Q&A for How to Survive an EMP

Not unless the EMP came from a nuclear blast and your solar cells are near the blast site.

Prescription medicines are the most important. Things like insulin, anti-psychotics, or heart medication. After that, it's really up to what matters to you. If you suffer allergies, you'll likely want some antihistamines. If you tend to get headaches, you'll need some ibuprofen. It's really up to you after the prescription meds are covered.

Unfortunately, probably not unless you know how to rewire a car. In most cases, vehicles that aren't electric or have a push-to-start ignition should run just fine since the batteries won't be damaged. The radio won't work, and you may not be able to turn the AC on, but it'll run. If you have an electric car, you could theoretically rewire it if you have replacement parts, but this would involve a lot of work with dangerous components in your vehicle.

If the generator runs on electricity, the corrugated iron likely won't have any impact. You could try wrapping it in aluminum foil to protect it. However, if it's a gas-powered generator the EMP won't have any impact on it.

Nope! This can work! It won't work if the device isn't entirely wrapped, but if you can get it completely covered it should protect the electronic circuits.

Your keys will still work. The car won't be locked. If you don't have the keys, you can use an object to carefully break the window and retrieve the food and water.

Anything fried by an EMP blast will be done. Your phone, computer, and other electronics will not be salvageable. The downtime for the electrical grid would depend on the government's response. Some experts guess the power would be down for 2 months, while other experts suggest it may be as long as 10 years until the power grid is entirely repaired.

No, mobile phones would not work, the electronics inside of them would be fried, as would the cell towers.

A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure used to block electric fields, so the answer is yes. It blocks signals from going out and in.

A High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse is created by a nuclear device that's detonated several hundred kilometers above the Earth’s surface. It can also be caused by a Coronal Mass Ejection from a solar flare, which creates rapidly changing electric and magnetic fields in Earth’s magnetic field. There have also been instances of EMPs reported from high energy bursts associated with comets' flybys with grid systems.

Instead of using a cooler use salt, a big bunch of salt enough to cover the whole piece of food can keep it preserved, especially meats.

The short answer is no. Anything on your car that has a coil of wire - starter, alternator, ignition coils, etc. - will be instantly fried.

Yes, if you cover it with corrugated iron.

Common sense is a pretty good metric for whether or not you should be playing music. If things seem calm, feel free to have fun, but remain alert. If you think you're in danger, or if it's getting late, keep quiet. Also, remember that, in the event of an EMP, you will not have access to electronics, so your games are going to be cards, board games, etc., which don't make any noise.

There could be an override signal, or the launch site is EMP protected.

No. It will only work if you cover it with corrugated iron to protect the circuits.

Guarding your territory is necessary in the event that someone attempts to raid it.

It depends. If, for example we are talking about an EMP caused by a high altitude nuclear blast, there's nothing you can do. If electronics are damaged, the ONLY way to recover them is to build the replacement parts yourself (or finding working ones).

In an EMP, this won't work, but a HAM radio can be used to contact other HAM users across the globe, quite literally. Buy yourself a small set-up, get your licenses and learn how to use them properly.

You would have find a working oxygen concentrator, or build one. Both options would be difficult. It would be easier to purchase one now in advance, and place it within a VERY secure Faraday cage. You then run into another much larger problem, though: how are you going to supply power to it? You would need to invest a significant amount of time and money into building and protecting a fully self-sufficient power grid for your home.

Make a giant cage out of wire mesh and or metal plates - kind of like making a big bird cage, just for a car.

Definitely. Just because the battery is out, the wires inside are still just as vulnerable to an EMP.

An EMP is over in an instant -- it's just a burst of electromagnetic radiation.

Yes, is recommendable to buy rechargeable batteries and a solar charger for them.

Renew your prescriptions as soon as it is allowed. That way, you can set aside 3 or 4 pills each renewal. Over time, this will allow you to have a small cache of your meds. Another way is to find a doctor who will write you a prescription and then pay out of pocket for your meds rather than put them through your insurance program. It's often expensive, but at least you can obtain a couple of vials, usually at least 30-90 days worth, which would be helpful in case of an EMP.

You can use a steel trash can and line the inside of the trash can with cardboard or rubber. To prepare the electronics to go inside the trash can, you put the electronics in a plastic bag (and wrap in another plastic bag to help with the next step). Then you wrap the bag containing the electronic device with tin or aluminium foil.

No. They have no electrical current running through them, as they use solar power instead of a battery.

Typically, vehicles manufactured before 1980 are more resistant to an EMP because they're not equipped with on board computers which is what makes modern vehicles vulnerable.

Use any source of preservation. Salt, cold water and snow would be among your choices.

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also sometimes called a transient electromagnetic disturbance, is a short burst of electromagnetic energy.