It's Christmas Day!

[bigpaul]

plan for the worst and hope it isn't that bad eh SD??

[Scythe13]

I really like this scenario. It makes it into a more 'mysterious' situation.

Personally. I'd get everyone nice and calm. Get out the torches, put all the night lights in place, so that we can have a lovely meal, finish off the festive evening, and get to grips with what everyone else planned to do.

Next up, comes the interest bit, when it's time for the cigars, considering nobody else really likes a nice smoke, that would see me outside by myself. I'd have to excuse myself to get my 'lighter and jacket' from the car. That would result in me being able to get my lighter and jacket, but also my small UV3-r. Coupled with the fact that I'd be outside smoking my cigar by myself, that would buy an additional amount of time to check through the other channels I had programmed in.

This would allow me to get to a heads up on what was going on further afield. Police radios, security radios, and the alike. Nice and easy bit of observation work. I could potentially find out if it's a temp thing or not. But there would be no guarantee of that. The fact that the car radio is able to function means that it's more than likely not an EMP, but there's no guarantee.

Next up, I would use the typical "Xmas" fireworks that we all see/hear every year, as an indication of people's attitudes towards the situation. More fireworks is good. Less suggests people may have already started heading back home.

Once I had a heads up for people's regional attitude, I'd think about the time of day, the routes, the alternative routes, and the alike. I typically store an additional 40 litres of fuel in the boot, as well as BOB's and GHB's, along with spare clothes. So should we need to make the journey, we would have supplies enough for a drive, or even a foot journey. Plus the wife and my fitness is definitely capable of the journey, so if we felt forced to go with the fleet of foot option, we definitely could.

I would look towards a 6am set off. The roads would be quietest around then. Plus the 'undesirables' would be either off the streets or would be asleep.

Considering the time of year of the event alongside the time of day of our travel, I don't foresee many people being able to coordinate night long layout's, holding up sections of the road. Not only would they be too cold and tired, but they know that people wouldn't be travelling this early in the day. The general population would be drunk, asleep, or nursing a hangover.

With 100km to cover, setting off around 6am would see us home by around 7:30am. Still plenty of people asleep. Also, one of the reasons for this set off time, the sun is coming up%2

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I really like this scenario. It makes it into a more 'mysterious' situation.

Personally. I'd get everyone nice and calm. Get out the torches, put all the night lights in place, so that we can have a lovely meal, finish off the festive evening, and get to grips with what everyone else planned to do.

Next up, comes the interest bit, when it's time for the cigars, considering nobody else really likes a nice smoke, that would see me outside by myself. I'd have to excuse myself to get my 'lighter and jacket' from the car. That would result in me being able to get my lighter and jacket, but also my small UV3-r. Coupled with the fact that I'd be outside smoking my cigar by myself, that would buy an additional amount of time to check through the other channels I had programmed in.

This would allow me to get to a heads up on what was going on further afield. Police radios, security radios, and the alike. Nice and easy bit of observation work. I could potentially find out if it's a temp thing or not. But there would be no guarantee of that. The fact that the car radio is able to function means that it's more than likely not an EMP, but there's no guarantee.

Next up, I would use the typical "Xmas" fireworks that we all see/hear every year, as an indication of people's attitudes towards the situation. More fireworks is good. Less suggests people may have already started heading back home.

Once I had a heads up for people's regional attitude, I'd think about the time of day, the routes, the alternative routes, and the alike. I typically store an additional 40 litres of fuel in the boot, as well as BOB's and GHB's, along with spare clothes. So should we need to make the journey, we would have supplies enough for a drive, or even a foot journey. Plus the wife and my fitness is definitely capable of the journey, so if we felt forced to go with the fleet of foot option, we definitely could.

I would look towards a 6am set off. The roads would be quietest around then. Plus the 'undesirables' would be either off the streets or would be asleep.

Considering the time of year of the event alongside the time of day of our travel, I don't foresee many people being able to coordinate night long layout's, holding up sections of the road. Not only would they be too cold and tired, but they know that people wouldn't be travelling this early in the day. The general population would be drunk, asleep, or nursing a hangover.

With 100km to cover, setting off around 6am would see us home by around 7:30am. Still plenty of people asleep. Also, one of the reasons for this set off time, the sun is coming up, slowly, which would provide us cover for any parts where we had to move, car lights off and gently trundle down the hard shoulder. Another reason, if we were on foot, we would have plenty of 'light hours' for us to find somewhere to set up a camp for a few hours to reschedule, check radios or replan our route, to avoid certain areas. The reason we wouldn't check radios continuously, because if you were on foot, you'd want to keep an ear out for other people in the area. When you're stationary, one can check the radios and the other can keep watch. Another reason, because a small stop off to set up the stove and warm the hands allows you to have much better dexterity so are going to be able to get the job done faster.

Once home...that's another situation. But the journey home, if properly planned, wouldn't be an issue.

The question "What about the family?" might arise. My response, you can't choose family. You can choose who your friends are and who you prep with. What does that mean? It means that you are family by chance and shared DNA. It doesn't mean anything more than that. You could have been born to any other family, and it is just luck that got you where you are. I think, having very little family on this continent makes it easier to rationalise this haha.

If my family were about, I'd say to my parents, before we left, if you need to leave, come to our house. I'd take my dad to the side and talk to him about my opinion and some of my preps, and let him know it would be an offer to him and mum alone, nobody else. I'd then tell them how much I loved them and said our farewells, knowing full well it could be our final farewells (I say this from the opinion of someone whose dad passed away a little over a year ago).

[Skean Dhude]

(24 November 2013, 15:40)bigpaul Wrote: plan for the worst and hope it isn't that bad eh SD??

Simply put but accurate. I'd rather be well over the top than just under the bar when it gets down to it.

[bigpaul]

(24 November 2013, 23:04)Skean Dhude Wrote:

(24 November 2013, 15:40)bigpaul Wrote: plan for the worst and hope it isn't that bad eh SD??

Simply put but accurate. I'd rather be well over the top than just under the bar when it gets down to it.

how true.

[Lightspeed]

Good scenario Jonas.

No need to immediately assume full collapse of the system, but the widespread outage will start the situational assessment process.
We’ll keep watching for lights coming back on in the local area, We’ll listen for sounds that will indicate unusual activity. We’ll keep listening for radio and TV broadcast signals. We’ll keep an eye on cell phones for resumed service

My Family’s car has a range of more than 700km, so even if half full ( which is the minimum we like to let it fall to), we’d very easily be able to cover the 100km distance, even allowing for diversions. It also carries GHBs, rations, extra fuel, and of course radio transmitting equipment.

Those members of family who know of our preps, are already part of the survival group. They know who they are and they know what to do in an emergency. This means that there is no need consult nor explain to any non included members of the family what we are doing.

As BP proposed, if by early hours there is no return of electrical power and no plausible and acceptable explanations of the situation broadcast, then an early start on boxing day morning would be tactically advantageous. We would leave under he simple pretext of having not slept well and wanting to make sure our own home is secure. Leaving this early will probably mean just leaving a note on the kitchen table for the others.

[Mortblanc]

And the wife looks at you and says, "Its below zero out there, we have to walk three days and I have to carry this 2 year old the entire way. I don't think so!"

Remember Jonas took your car and all comms away from you.

You are in England with no weapons, no knowledge of the situation between you and home, a major urban area to traverse, and the prospect that the lights will probably come back on within a short time.

I have seen power out situations that extended for 10 days in the present "normal times". Going into panic mode in the first 24 hours is absurd, even if the comms are down.



As for the real situation with the vehicles? You will probably be able to crank them up and drive home. That is what NASA does when coronal mass ejections blast the equipment orbiting the Earth outside the protection of the atmosphere.

They turn them off, then turn them back on when the EMP event is over. Electronics far more delicate than those in a vehicle, and they work just fine.

The comms will probably be back up before daylight as the crews crank up the mobile transmitting vans that were not in use during the surge. Nashville TN once lost a TV station to a tornado and the affiliate transmitted for nearly a year out of a transit van with a mast antenna. They had restored operational capabilities out of that van, within a few hours.

[bigpaul]

you cant keep changing the scenarios to suit yourself Mortblanc, who said Jonas had taken the car? no one drives my car except me or the wife...on pain of death!!! and who said Brits had no weapons? just cos we don't (normally) have assault rifles don't mean we are unarmed! a 60 mile drive on british roads..even the bad ones...is only a couple of hours drive, 1 hour if you drive like my brother in law!!!

[Jonas]

(25 November 2013, 18:27)Mortblanc Wrote: And the wife looks at you and says, "Its below zero out there, we have to walk three days and I have to carry this 2 year old the entire way. I don't think so!"

Remember Jonas took your car and all comms away from you.

No I didn't! Reread th scenario. The situation is no more or less than as it's described!

Quote:You are in England with no weapons,

Firearms are not involved in the scenario. You can presume that Grandpa carved the Christmas roast with something other than a penknife however. Being a grandfather myself, living in an urban setting, there are garden tools, etc. should weapons become necessary.

Quote:a major urban area to traverse,

Reread the scenario - Grandpa and Grandma live in a "medium sized town". NOT a "major urban area"

Quote:no knowledge of the situation between you and home.

Knowledge of the overall situation is missing... that's one of the challenges written into the scenario.

Quote:and the prospect that the lights will probably come back on within a short time

Yes, the electricity could be restored in an hour or two... but that is more likely if only a small portion of the town was affected... is that the case here?

Quote:As for the real situation with the vehicles? You will probably be able to crank them up and drive home. That is what NASA does when coronal mass ejections blast the equipment orbiting the Earth outside the protection of the atmosphere.

Possibly! Or maybe two vehicles will crank and three won't. Or maybe only one will start...

Quote:They turn them off, then turn them back on when the EMP event is over. Electronics far more delicate than those in a vehicle, and they work just fine.

But if they don't?

Quote:The comms will probably be back up before daylight as the crews crank up the mobile transmitting vans that were not in use during the surge. Nashville TN once lost a TV station to a tornado and the affiliate transmitted for nearly a year out of a transit van with a mast antenna. They had restored operational capabilities out of that van, within a few hours.

But there are times when frequencies are completely blocked by solar flares - the 40 meter band was nothing but static here two or three weeks ago for about a day. And if the comms don't come back up, what then?

[Mortblanc]

(25 November 2013, 18:36)bigpaul Wrote: you cant keep changing the scenarios to suit yourself Mortblanc, who said Jonas had taken the car? no one drives my car except me or the wife...on pain of death!!! and who said Brits had no weapons? just cos we don't (normally) have assault rifles don't mean we are unarmed! a 60 mile drive on british roads..even the bad ones...is only a couple of hours drive, 1 hour if you drive like my brother in law!!!

I am not changing the scenario.

When I said that Jonas had taken the car I mean that he had rendered automobile use impossible due to supposed EMP. Therefore NO ONE is driving unless they are in a pre-1975 model auto.

When I said no weapons I meant none carried in the vehicle as a regular item.

I am not the one reinterpreting the scenario every 5-10 posts.

You guys keep playing if you want to, I pass on this one. If someone did find the perfect answer he would just change the stipulations again.

[Skean Dhude]

Scenarios are good for one thing, getting you thinking and this one has certainly caused a lot of that. I think a few people have had some thoughts over this one. Hopefully everyone learnt something from it.