Kids - Dad, Are we under EMP attack?

Every time the power goes out I get the question from Anthony, “Are we under EMP attack?” Apparently, in the Modern Warfare video game there are EMP attacks.

EMP stands for Electromagnetic Pulse which can occur when a nuclear device is detonated in the earth’s atmosphere whose radiation has the potential to destroy any electrical device. In theory, if the device is powerful enough and at the right altitude it could send the United States back to 1800’s technological status.



Electrical power grids would be destroyed; computers, cell phones, automobiles, television, planes, electrical medical devices, anything electrical would become inoperable, perhaps for months or years. The economic and social chaos would be devastating.

Article on EMP Attack

I’m not as concerned about an EMP attack as I am about hurricanes now that we are in the summer. My latest project is hurricane preparedness.

[Image credit to http://www.utm.edu/alerts/_img/nuclear.jpg (University of Tennessee-Martin)]