How do we increase the chances of surviving an EMP attack and sustaining life indefinitely in the aftermath? The staples of survival are food, water, shelter and they all apply here, but there is a unique difference when looking at contingency preparedness and sustaining life indefinitely. The reality is an EMP attack will knock out all facets of infrastructure for years, leading to chaos. Meaning there is no predictable solution and we have to plan to sustain ourselves over the long haul. You need pumps to pull the oil, machining equipment to refine the oil, vehicles to transport the gas, gas to power the vehicles and the power stations. Having all electronics wiped out not only will destroy our infrastructure, but also blast us back into the Stone Age. So your level of preparedness has to take all these things into consideration. How do you survive off of the electrical grid and without power or critical infrastructure.

EMP survival often lines up with other survival situations we plan and prepare for. Depending on your geographical location you need to prepare your shelter for extreme weather conditions, as well as the fortification and defense of your home. Windows and doors are potential breach points for the wrong people with the wrong intentions, so it may be advantageous to board up and insulate unused doors and windows to further protect your household. Another consideration is the boundaries of your property. Definitively laying out the borders of your property will allow you to establish a perimeter that is advantageous in your defense. This will also serve as a warning to potential trespassers of your intent to defend your property, allowing for you to have a stand off from strangers.

Second, food and water are obviously a staple of human survival. In the worst-case scenario you will only last a few days without water, and the length of time you last is dependent on several factors. On the other hand you can go weeks, even in some rare cases months without food. Both need to be planned for accordingly and there are several key factors when considering what to store.

Water in an emergency can be contained in your sink for storage. Sinks, bathtubs, and containers can be filled and sanitized. However, this is considering that the water treatment plants aren't tainted with bacteria and the infrastructure is utilizing a backup power source to pump water. Remember most of the water in the city/county or even wells utilize electricity to pump water to your kitchen sink. Without electricity you have to have a mechanical method or auxiliary generator to pump water. A great rule for storing water is anywhere from 3-5 gallons per person, per day, which is required for hygiene, cooking, and hydration. Obviously, in an extreme situation, your priority will always shift to hydration over hygiene or cooking food. A water collection system is also an important consideration because eventually you will run out of water and self-sustained sources offer a longer term solution. If or when looking at procuring a home we always recommend finding property or land off a water source.

For food storage we recommend 90 days of dried, canned, and pickled foods. A technique is to utilize the oldest pickled foods in your household, and once that's gone, resupply it with a fresh jar that gets cycled in, always allowing you to have a fresh rotation of food. In addition to storing a 90 day supply you want to have a .22 rifle or pistol in order to hunt small game and fowl. If you can catch and breed small game that's even better. Remember in the worst-case scenario you may have to preserve life indefinitely, so renewable food sources are important to sustaining life long term.

A lot of our country has fertile and farmable land, but if you live in a mountainous or high desert environment then its not feasible, that's why educating yourself on hydro and aquaponics are important. I also recommend you educate yourself on foraging where you live, and the benefits of insect protein. You can harvest crickets as a substantial food source that not only has more protein than beef, but also a perfect Omega ratio, B12, and more calcium than orange juice.

The way we look at survival and preparedness should always be dictated by your understanding and determination of the actions required to address the worst case scenario. An EMP is the first catastrophe that could quickly compound itself into a disaster of epic proportions, will certainly compromise our nation and lead to chaos, death, and destruction. So you have to ask yourself now-Are you willing to take the gamble, and risk it all? I hope this helped start your journey in being in the top 10% of survivors.