The First 24 Hours After An EMP: How Far Will People Go To Survive?

[Miker12]

The natural instinct to survive and to protect family runs strong in human beings. In the 20th century alone, from Jewish families in Nazi-controlled Europe to Soviet dissenters in frigid Siberian gulags, the will to live burns deeply.

So when a major disaster strikes, the instinct to survive will trump all other considerations. Exactly how far people will go depends on the type of disaster, but an understanding of how they will react will help you prepare to protect yourself and your family in these circumstances.

Let’s look at two kinds of disasters. The first is when there is a regional catastrophe, like an earthquake, tornado or temporary failure of the power grid. In this case, although there will be hardships in the first 24 hours and likely for weeks thereafter, those affected will believe that FEMA and local aid is working hard to help them.

For example, if there was a moderate earthquake in San Francisco, then FEMA and the California National Guard and 100 other agencies would immediately respond. People would be evacuated from the devastated city and relocated to nearby shelter. They would have a place to stay, dry clothing, and enough food to live in relative comfort until they decide to relocate or move back into the city after rebuilding has occurred.

Although there would be localized violence and crime in this scenario, most people would know that aid was coming and the nation would do everything it could to help.

The situation would be vastly different with the second type of disaster. This is when catastrophe strikes and there’s little hope for aid from the government or anyone else.

For example, terrorists or a rogue nation launch an EMP attack, and the nationwide power grid is down long-term. Or, a major solar storm takes out the grid.

https://prepper1cense.com/2024/09/19/th ... o-survive/

[AZNOKAOI]

This is single handedly the most terrifying threat to our society today. It can be both man made or if the sun sneezed to hard that day.

There is a good book by author William R. Forstchen called One Second After. It's a good read if you want to know more about how things could play out and some scenarios. Highly recommended reading.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Second_After

[Miker12]

If you've ever wondered what it's like to live without electricity for a long time, just ask the people of Puerto Rico. Many of them lived without power for nearly a year. And according to a Harvard study, the death rate in Puerto Rico nearly doubled after Hurricane Maria do to a lack of air conditioning and medical care.

It has been estimated that if the power went out all over the United States for a full year, 90% of the population wouldn't survive. That's how dependent we are on the power grid, which is a scary thought considering that a cyber attack or an EMP could bring it down at any time.

In this article, we'll take a look at some of the luxuries we take for granted. Here are seven things you'll realize after the power grid goes down.

1 - able to cool/heat the house
2 - how dark the night really is
3 - too reliant on appliances for daily things
4 - food storage was too easy
5 - modern communication is amazing
6 - electricity occupied out time
7 - manual tools are needed

https://urbansurvivalsite.com/living-wi ... ectricity/

[zonie77]

This is single handedly the most terrifying threat to our society today. It can be both man made or if the sun sneezed to hard that day.

There is a good book by author William R. Forstchen called One Second After. It's a good read if you want to know more about how things could play out and some scenarios. Highly recommended reading.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Second_After

I read this about the time it came out. It seemed like a fairly realistic story.

[AZNOKAOI]

This is single handedly the most terrifying threat to our society today. It can be both man made or if the sun sneezed to hard that day.

There is a good book by author William R. Forstchen called One Second After. It's a good read if you want to know more about how things could play out and some scenarios. Highly recommended reading.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Second_After

I read this about the time it came out. It seemed like a fairly realistic story.

It stayed in my head since the day I read it. Very compelling and the scenarios seem very realistic. I heard the other day on a podcast that in major cities like LA, NY, CHI, SF, people would turn to cannibalism within 2 weeks. Hard to refute that considering how resources would disappear almost immediately. Hell, people got crazy with toilet paper again a few weeks ago.

[zonie77]

Me too. I'm not a hard core prepper but do have 2 Costco packs of TP!

[Miker12]

After an EMP Attack – How To Get Home When it’s 700 Miles Away

If an EMP attack happened and you were on the other side of the country, what would you do? From time to time, my work required me to have to go out of town on business just like millions of other people each year. The distance and locations all vary with the need, but in a lot of cases, I am unable to be as equipped as I would normally be around my home town. In some cases, I travel internationally, but that is rare.

I invite you to my flipboard page and if you want I give you a member contributor access.

Sometimes I only travel an hour or two by car so I opt to drive. In this type of situation, I can take my Get Home Bag and usually a firearm (or two) with me. Most often it is several hundred miles away from home and to cities where firearms are not allowed. On business trips, it is harder to pack your survival supplies in sufficient quantities to last if some disaster happened and you needed to get home.

https://prepper1cense.com/2024/12/09/af ... iles-away/

[Doc]

This is single handedly the most terrifying threat to our society today. It can be both man made or if the sun sneezed to hard that day.

There is a good book by author William R. Forstchen called One Second After. It's a good read if you want to know more about how things could play out and some scenarios. Highly recommended reading.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Second_After

That book f*** me up.

We need to harden the grid and stop sending currency to other places.

[Miker12]

further reading
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2025/0 ... structure/

[WhiteDragon]

Grew up in PR. Lost count after my 10th hurricane. Living without is something we all know well. The difference is that here, I have (lots of) guns and ammo.

[campinginaz]

further reading
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2025/0 ... structure/

Great article, thank you for sharing!