Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Even though the Hawaiian Islands were about 900 miles away from the deton-
ation (and this was a fairly small nuclear explosion), there were still civilian dam-
ages in the form of hundreds of streetlights shutting down, burglar alarms mal-
functioning, and microwave transmissions being damaged.
EMPs are not the kind of threat that can be carried out by amateur hackers
or even terrorist groups. They require a fairly powerful nuclear device that is
launched by rocket to high altitudes. In other words, EMP threats are likely from
national governments such as North Korea, Iran, and others who might be likely
to attack the United States using sophisticated rockets and nuclear devices.
EMPs over areas with high population densities and major electronic usage
could be devastating to a nation's economy, because many of the damaged devices
might not be able to be repaired and would need replacement.
Imagine the impact on major urban areas such as New York or Los Angeles
if they concurrently lost electric power, radios, telephones, televisions, and trans-
portation systems, including automobiles, for a period that might last several
months.
Other forms of explosions besides nuclear can produce an EMP but over short-
er ranges. It is possible that “natural” EMP bursts can occur from major solar
flares. In fact, on March 9, 1986, the sun ejected solar gas that hit the earth's atmo-
sphere above Canada. About six million people lost electric power for around nine
hours. To date, these natural EMP bursts have been less dangerous than nuclear
EMP bursts.
Although long-range damages from EMPs require sophisticated rocket
launches to altitudes of more than fifty miles, short-range EMP damages for a spe-
cific city or an area of perhaps ten miles in diameter might occur from a nuclear
explosion at the upper limits of jet aircraft flight, such as 60,000 feet.
The bottom line is that an EMP is a serious threat that requires a national re-
sponse by national military and civilian governments. Individuals, corporations,
and local governments can do very little to protect themselves against EMP dam-
ages.
While EMP harm is discussed primarily as a threat against electronic devices
rather than humans, a major EMP strike would kill a number of civilians. Those at
risk would be hospital patients on life support, patients with embedded electronic
medical devices such as pacemakers, and those who need relatively sophisticated
medical treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation for tumors.
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