Apocalypse NOW: Killer solar superstorm could destroy Earth at ANY MOMENT, scientists warnI ask this question for one reason, are you prepared "enough"?
If this happens, it won't be an immediate catastrophe, but one which will continue to unfold as weeks go by, food, water, the essentials of life will be increasingly in short supply.
Sure, there will be people stranded, planes not flying, people in somewhat of a panic because TV, radio, cell phones will all be down, but it will only get worse from there.
So the question is, do you have a readiness plan for your family, where you'll will meet, will probably be one of the most important issues, family comes first..
And who's in charge of the bugout bag?
QuoteIt is "only a matter of time" before a catastrophic eruption on the surface of the sun hurtles towards the planet with devastating consequences.
The Earth could be the target of an explosion equivalent to "10 billion Hiroshima bombs exploding at the same time".
It has emerged crisis meetings have been held to discuss how to limit the damage of solar superstorms which present a "long-lasting" threat to all forms of life.
Scientists warn communication systems will be crippled, vital services such as transport, sanitation and medicine will close, and loss of power will plunge the planet into darkness.
Ashley Dale, member of international task force SolarMAX set up to identify the risks of a solar storm, said: "Without power, people would struggle to fuel their cars at petrol stations, get money from cash dispensers or pay online.
"Water and sewage systems would be affected too, meaning that health epidemics in urbanised areas would quickly take
a grip, with diseases we thought we had left behind centuries ago soon returning."
http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/494438/End-of-world-alert-solar-flares-destroy-earth-scientists-warn (http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/494438/End-of-world-alert-solar-flares-destroy-earth-scientists-warn)
Yes, There is a readiness plan. Everybody is in charge of there own buggout bag, and in some relations, when it is applicable, certain people have access to others private information if it needs to be recovered. Not all buggout bags have identical items in the same group. So, if a solar flare fries my butt, Elfie has access to my secret recipes after the radiation cools down here. Or maybe another group member knows where cache #Aa3612 is but thinks it is filled with oatmeal.
Quote from: Eyesabide on August 06, 2014, 10:46:41 AM
Yes, There is a readiness plan. Everybody is in charge of there own buggout bag, and in some relations, when it is applicable, certain people have access to others private information if it needs to be recovered. Not all buggout bags have identical items in the same group. So, if a solar flare fries my butt, Elfie has access to my secret recipes after the radiation cools down here. Or maybe another group member knows where cache #Aa3612 is but thinks it is filled with oatmeal.
That's a good idea, having differently equipped bags.
But the quandary Toy and I have run into is being able to contact one another in the event of flare.
She works down in the valley and I'm in the mountains about 60 miles away.
Of course she has a designated route to take, so I know where to begin searching, but a 60 mile walk up into the mountains, with God knows what kind of obstacles in her way, could take a week to get home.
Any suggestions? We have walkie talkies, but again, mountains restrict communication beyond 6 miles.
Quote from: Solar on August 06, 2014, 10:59:45 AM
That's a good idea, having differently equipped bags.
But the quandary Toy and I have run into is being able to contact one another in the event of flare.
She works down in the valley and I'm in the mountains about 60 miles away.
Of course she has a designated route to take, so I know where to begin searching, but a 60 mile walk up into the mountains, with God knows what kind of obstacles in her way, could take a week to get home.
Any suggestions? We have walkie talkies, but again, mountains restrict communication beyond 6 miles.
My biggest concern is water. For discussion sake, is she carrying her supply or have you established sources along the route or placed caches at hidden locations? At about 8 pounds a gallon, carrying enough for a 7 day walk up hill would be a burden for me, let alone your wife. Have you walked it to even see if its possible? I hope I'm not prying into what you consider personal information.
Quote from: Possumpoint on August 08, 2014, 04:53:01 AM
My biggest concern is water. For discussion sake, is she carrying her supply or have you established sources along the route or placed caches at hidden locations? At about 8 pounds a gallon, carrying enough for a 7 day walk up hill would be a burden for me, let alone your wife. Have you walked it to even see if its possible? I hope I'm not prying into what you consider personal information.
Thanks PP, all good questions.
The bugout bag she has comes with a two week supply. But you raise an interesting point.
Is packing all that water necessary, when I could supply her with a pocket purifier because there are creeks all along the way, though she'll still need it to cook with..
Yes, the designated route is straight up the mountains along hwy 50, with one bend, otherwise 30 miles straight up with a gradual climb to 2500 feet, at which point I could drive down and pick her up.
This is where the problem comes in, communication will most likely still be out, and that last 15 miles to the house has another 2500' climb starting at a major river.
Hopefully the last 15 will still be open considering they aren't really main thoroughfares.
I think I better get her a pistol to stick in that bag now that I think about it.
In the reading I've been doing for the past year, fictional EOTWAWKI, a woman walking along a road would become target rich about the 2nd day after an event. Is there another route she can take? Is it possible to hold cover paralleling the road? Are there power line R/W's or RR beds that can be used? I realize that going off road would slow down her trip by a large factor. It's that or having a large ammo supply on hand.
The bug out bag would be an attractant in itself, then there is the female factor. How skilled is she going to be at setting up a desecrate camp and cooking without attracting unwanted attention? Have you and her practiced it?
Just raising questions as they occur to me.
Quote from: Possumpoint on August 08, 2014, 02:01:14 PM
In the reading I've been doing for the past year, fictional EOTWAWKI, a woman walking along a road would become target rich about the 2nd day after an event. Is there another route she can take? Is it possible to hold cover paralleling the road? Are there power line R/W's or RR beds that can be used? I realize that going off road would slow down her trip by a large factor. It's that or having a large ammo supply on hand.
The bug out bag would be an attractant in itself, then there is the female factor. How skilled is she going to be at setting up a desecrate camp and cooking without attracting unwanted attention? Have you and her practiced it?
Just raising questions as they occur to me.
Fortunately we live in an area of extremely low crime, self sufficient minded Conservative kind of people that still pull over an offer help.
That's why I'm having her stick to the freeway, safety in numbers, assuming everyone is on foot.
Aside the risk of summer forest fires, mt lions and bears along with seriously rugged country.
Her bugout bag looks like a regular backpack, so she really shouldn't attract too much attention.
As for cooking, her first few days out can consist of self heating meals, and the tent is really nothing more than a giant plastic bag with a hoop opening.
But thanks for making suggestions, you never know what you can overlook until you're in trouble.
But again, our only real stumbling block will be communication
It's too broad of a situation to contemplate because communication ideas will occur to you in-the-moment.
-Versus not allowing your exact location to be easily pinpointed.
Signal-fires... fresh-cut pine-branches in a rock-clearing, triangulated.
Carrier-pigeons after awhile. Message-arrows. Battery-powered scarecrow 'cannon'. Chinese lanterns at duskfall.
If it turned into a sociological disaster where essential utilities and the market broke down, I would definitely head up to the family home in the mountains where it's isolated and my family date back over 600 years, very defensible too with a river, few bridge crossings, lots of fresh water and food. My only problem is it's a 6 hours drive, I don't have a car, I don't have a bugout bag, I only have my shotgun... If that place was unavailable I would go to a Island where my father has a vacation house with rifles, underwater tunnel, easy to defend, my only problem there would be the locals. If I owned a house though I would start making it a bunker on the inside. Why wouldn't you stay at your own property and defend it instead of going into the forest/mountain Red Dawn style?
Quote from: Mountainshield on August 10, 2014, 03:17:25 AM
If it turned into a sociological disaster where essential utilities and the market broke down, I would definitely head up to the family home in the mountains where it's isolated and my family date back over 600 years, very defensible too with a river, few bridge crossings, lots of fresh water and food. My only problem is it's a 6 hours drive, I don't have a car, I don't have a bugout bag, I only have my shotgun... If that place was unavailable I would go to a Island where my father has a vacation house with rifles, underwater tunnel, easy to defend, my only problem there would be the locals. If I owned a house though I would start making it a bunker on the inside. Why wouldn't you stay at your own property and defend it instead of going into the forest/mountain Red Dawn style?
:lol:
I was going to say you're screwed. No car, 6 hrs out, unprepared, and then you mentioned the equalizer.
Hit a car lot and take your pick.
Hell, if things go to shit, the last thing anyone is going to do, is try and sell cars, and the cops will be way to busy to care.
I guess from the answers, there really is no answer to communication, which makes me rethink my plan.
Quote from: Solar on August 10, 2014, 05:24:52 AM
I guess from the answers, there really is no answer to communication, which makes me rethink my plan.
That's because you based the topic on a solar-flare event. We've never had one that did anything. The reporter is essentially an alarmist laughingstock in the UK;
http://tabloid-watch.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-express-and-its-unmatched-accurate.html (http://tabloid-watch.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-express-and-its-unmatched-accurate.html)
He only references 'The Carrington Event of 1859', which only knocked-out telegraph-power from Boston to Portland, Maine for 2 hours. And somebody figured-out that if they kept unplugging, then plugging the battery-leads back in, Boston could send signals in a 30-mile radius without a problem till everything was restored.
Quote from: kit saginaw on August 10, 2014, 07:05:55 PM
That's because you based the topic on a solar-flare event. We've never had one that did anything. The reporter is essentially an alarmist laughingstock in the UK;
http://tabloid-watch.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-express-and-its-unmatched-accurate.html (http://tabloid-watch.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-express-and-its-unmatched-accurate.html)
He only references 'The Carrington Event of 1859', which only knocked-out telegraph-power from Boston to Portland, Maine for 2 hours. And somebody figured-out that if they kept unplugging, then plugging the battery-leads back in, Boston could send signals in a 30-mile radius without a problem till everything was restored.
Actually the 1859 event was powerful enough to start fires on the telegraph lines and in telegraph offices setting papers on fire, this was not isolated to the US, Europe was impacted as well.
But that's beside the point, I only used the article to start discussion on whether or not one was prepared for a different kind of emergency.
However, my background is electronics, and sadly most electrical devices today are not protected from internal surge, unless they were built with a Faraday cage enclosure, and that includes many of the cars on the road due to a high use of plastics are very susceptible to failure.
Thing is, we don't know how often and how severe these storms can be since we've only been using electricity for little over a century.
Then there's the issue of a tactical EMP blast which could and most likely would knock us back to the early 19th century and most people simply don't know how to function with out their electronics, from TV and radio, to a lack of transportation, not to mention refrigeration failing, in some cases no heat in the homes, water systems failing because pumps aren't running.
Satellites knocking out communication, planes flying blind depending of time of day and weather, subways stopped, traffic jams, people losing patience and anger builds quickly.
Then there are the opportunists looting and rioting.
All of this leads to panic and people doing some real stupid things.
So I'll ask, are you prepared?
Yeah. As prepared as in knowing where horses are, or a boat. I know the Country and Canada. My best bet is to cross Lake Erie and head North. It all becomes adventures in fishing and trapping after that, I suspect.
Quote from: kit saginaw on August 11, 2014, 05:53:47 AM
Yeah. As prepared as in knowing where horses are, or a boat. I know the Country and Canada. My best bet is to cross Lake Erie and head North. It all becomes adventures in fishing and trapping after that, I suspect.
:thumbsup:
That's the right attitude.
Seriously, If I were single, I'd probably do the same.
Quote from: Solar on August 11, 2014, 06:57:46 AM
:thumbsup:
That's the right attitude.
Seriously, If I were single, I'd probably do the same.
Which I am... But you guys can build a telegraph-network in an expansive rural setting;
Reinventing Morse: Build your own Telegraph (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOTB5H8sMTI#)
if you have time and inspiration to buy components and a
morse-code book.
Quote from: kit saginaw on August 11, 2014, 08:20:27 PM
Which I am... But you guys can build a telegraph-network in an expansive rural setting;
Reinventing Morse: Build your own Telegraph (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOTB5H8sMTI#)
if you have time and inspiration to buy components and a morse-code book.
My next door and I built one so we could talk when we were about 10 yro, lasted about two days, that's when his dad hit the wire with a lawnmower.
He got a woopin and grounded, I got a "Hey, that was a pretty good idea". :biggrin:
Oh, I forgot to mention, it never really worked, I'm sure we had the wires grounded.
You probably needed a relay-unit, like if you have a hidden electric-train network.
I remember reading a model-train book where a guy had his farmhouse rigged-up with track, with his wife sending him lunch from the kitchen on tiny plates that fit through wall-tunnels, etc.
I think a toy-train outdoor distance-record was set in Scotland, but I can't find it. I just remember that the operators had to keep disassembling the 'used' tracks, then transport them ahead of the train to reassemble...
Solar in that event, there is nothing, and nowhere anyone would survive. Even if you had survival skills/training like some of us have had. We'd still eventually die from the exposure of the X-rays.
Good thing is, our sun, is relatively quiet and calm and middle aged. And there's zero evidence this "event" they're warning us all about, has ever happened in the entire history of our planet, as well life has been here, for a very very very long time indeed. :lol:
My older brother and I made a telegraph set when I was 8. Bro was 13. It ran off a 6v lantern battery and could send a signal just under 1000 yards. The first iteration could only click, but a couple years later we added a buzzer. I never did learn Morse very well, but we had fun with it.
I've seen a design for a modernized version which uses old CAT5 cable, which, by grounding half of the twisted pairs will supposedly protect the system from EMP.
I really didn't plan anything yet, but it seems now I need to. Well, I can also copy any plan shared here in the forum. :thumbup:
Quote from: Solar on August 11, 2014, 08:29:15 PM
My next door and I built one so we could talk when we were about 10 yro, lasted about two days, that's when his dad hit the wire with a lawnmower.
He got a woopin and grounded, I got a "Hey, that was a pretty good idea". :biggrin:
Oh, I forgot to mention, it never really worked, I'm sure we had the wires grounded.
Easier and free, back in those days, to talk on what we called the "beep line." Remember that?
Back when the evil Bell System and GTE ran everything, they used a recorded busy signal -- the exact same recording, on the exact same connection, for everyone in a service area. People 50 miles away -- long distance back in those days -- were listening to the same recording of a busy signal that you were,
and they were connected to you as long as you listened. All you had to do was learn to talk between the beeps.
Met some nice babes that way, back in 1970 or so. :tounge:
Let's make the atmosphere more transparent!
Quote from: TboneAgain on March 13, 2015, 01:12:41 AM
Easier and free, back in those days, to talk on what we called the "beep line." Remember that?
Back when the evil Bell System and GTE ran everything, they used a recorded busy signal -- the exact same recording, on the exact same connection, for everyone in a service area. People 50 miles away -- long distance back in those days -- were listening to the same recording of a busy signal that you were, and they were connected to you as long as you listened. All you had to do was learn to talk between the beeps.
Met some nice babes that way, back in 1970 or so. :tounge:
I missed this post, sorry.
Yes, I do remember hearing about that, but it didn't work in my area like that.
Over thinking this again, in the 1859 event, fires were started in some of the telegraph offices. We would be well advised, with sufficient warning, to disconnect all electrical devices in the house as well as to knock the meter off the wall to isolate the house from the system. Even then some of the motors in the house could be at risk of over heating. Fire would be a major problem. This would be less of a problem for those who are off grid.
Quote from: Possumpoint on April 22, 2015, 03:55:45 AM
Over thinking this again, in the 1859 event, fires were started in some of the telegraph offices. We would be well advised, with sufficient warning, to disconnect all electrical devices in the house as well as to knock the meter off the wall to isolate the house from the system. Even then some of the motors in the house could be at risk of over heating. Fire would be a major problem. This would be less of a problem for those who are off grid.
You raise an interesting point about the meter.
Knowing the energy can leap several inches, one could make a ground cable/jumper that could easily be connected to the now dead hotleg entering the home, giving the home a complete closed grounded system.
Good suggestion solar, which is the output side of a meter, left or right?
Quote from: Possumpoint on April 23, 2015, 07:05:56 PM
Good suggestion solar, which is the output side of a meter, left or right?
There are four lugs, the two top lugs are hot.
Quote from: Solar on August 02, 2014, 10:34:31 AM
Apocalypse NOW: Killer solar superstorm could destroy Earth at ANY MOMENT, scientists warn
The headline threw me, maybe. If a "killer solar superstorm" destroys the planet, what does it matter what I have squirreled away in my stash?
While I am all for bug out bags, and think every family should have one. I'm not so certain we have much to worry about from solar flares. For a flare to hit us, first it has to be aimed at us as it leaves the sun, then there's the Earth's speed around the sun, we're all moving pretty damned fast on this rock as it orbits the sun. But even should a flare hit us, it wouldn't affect things like water supplies. As those don't rely on the grid to deliver their services. So eh, I can do without electric for awhile. Save my addiction to CPF that is. I might have some withdrawals from that, but otherwise me and my family are ready to go. Complete with first aid kits, and a few additional items I knew we'd need from my time as a combat medic. :)
Quote from: TboneAgain on April 23, 2015, 11:29:38 PM
The headline threw me, maybe. If a "killer solar superstorm" destroys the planet, what does it matter what I have squirreled away in my stash?
True, sometimes it's better to stay put, than trying to pack everything and risk venturing into unknown territories, someone elses backyard.
Quote from: daidalos on April 24, 2015, 08:46:05 PM
While I am all for bug out bags, and think every family should have one. I'm not so certain we have much to worry about from solar flares. For a flare to hit us, first it has to be aimed at us as it leaves the sun, then there's the Earth's speed around the sun, we're all moving pretty damned fast on this rock as it orbits the sun. But even should a flare hit us, it wouldn't affect things like water supplies. As those don't rely on the grid to deliver their services. So eh, I can do without electric for awhile. Save my addiction to CPF that is. I might have some withdrawals from that, but otherwise me and my family are ready to go. Complete with first aid kits, and a few additional items I knew we'd need from my time as a combat medic. :)
Actually it would, your city water requires computer filtration pumps which require electricity, and with every computer interconnect fried?
I guess the biggest unknown is the human equation. Will all of humanity continue a normal pattern, or would "Everyone for yourselves" kick in, "Fight or Flight"?
If the latter, then kiss your water supply returning anytime in the near future.