Protecting Against Solar Flares, Electromagnetic Pulse, and Geomagnetic Storms

Lately I have been getting a large amount of inquiries about protecting against Solar Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections (CME’s), Geomagnetic Storms (also called Geomagnetic Induced Currents) and Solar Storms.  In fact it is one of the top searches on Disaster Preparedness Blog for the last year and for good reason, as we are entering the Solar Maximum phase which in most cases causes an increase in solar activity.

I did a few previous articles that explain a bit about what these are and how they have impacted businesses and infrastructure during past events that you can read more about here:

Sun Spots, Solar Flares, and Geomagnetic Induced Currents Can Disrupt Your Business

Coronal Mass Ejection May Cause Disruptions Being Called Solar Tsunami by Some

What exactly is Space Weather and Why you Should Care

Protecting against Solar Flares, CME’s, Geomagnetic Storms, and other related Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) such as an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) or lightening strike is possible and is something I offer to businesses, agencies and organizations through my consulting and services business Continuity Co., LLC.

I have never actually written about anything on protecting against these threats here for a number of reasons, mostly due to the number of myths that exist and often reinforced by bad information around the internet. I have even seen some good information on protecting your equipment called bogus so trying to find the correct information can at times be like navigating a mine field unless you are in the know.

Thanks to a fellow preparedness expert and someone I consider a friend, Arthur T. Bradley Ph.D. consumers and even small businesses can now make preparing and protecting against this kind of threat easier, cost effective, and even worth consideration.

Arthur Bradley recently wrote the book (literally) on just this topic called Emergency Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms. In fact, he didn’t just write the book, but he also tested and provides detailed information on methods some of the common and easy protection methods you can use to protect your electronics.

If you are a big business there are additional methods, steps and equipment you can use to give you added protection from these events. However, they are not always as cost effective for smaller businesses or consumers, but the information contained in the book will certainly help you.

Since protecting against these events is an inquiry I do get often If you would like more information on how to protect your business from Solar Flares, EMP's and Geomagnetic Storms please feel free to contact me.

As part of this post I am also giving away ONE (1) autographed copy of Arthur Bradley’s new book Emergency Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms. To enter, please leave a comment on why you would find this information useful, what steps if any you have taken in the past to protect against these threats, and why you feel you should get a copy of the book. I will choose a person randomly as the winner. Don’t miss out the book is filled with great tips and useful information you can use to enhance your disaster preparations.

Once the giveaway contest is complete I will do a followup with a few more details on protecting against these events. The contest will run until May 1, 2012 12:00 AM.

Sun Spots, Solar Flares, and Geomagnetic Induced Currents Can Disrupt Your Business

Photo by NASA SOHO

After a long absence, our Sun once again has sun spots which are currently giving off moderate solar flares. This current cycle known as Sun Cycle 24 was predicted to start around 2013, and was also predicted to produce moderate solar flares.

Why are we writing about solar flares and solar storms here on Disaster Preparedness Blog?

Because there have been major events in the past where these storms (also referred to as, solar tempest, Geomagnetic storms, Geomagnetic Induced Currents - GIC, Coronal Mass Ejections - CME's, among others,to learn more please refer to our references) have caused outages to communications equipment.

One of the most notable is the events of September 1st 1859, in which telegraph lines were completely burned up leaving only ashes behind on the ground.

While there have been other events, such as the GIC induced blackout in Quebec, Canada which occurred in March 1989, and in 2003 over 20,000 people in Sweden lost power, and two Japanese satellites were disabled.

Also, in 1994 a Canadian telecommunications Satellite was disabled and it took six months and approximately $70 million to repair. These are not the only events which have occured due to these storms, but are some of the most notable.

A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) titled: Severe Space Weather Events - Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts: A Workshop Report (which can be viewed at the link) highlights our vulnerabilities and suggests that should the events of August  28th through September 2nd 1859 occur today the estimated dollar value of the damage caused would be around $2 trillion (for the first year) and would cause a cascade of failures which would take from 4 - 10 years to repair.

If this should occur, communications lines, and technology would be severely impacted. Even satellite communications would most likely be sporadic, if not completely disrupted as well.

This event would nearly instantly set the United States as well as other locations around the globe back to pre-telegraph days and reliable communications with customers and clients would be severely impacted.

For businesses the only viable forms of communications for such an event would be to rely on traditional mail and courier services, and some communications through hand-held radios or HAM radios may be possible if these systems were protected.

The United States is entirely unprepared for such an event, and the impact would have long term devastating effects on critical infrastructure and private sectors alike. 

Having a plan in place now can help you keep your business going, don't wait till it's too late!