Detonating a High Altitude Nuclear Blast would result in the creation of a massive EMP Pulse. That EMP Pulse would result in an extended blackout by in effect shutting down the electric power grid. Having no access to electricity for a year or multiple years, would result in the death of a large fraction of the American people through the effects of societal collapse, disease, and starvation.

A massive EMP Pulse would shutdown the Electric Power grid. Automobiles on roads to would stall out resulting in crashes. Electric powered vehicle would likely have the lithium batteries explode. As the EMP Pulse literally fried electronic equipment, fires would breakout every where. About 5% vehicles (per Senior NASA scientist Dr. Arthur T Bradley) hit by an EMP Pulse would not start up, include Emergency vehicles like Fire Trucks and Ambulances. Large electrical Transformers at Power Stations would overheat and electrical fires would start. These large transformers would take a very long time to get replaced and so the Power Grid would stay down until all fried equipment has been replaced. Just imagine life without electricity for a year or two or longer.

Dr. William R. Graham, former Chair, EMP Commission, 2001-2008, 2016-2017 discusses the devastating impact of n EMP Pulse generated by a high altitude Nuclear blast.

Video is courtesy of the Policy Studies Organization YouTube Channel

The following are excerpts from the latest and final report of the the EMP Commission:

“Across the U.S. government, the DoD and its supporting laboratories and contractors have by far the most knowledge, data, and experience related to the production of and survival from nuclear weapon-generated EMP. However, the DoD has largely failed to make this knowledge available to other government agencies and to the organizations that develop, build, and operate U.S. critical national infrastructure. For example, there has been a continuing unwillingness of the DoD to provide specific information about the EMP environment to the commercial community owing to classification restrictions.“

“THE EMP THREAT

The United States—and modern civilization more generally—faces a present and
continuing existential threat from naturally occurring and manmade electromagnetic pulse assault and related attacks on military and critical national infrastructures.

A nationwide blackout of the electric power grid and grid-dependent critical infrastructures—communications, transportation, sanitation, food and water supply—could plausibly last a year or longer.

Many of the systems designed to provide renewable, stand-alone power in case of an emergency, such as generators, uninterruptable power supplies (UPS), and renewable energy grid components, are also vulnerable to EMP attack.

A long-term outage owing to EMP could disable most critical supply chains, leaving the U.S. population living in conditions similar to centuries past, prior to the advent of electric power.

In the 1800s, the U.S. population was less than 60 million, and those people had many skills and assets necessary for survival without today’s infrastructure. An extended blackout today could result in the death of a large fraction of the American people through the effects of societal collapse, disease, and starvation. While national planning and preparation for such events could help mitigate the damage, few such actions are currently underway or even being contemplated.”

“Any of several threats, as described here, must be considered:

• Solar superstorms can generate natural EMP over remarkably wide areas. Recurrence of the Carrington Event of 1859 is considered by many to be inevitable. NASA estimates the likelihood of such an event to be 10 to 12 percent per decade, making it very likely that Earth will be affected by a solar superstorm within a matter of decades. Such an event could blackout electric grids and other life-sustaining critical infrastructures, putting at risk the lives of many millions.

• Nuclear EMP attack might be conducted with only a single nuclear weapon detonated at high altitude or a few weapons at several hundred kilometers. These could be delivered by satellite, by a wide variety of long- and short-range missiles, including cruise and anti-ship missiles, by a jet doing a zoom-climb, or even by a high-altitude balloon. Some modes of attack could be executed relatively anonymously, thereby impairing deterrence.

• Russia, China, and North Korea now have the capability to conduct a nuclear EMP
attack against the U.S. All have practiced or described contingency plans to do so.“

 

Video courtesy of the Reluctant Preppers YouTube Channel