Electro Magnetic Pulse - Top 5 Dangerous Places to Be When An EMP Takes Place

Commercial jets will fall from the sky across North America. Nuclear power plants will go off-line. Hospitals will become death traps. Battles over food will be fought in the streets. And that’s just day one. Welcome to the EMP nightmare.

Commercial Airplane

If you’re in a jumbo jet and you’re going down with a few hundred other people and the jet has no on board maneuvering capabilities, that seems to say that the jet will be at the mercy of wherever it happens to be and what elevation it happens to be at when it comes down out of the sky — flights that make emergency landings on to land are said to statistically fair a lot better than flights that come down in the water.

The only problem with these emergency landings will be that if it’s at night, there won’t be any lights on the ground to signify cities vs rural country side; nor will there be lights on the ground to signify local airstrips.

If the EMP happens during daylight, at least the pilots have a chance of eyeing what’s on the ground as they come down. If the control yoke is useless for steering, I’m not sure what chance at all they have of the jet being directed toward a relatively flat area to land. If this thing comes down on anything other than concrete, most likely everything on the bottom of the plane — landing gears, wheels — are going to be torn off as the plane sinks into the soil. Will the force of that kind of impact cause the plane to break up?

Left to chance, my guess is that the majority of those 4,000 approximate flights in the sky when an EMP takes place are going to end in disasters. A few are likely to make it out ok though.

Trapped in an Elevator — Complete Darkness

An elevator is one of the last places I’m sure most people would want to be when an EMP takes place – especially an elevator in a tall skyscraper in a large city experiencing a terrorist attack. You might get left in there for a few days.

The chances of being trapped in an elevator increase if you work in a downtown skyscraper or other building and regularly take elevators; you need to consider that if the EMP occurs while you’re in that elevator, you’re going to be stuck, for hours and possibly days; you might want to learn in advance what it takes to get out of an elevator when the power goes down for good.

First tip: Talk to your building management — make sure they have a plan for immediately rescuing people from stuck elevators in the event of a blackout. They need to be concerned about the well-being of people who may be trapped inside. Keep in mind that they won’t be able to simply call a maintenance man to come to the building to rescue tenants trapped inside. If that building’s maintenance man lives 20 miles away and his car doesn’t work, how is he going to get to the building?

Besides, his phone isn’t going to work, so he can’t simply be called on the phone. Finally, the last thing on his mind might be his job that he doesn’t care too much for anyway — in fact right now he might be a lot more worried about his children or parents who live thirty miles or so in the opposite direction of that building where he works as a maintenance man.

What does that mean for people stuck inside an elevator in a downtown high rise or other building? They’re going to have to figure out a way to get out, and also hope that other people who live or work in the building will also care to take the time to help get them free. Escaping a trapped elevator may involve a few people.

Not only is the elevator trapped between floors, the elevator (and much of the building) may be in total darkness.

If You’re Stuck Inside an Elevator

Yell and bang on the sides of the elevator. Make a lot of noise until someone responds and confirms they’re going to help you get out.

Where Will You Be When an EMP Strikes?

Do you know where you’re going to be when the lights go down for good – if an EMP takes place? You might want to start carrying a small pen-size flashlight, one that can fit on your key chain for example — so you always have it with you.

Theory goes that small devices with small components not connected to larger devices should be fine in an EMP; the reason these should be fine is that the “pulse” that fries components is picked up by devices with longer wiring that then acts as an “antennae”, picking up the pulse as it goes out from the initial nuclear blast; small devices with small circuits and wires won’t pick up enough pulse, as statements I’ve read indicate. They should be ok.

Do you take a daily elevator? Get yourself that small flashlight. Also get yourself some training on how to get yourself out of an elevator should the power go off and it get stuck in between floors.

If there’s no maintenance man around, rescuers (who know you’re inside) can also look for the fire department; fire departments are trained in elevator rescue. One unfortunate aspect of an EMP though (or other major disaster that knocks out power) is that the local fire department might be spread thin and already responding to multiple other emergencies in distant parts of the city.

To get people out of stuck elevators after an EMP, other people (who are aware of people trapped inside stuck elevators) will have to search far and wide for the fire department. See: Storm Caused Power Outage Traps Girl Inside Elevator

Ventilation Failure in Buildings

Final concern for people trapped inside an elevator — buildings without air conditioning (when the power fails) can turn into ovens during the summer months, especially an elevator in the heart of a building. Additionally, buildings — especially large buildings — are built with electronic ventilation systems.

Some of these buildings may become dangerous to be in after a few days of the power being out, due to stagnant air. Rooms will need to be ventilated by hand shortly after an EMP – meaning, a window in each room broken if need be or holes made through walls.

Last tip for people who take a daily elevator to work or home — along with that small flashlight (and extra batteries), carry some bottled water and a bit of food. I’d throw a Bible in there also. Here’s why: If you live or work in a high-rise downtown in a city experiencing a disaster or terrorist attack — no help may come for you in time.

Not if fire departments are overwhelmed elsewhere in the city, perhaps a secondary terrorist attack has taken place — or perhaps massive fires have erupted following a jet falling from the sky or 15 separate pile ups of 100 or so vehicles in each crash.

You might be on your own here — stuck in a pitch black elevator in the heat of summer with no one to come to your rescue; you’re going to need God or an angel to bail you out of this one.

One more thing while you’re stuck inside that elevator: Hold on to the hope that this is just a temporary power outage — and not an EMP.

If You’re Stuck in an Elevator After an EMP and Help Never Comes

You can search the roof of an elevator for a service latch to a hatch, but sometimes these require special tools to open; if you can reach the service latch that is — meaning you’re either about 7 feet in height or you’re lucky enough to have a second person in the elevator with you, who can give you a boost up. Some elevators do have hand rails though. Use a corner of the elevator to climb up on to the hand rails to look for a service latch.

(If you take a daily elevator in a high rise downtown I’d suggest you find out what those special tools are for the hatch in the type of elevator you ride and you start carrying them — just in case.)