Possessing survival skills is only as good as the communications systems that remain in place to execute them when they're needed. And that's just it: An EMP attack would immediately take down most electronics and leave whoever survives completely on their own, unless they have an even more comprehensive EMP response plan in place beyond just basic survival.
Consider these eight scenarios that would immediately render your survival skills mostly useless in the event of an EMP attack:
1) Inability to communicate with and gather family members. Since many modern families live far apart, connecting with loved ones following an EMP attack would be next to impossible. If your mobile phones, GPS devices, and other electrical devices didn't work, would you have a plan in place for where, when, and how to meet up with your family members some other way?
2) Inability to access your bug-out location because of martial law. Since most military equipment has been designed to withstand an EMP attack, it would be relatively simple for martial law to be declared and executed in an instant following such an event. Knowing what the government is up to before everything is mobilized is critical if you hope to access your bug-out location before everything hits the fan.
3) Inability to discern government misinformation. A well-constructed Faraday cage will help to protect your most important electronic devices from an EMP attack. But even if you're still able to use your emergency radio, for instance, do you know how to evaluate and consider what's being transmitted to determine whether or not it's true or false?
4) Lack of a working Faraday cage. Speaking of Faraday cages, do you even have one, and if you do, are you confident that it actually works? Many survivalists think that a makeshift aluminum box will be sufficient – and boy will they be surprised when they learn that it actually isn't.
5) Inadequate understanding of self-sufficiency. Knowing how to bushcraft, identify trees and plants, hunt and fish, and navigate without a GPS device is absolutely essential following an EMP attack. These self-sufficiency skills are the only thing that will keep you alive, because there will be no more working supermarkets, gas stations, and other modern life essentials.
6) Lack of preparations for a backup bug-out location. Beyond just the inherent threat of martial law, the rapid takeover of large urban areas by the military could make it difficult or impossible for people to flee the cities to their bug-out locations. You need to have a plan in place to adapt your bug-out location on the fly in the event that you're barred from engaging plan number one.
7) Loose lips sink ships. While it's not a bad thing for people to know that you're a "prepper," saying too much about what you have on hand in terms of supplies and other preps could result in everyone who isn't prepared showing up at your door following an EMP attack. People who you thought were friends and even family could quickly become hostile due to panic, shock and the fact that lots of people around them will be dying as this is all occurring.
8) Failure to flee areas located close to nuclear plants. Nuclear reactors are one of the biggest threats following an EMP attack, because suddenly they no longer have their cooling systems in place to keep all that radioactive waste from melting down. If you live anywhere near a nuclear reactor, you may want to come up with a plan now to move far, far away.
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