "twenty minutes max" until something lands nearby. Let's get started!

Where is everyone?
Locate the wife and kids. If kids are at school, my butt is on the way to get them now. School is on speed dial. Call school, get my kids into the front office now.
Kids at home? Good. Get them in the house and get ready to go.
Wife not at home? Call her cell, tell her to get her butt home now.

Start loading water
Water is the most important product we will need. Start filling the bathtubs after throwing a splash of bleach in the bottom. Two tubs in the house, both will get filled.
Next, grab the jugs and bottles kept in the kitchen and put the kids to filling them up. Do the same with any and all tupperware and other type containers in the cabinets as well.

Start getting the food together
We keep food all over the house. Canned goods, pasta, buckets, you know like the rest of you. I am going to be stock piling all of it in my shelter in place (we will address that in a second).
Most will come as it is in plastic covered cartons, but loose cans and other stuff will be thrown into laundry baskets and storage containers.
And the contents of the fridge will be put into that giant ice chest sitting under the shelf in the kitchen along with all the ice and some of the frozen foods too.

Get the cars into the garage
And disconnect the batteries and ground the vehicle. I want this thing to start afterward if possible.

Close the windows and shutters. Lock up the house.

Get the family into the home shelter. Pile as much additional stuff around us as possible for mass. You can never have enough mass protection from fallout.

Get radios, gloves, masks, tools and other stuff. Most of it is already pre-positioned inside the home shelter, but I have a tendency to borrow stuff and use elsewhere.

Bring in the phone. Call anyone one last time.
This is crucial. Let's say you have friends or family away from the zone of damage, but close enough to drive too. If they know you are prepared and sheltered, they may be in a position to come to you afterward or expect you once the radiation levels have tapered off.

Now, what is the home shelter and shelter in place? It would be swell if we all had a swanky underground shelter with twelve months of supplies, blast door, filtration systems and multi entrance/exit hatches and room for forty. But let's face it - who has a couple of million around to buy one of those?

However, any of us can build an expedient fallout shelter in our home with enough time. The best bet is to have it laid out now and have the necessary materials on hand. First, google Nuclear War Survival Skills. Second, go to RadMeters4U and read this whole piece on What To When Nuclear War Is Imminent.

Our home shelter is in the center of the house where the most mass is located (We do not have a basement). The attic above the space has several large full storage containers. The surrounding walls comprise with bathrooms, closets or other inner walls.

Heavy materials such as storage containers, full drawers, boxes and other stuff will be put along the walls. I have several doors and pieces of plywood for the over head. These will be layered with additional storage containers, clothing and other stuff for mass protection.

The hallway has a right angle which will serve as the air flow port. Another is designed on one side.

I have already purchased dosimeters and KI for additional protection and detection. After the radiation levels have dropped off a couple of things will happen. We will leave and go to friend away from here or we will try and make a go of it here.

Is this plan fool proof? Of course not. If it were up to me I would have 15 acres one hundred miles from the nearest 7-11 complete with an underground shelter and storeroom. I would also have wings, could read minds and could shoot like Alvin York. Wishes and fishes. I have to work with what I have and where I am. Adapt and overcome.

A few more things...

The chances of an onslaught of nuclear warheads raining down from Russia are far slimmer than they were in 1982. Times have changed. So have our adversaries. Those nuclear weapons may arrive in rented u-Hauls or shipping containers today.

Why did I not mention running to the grocery store? You have to do that now. All of us should have food and water stored. Last minute water can and should be obtained because you can never have enough.

What will the world look like after a nuclear attack? Who knows. It will stink come to think of it. But I would rather prepare for my kids than sit at home watching them starve and wishing I had done something now.

Good luck and get off your computer and get some fresh air.

SHTF: EMP, One Second After, Gingrich

Newt Gingrich on the Dangers of EMP Attacks and a new book, One Second After by William Forstchen.


Checking the news this AM, I see that Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House from Georgia, has raised the alarm about the dangers of rogue nuclear states and the threat of an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) attack.

An EMP attack takes advantage of the massive amount of electro magnetic energy released by a nuclear device. Theoretically, an EMP blast would render inoperable sensitive digital circuits such as those found in computers, cars, telephones and other pieces of our nation's infrastructure.

Like the nuclear blast, the higher in the altitude the pulse takes place, the further it reaches. Again, in theory, a single EMP explosion, or chain of similar releases using nuclear weapons, could knock out most post 1950's technology in its path.

An EMP attack would give an enemy a decisive advantage. Their target would have no modern communications or weapons systems available to prepare and counterattack. Further, the damage to the civilian infrastructure would tax and possibly destroy a country's ability to recover. Moreover, because an EMP attack does not leave radiation or widespread damage often associated with a nuclear weapon, the land and much of its facilities would be ready and waiting for an invading army to take advantage of.

The affect on our society would be irreversible and unimaginable. Planes would drop from the sky. Automobiles, immobile, would clog the highways and streets. Communication, energy and food production would ground to a halt. All modern medicine would revert to the Dark Ages as diagnostic equipment goes offline. Law enforcement would be overwhelmed and quickly non-existent.

The question is could we survive?

First, anyone dependent upon technology or modern medicine for their daily survival is a near goner. I hate to sound gloomy, but if there is no power than all those machines aren't going to be functioning. Further, modern medicines will no longer be produced or available at the local Walmart any longer.

Next, my opinion is that the cities are the worse place to be simply because of the concentration of people, the sheer numbers of mouths to feed and the lack of space to grow anything to eat more than a Chia pet. However, most souls in the U.S. are clustered in and around cities.

So there is a good chance that a die off around 90% of the population would not be too far off. Quite frankly, between starvation, resurgent illnesses, crime and lawlessness, most of us don't stand a chance.

Preppers, however, have long prepared for an "post-EMP America" scenario. Unlike the uphill difficulties of radiation or pandemic, being ready means focusing on low tech solutions and storing enough basics for survival.

Because the ground and air are not contaminated and people are not walking pestilence carriers, a working survival community can be designed and prepared in most locations.

Having a remote location such as a farm or ranch is ideal. Food means having several acres of land for grain and vegetable crops, an orchard for fruit and enough space for chickens, goats, rabbits and cattle for meat, dairy and egg production. As important, is the knowledge and ability to produce food without modern machinery and having enough fuel on hand for a pre-1950's tractor and truck.

Stocking medical supplies helps, but having a trained doctor, dentist and nurse would do wonders. Also having skilled mechanics, carpenters and electricians around to build and repair older, pre-computer equipment would go a long way.

Finally, being in the best location and having the tools to defend the community would be the final piece determing whether or not we survived or not.

I think Gingrich speaking out on this subject comes in relation to his part of the release of One Second After by William Forstchen. One Second After is a new book written in the same style as the classic Alas Babylon (and Lights Out for us online fans!).

A father with two small daughters living in rural North Carolina faces a new, dark future after an EMP device is exploded of the U.S. sending the country and most of the world back to the dark ages.

This sounds like a great book as it deals with the aftermath of the attack for some months afterwards and tackles, as the review says, "some obvious and some not so obvious questions"

I love stories like these and am happy to see them in published form and with the press attention to go with it. I hope it wakes some people up and unlike zombies or lizard men from Mars, nuclear attacks are a very real end of the world scenario. I can't wait to get this book either online or at the store.

I don't know if I agree with Mr. Gingrich that one nuclear bomb could destroy the U.S. - at least not in the situation described in his article and built upon in the related book.

However, I do know that one nuclear weapon exploded in a major American city would cause a long term shock to the American people and a short term wave of panic like none of us have scene since 1962.

Best case is to be prepared for any eventuality and you know what that means.

Good luck,