Are You Prepared for Six Months Without Electricity?

In a report from the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council and published by the Department of Homeland Security, the government is urging the public to prepare for the up to six months without electricity, transportation, fuel, money, and healthcare.

DHS has warned (in December 2018) that the electric grid is now the “prime target” of terrorists, and says Americans need to be prepared for a power outage of up to six months. The report says that “People no longer keep enough essentials within their homes, reducing their ability to sustain themselves during an extended, prolonged outage. We need to improve individual preparedness.”

The report, titled "Surviving a Catastrophic Power Outage" (https://www.cisa.gov/publication/niac-catastrophic-power-outage-study), warns that an attack would likely come with little to no notice and could cause complete chaos for at least a half a year, “Long-duration, lasting several weeks to months (at least 2 months, but more likely 6 months or more) due to physical destruction to equipment, such as transformers or transmission lines; or the severity of the event resulting in limited workforce to repair damage, or inability to create or transport replacement parts,” said the report.

The report recommends Americans have enough supplies on hand for a minimum 14 days, a number that now seems grossly inadequate considering the threat and the timeline for reestablishing essential services after an attack.

The report is the second to warn of a “profound threat” to the U.S. electric grid from terrorism and events like a solar storm or solar flare. A prior government report also recommended presidential action to protect the grid from attacks.

In that report, from the Air Force’s Air University, the military warned an EMP-style attack could wipe out the United States, democracy, and the world order. They also warned that:

* 99 nuclear reactors would likely melt down without electricity to cool them.

* 4.1 million would be displaced from areas around the nuclear plants as the radioactive cloud spread.

* Military and commercial jets, such as those built by Airbus, could be degraded. “Alarmingly, aircraft designed to carry large numbers of people and sizable cargo are allowed to operate without certainty about their level of resilience.”

* Bases would be cut off, making defense and counter-attacks impossible.

* Civil unrest would start in “hours.”

* Power and GPS could go dark. “An EMP would cause instantaneous and simultaneous loss of many technologies reliant on electrical power and computer circuit boards, such as cell phones and GPS devices.”

* “Failures may include long-term loss of electrical power (due to loss of emergency generators), sewage, freshwater, banking, landlines, cellular service, and vehicles.”

* Eighteen months or more are required to replace key elements of the electric grid that would be damaged or knocked out.