American Survival Guide Magazine Doomsday Spring 2015

DDAY_COVER 11/21/14 3:10 AM Page US_C1
FROM THE EDITORS OF AMERICAN SURVIVAL GUIDE DOOMSDAY SPRING

FROM THE EDITORS OF AMERICAN SURVIVAL GUIDE
DOOMSDAY SPRING
U.S. $8.99 DISPLAY UNTIL: 2/24/15
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ASG-SIP-1412-BROCHURE 11/21/14 1:00 AM Page C2
Be Prepared! Get Informed!

Throughout the years, there has been no shortage of information from official sources on how
to stay prepared for and avoid natural and
man-made disasters, specifically the atomic
bomb. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Civil
Defense Department issued dozens of different brochures and pamphlets designed to
educate the population about this new and
potentially deadly threat. Shown here are
not only a bevy of atomic-era brochures,
but additional doomsday brochures
regarding natural disasters.
ASG-SIP-1412-BROCHURE 11/21/14 1:01 AM Page 3
ASG-SIP-1412-TOC.qxp 11/24/14 2:11 AM Page 4
CONTENTS
8 EARTHQUAKE
Staying Alive When the Earth Quakes
13 Stories of Survival: Gail Gase
13 Stories of Survival: Xian Chapman
14 The Great Alaskan Quake, 1964
15 The New Madrid Earthquakes, 1811-12
16 Earthquake Survival Gear Guide
18 CHILL FACTOR
Surviving the Icy Grips of a Blizzard
22 Stories of Survival: Lauren Weinberg
23 Stories of Survival: Boyd Severson
24 The Great Blizzard of 1993
25 The Schoolhouse Blizzard
26 Blizzard Survival Gear Guide
28 A PERFECT STORM
Surviving the Terror of a Hurricane
33 The Saffir-Simpson Scale
34 Stories of Survival: Hurricane Andrew
34 Stories of Survival: Hurricane Mitch
35 Stoires of Survival: Hurricane Katrina
36 Hurricane Survival Gear Guide
84 TOXIC TERROR
Surviving a Nuclear Attack

47 The Atomic Bomb Over Hiroshima, 1945
How to Survive a Deadly Chemical Attack

90 Stories of Survival: Tokyo Subway Attack, 1995
91 Stories of Survival: Halabja Massacre, 1988
92 Chemical Attack Survival Gear Guide
48 TORNADOES
94 WAVES OF DEATH
Surviving the Terror of the Twisters

52 Stories of Survival: Michael Naruta
53 Stories of Survival: Wilma Nelson
54 The Tri-State Tornado of 1925
55 Joplin Tornado of 211
56 Tornado Survival Gear Guide
Surviving a Relentless Wall of Water: The Tsunami

98 Stories of Survival: Paul Landgraver
99 Stories of Survival: Maria Belon
100 Japanese Tsunami of 2011
100 Valdivia Tsunami of 1960
102 Tsunami Survival Gear Guide
58 FOUNTAINS OF FIRE
104 PLANET KILLERS
Surviving the Lava of a Volcanos Eruption

62 Stories of Survival: The Moore Family
63 Stories of Survival: August Cyparis
64 Mount Saint Helens Eruption of 1980
65 Mount Ontake Eruption of 2014
66 Volcano Survival Gear Guide
Surviving the Catastrophe of an Asteroid Impact

108 Asteroid Dangers, 1908-2029
38 MUSHROOM CLOUD
110 BECOMING SELF-AWARE

How to Survive When the Machines Rise
116 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

68 FLYING LEAD
Surviving an Active Shooter Senario
71 Stories of Survival: Shari Thornberg
72 Columbine High School, 1999
72 Aurora, Colorado, Shooting, 2012
How to Survive an Alien Invasion

120 Stories of Survival
121 Alien Invasion: Roswell, N.M., 1947
122 Alien Invasion Survival Gear Guide
124 THE INVISIBLE JOLT

74 GLOBAL SICKNESS
How to Survive a World-Wide Pandemic
82 Ebola Pandemic of 2014
83 Ultimate Pandemic Survival Kit
Surviving the Devastation of an Electromagnetic Pulse

129 The Carrington Event, 1859
129 Starfish Prime, 1962
130 EMP Survival Gear Guide
DEPARTMENTS
2 Preparation Literature
6 Editorial
7 Doomsday Clock
ASG-SIP-1412-TOC.qxp 11/24/14 2:12 AM Page 5
DOOMSDAY
FROM THE EDITORS OF AMERICAN SURVIVAL GUIDE
One of the illusions of life is that

the present hour is not the critical,
decisive hour. Write it on your
heart that every day is the best day
in the year. No man has learned
anything rightly, until he knows
that every day is Doomsday.
EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief: Ryan Lee Price
Managing Editor: Kari Windes
Senior Creative Director: Eric Knagg
Art Director: Jesse Cao
CONTRIBUTORS
Tim Ralston, Larry Schwartz, Tori Tellem, Jeff Zurschmeide
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DOOMSDAY 2014 by Engaged Media by Beckett.
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This magazine is purchased by the buyer with the understanding

that information presented is from various sources from which there
can be no warranty or responsibility by Engaged Media by Beckett
as to the legality, completeness or technical accuracy.
ASG-SIP-1412-EDIT 11/24/14 12:59 AM Page 6
EDITORIAL
DOOMSDAY
The apocalypse
is as inevitable
as the setting sun; at some point in the future,
the Earth and all life on it, will come to an end.
Eight or nine billion years from now, our sun will
start to get warmer, and it will begin to grow
larger. It will slowly engulf Mercury, then Venus,
then Earth, as it turns into a Red Giant. The millions of years preceding this event, life on Earth
will be, to put it gently, uncomfortable. This is
scientific fact.
The Earth was born of fire and it will die of
fire, and that will be the end of it. The end of it
all, forever.
Geologists and archeologists have found
evidence of many prehistoric events that
spelled doom for life on earth: The Tamu Massif
volcano that caused the Jurassic extinction or
the deep-ocean anoxia (lack of oxygen) events
in the Silurian Period nearly 2.3 million years
ago, for example.
But we dont have to go very far into history
to find a relevant instance: In 1883, in the Sunda
Strait between Java and Sumatra, the island
volcano of Krakatoa erupted, killing 36,500
people and dumping so much ash into the
atmosphere that it lowered the temperature of
the earth by 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit, while concussion waves from the blast circled the globe
several times. That was one volcano, erupting
one time. Imagine a hundred volcanos erupting
a hundred times, and it isnt too difficult to
understand how fragile this planet really is.
The cause of our demise wont be limited to
just volcanoes, as there are countless other
doomsday scenarios to consider: floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis. The 1931
China floods killed nearly 4,000,000 people in
one of the greatest natural disasters in
recorded history. Fifty years earlier, the Yellow
River slipped its banks and wiped out nearly
2,000,000 people. In 1556, the Shaanxi earthquake killed 830,000 people, and in 1976,
655,000 people died in the Tangshan earthquake. The Ancash earthquake in 1970 caused
an avalanche that killed 20,000 people in
Peru, while two years later, 4,000 people died
in the 1972 Iran blizzard. If you were to add up
the casualties of the top 50 deadliest earthquakes in recorded history, they have claimed
6.7 million lives.
But the apocalypse isnt contained to the
whims of Mother Nature, as man is quite capable of destroying the planet and all who inhabit
it many times over. Currently, there are 17,300
nuclear warheads on the planet, divided among
nine nations (including Pakistan and North
Korea). Russia developed the Emperor Bomb,
the largest single doomsday devise humanity
has ever concocted. A mere 16,000 is needed to
destroy every square inch of land on the planet.
The Earth may not be destroyed in one giant
fireball, but with a million silent whispers with
toxic gases or plagues of infectious diseases.
Maybe Ebola can be a weapon, used like Small
Pox was in during Pontiacs Rebellion against
the British in Pittsburg in 1736. VX gas, Sarin
gas, and Mustard gas have all been used, Sarin
most recently during the Syrian civil war and in
Iraq against the Kurds in 1988.
Some claim humankind hasnt the motivation to destroy the planet, and Mother Nature
doesnt possess the capabilities. Either way, it
has been proven time and again that we have no
control over what the future may hold, and
meanwhile, the sun is slowly getting larger, proving that one thing is for sure: the end is inevitable.
Ryan Lee Price

Editor, American Survival Guide
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
The Four Horsemen

of the Apocalypse
I looked,
and there
before me
was a pale
horse. Its
rider was
named
Death,
and Hell
followed
close behind
him.
Revelations 6:8
[TOP]
After the eruption of
Krakatau decimated
the island, the volcano
got busy rebuilding
itself. Called Anak
Krakatau (meaning
Child of Krakatoa), it
grows approximately
20 inches a year.
ASG-SIP-1412-CLOCK 11/24/14 12:30 AM Page 7
THE DOOMSDAY CLOCK:
Five Minutes to Midnight

Earlier this year, the Science and
Security Board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced an ominous warning regarding
our proximity to ultimate doom: As always,
new technologies hold the promise of doing
great good, supplying new sources of clean
energy, curing disease, and otherwise enhancing our lives. From experience, however, we also
know that new technologies can be used to
diminish humanity and destroy societies, the
board wrote. We can manage our technology,
or become victims of it. The choice is ours, and
the Clock is ticking.
The Atomic Age started in late 1945 after
atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and began an era of fear that gripped
the world. A group of 11 researchers in the Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of
Chicago met to address the moral and social
responsibilities of scientists regarding the use
of nuclear energy, its possible consequences
and potential impact on the planet. Calling

themselves the Chicago Atomic Scientists, they
began publishing their discussions in mimeograph form in December 1945.
As threat of nuclear war increased, the
Chicago Atomic Scientists used a clock as an
analogy to represent the threat. The closer
the minute hand gets to midnightit was
originally set at seven minutes to midnight in
1947the closer the world is to annihilation.
Originally, the clock only represented a
nuclear threat, but in 2007, the Bulletin of
Atomic Scientists announced they would
include climate change in their assessments.
One of the original founders of the Bulletin
of Atomic Scientists explained in 1984: The
Bulletins clock is not a gauge to register the
ups and downs of the international power
struggle; it is intended to reflect basic changes
in the level of continuous danger in which
mankind lives in the nuclear age...
DOOMSDAY CLOCK HIGHLIGHTS

YEAR
MINUTES LEFT
1947
The initial setting of the Doomsday Clock.
REASON
1949
The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb.
1953
The United States and the Soviet Union test thermonuclear devices.
1963
12
1972
12
The United States and the Soviet Union sign the SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
1974
India tests a nuclear device (Smiling Buddha), SALT II talks stall. Both the United States and the Soviet Union modernize MIRVs.
1981
Soviet war in Afghanistan toughens the U.S. nuclear posture. Reagan argues that the only way to end the Cold War is to win it.
1983
The United States and Soviet Union sign the Partial Test Ban Treaty, limiting atmospheric nuclear testing.
The clock is adjusted in December 1983, since the ongoing Afghanistan war heats the Cold War. U.S. Pershing II medium-range
ballistic missile and cruise missiles are deployed in Western Europe.
10
Fall of the Berlin Wall, dissolution of Iron Curtain sealing off Eastern Europe, Cold War nearing an end.
1991
17
United States and Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the Soviet Union dissolves.
2007
North Koreas test of a nuclear weapon and Irans nuclear ambitions.
2012
Lack of global political action to address nuclear weapons stockpiles, the potential for regional nuclear conflict, nuclear power
safety, and global climate change.
DOOMSDAY
1990
ASG-SIP-1412-EARTHQUAKE 11/24/14 12:27 AM Page 8
EARTHQUAKE|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
Earthquake
STAYING ALIVE WHEN YOUR WORLD QUAKES > Story by Scott Fisher
Youre in the middle
of an otherwise ordinary day, filled with

ordinary daily preoccupations: making coffee, getting your kids ready for school,
being stuck in traffic, hoping you can make it home at a decent hour. Without
warning, theres a sound like the sudden passing of a high-speed train not quite
an explosion, sharper than a roar or rumble, and then youre thrown violently, first
one way and then another, slamming into furniture or walls or anything near.
The sound, the vibration, the wild uncontrolled motion keeps on for half a
minute, a minute, an eternity, and then theres a crashing, tearing noise and things
around you start collapsing, ripping into dusty shards of wood, masonry, and
glass. Chunks of walls, the contents of shelves and cupboards, and razor-edged
pieces of your windows litter the floor. The tang of ozone and the musk of natural
gas begin to spread, and the initial shock turns to dread as you realize fire may be
next. What happened?
Youve just experienced an earthquake, one of natures most frightening
demonstrations of power. And while most people associate earthquakes with
coastal areas (especially California and Japan), the truth is that earthquakes can
occur nearly anywhere, and almost always do so without warning. And as with
most other life-threatening catastrophes, it isnt enough to survive the event
itselfyou need a plan to survive the after-effects. In the case of earthquakes,
these nearly always include more earthquakes, which can be devastating to an
area already damaged and weakened by the initial shock.
An earthquake occurs when two plates of the Earths crust, which have been
pressing against one another for years, decades, or centuries, suddenly reach the
point at which the pressure can no longer be contained. The plates move suddenlyeither by slipping alongside each other, by sliding over and under, by buckling, or by simply fracturingreleasing astounding amounts of energy.
How much energy? An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.5 on the Richter
scale, which is roughly the point at which humans can feel the motion, has an
energy yield equivalent to 2.7 metric tons of TNT. (And a short note on the Richter
scale: each increase of one point on the Richter scale releases ten times as much
energy as the lower of the two. So an earthquake of 4.0 releases ten times what a
3.0 quake releases; a 5.0 releases 100 times what the 3.0, and a 6.0 releases
1,000 times, or roughly the yield of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.)
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
Why Does the Earth Quake?
DOOMSDAY
9
Unlike the air blast of a nuclear explosion,

however, much of the energy from an earthquake is released into the ground, and the
sheer mass of the earth absorbs a lot of the
energy. (Think of the difference between a
compact car hitting a pedestrian versus a
compact car hitting a cement truck.) But that
doesnt mean the damage isnt serious. The

release of energy in an earthquake causes
shock waves, some of which travel through the
ground, others of which travel on the surface.
While both are powerful, its the surface waves
that cause the most damage, because they
impart their energy into objects on the surfacesuch as homes, office buildings, roads,
and other structures.
Unlike the single blast of an explosion
(nuclear or otherwise), earthquakes nearly
always come with a cluster of aftershocks
minor adjustments made by those plates in
the earth as a result of the initial point of fracture, called the epicenter. Like ice cracking on
the surface of a frozen pond, that first break
PHOTOS BY THINKSTOCK
DOOMSDAY
10
AT ABOUT 6 A.M., I WAS AWOKEN BY WHAT I THOUGHT,

IN MY HALF-ASLEEP STATE, WAS A HYDROGEN BOMB
puts a strain on other weak spots near the epicenter, and this strain, in the days and weeks
following the quake, can cause those weak
spots to slip as well. Normally, aftershocks are
less powerful than the initial quake, but the
largest can still reach about 80 percent of the
original release. Occasionally, an aftershock
can exceed the earthquake itself (as happened
in the 1987 Whittier quake near Los Angeles).
And because those aftershocks hit an area
thats already experienced potentially massive
structural damage from the initial quake, they
can occasionally be far more devastating than
the first shock.
The first rule, as in any disaster, is dont

panic. Because earthquakes happen without
warning signs, the fear response from the sudden violent movement of the ground beneath
your feet can be terrifying. (How terrifying? In
the 1971 Sylmar quake in Southern California,
stories circulated about people who, awakened
from a deep sleep at about 6 a.m., leapt from
their beds and ran down the street nakedonly
to realize a block or so later.)
More practically, if youre inside during a
quake, stay close to an interior wall, preferably
under some sturdy object (solid table or desk).
Most important, stay away from objects that
can fall on youas I did, if inadvertently, in the
February, 1971 Sylmar quake (magnitude: 6.6),
while I was in high school.
At about 6 a.m., I was awoken by what I
thought, in my half-asleep state, was a hydrogen bomb: my bed shook, seeming to throw me
back and forth while the world roared and
thundered for about a minute. I thought I saw
the wall-mounted heater torn off the wall (it
turned out not to be damaged). Because I was
still in bed, I curled up into a ball in the center of
the bed and pulled my two pillows and blankets over me to provide some cushion in the
event of debris.
After the shaking ended, I saw that a large
combat knife (even at that age I had an interesting collection of weapons) that Id hung over my
bed was no longer on the wall. I checked later
and found it had fallen between my bed and the
wall. Which suggests a bonus survival tip: dont
hang heavy, edged objects over the bed.
Survive the Collateral Damage

Weve already discussed electrical wires,
but gas lines and water mains often break in a
major earthquake. Much of the damage in the
1906 San Francisco earthquake came about
due to fires that spread in the wake of the
tremors; some estimates claim that 90 percent
of the damage was due to post-quake fires.
Your job at this point, then, is to assess
immediate risks to yourself and your family.
Which means that the first thing you do after
the shaking stops: make sure youre wearing
sturdy shoes. If there is broken glass, wood or
masonry debris, or some other hazards, a pair
of shoes can make the difference between
being able to protect yourself or being a casualty. (If youre a parent, your first instinct of
course will be to run and check on the kids, but
slip on a pair of shoes first. I always keep at
least one pair of shoes by my bed, but then Ive
lived through three of the four major California
DOOMSDAY
Make it Through the First Quake
If youre outside, stay clear of trees, poles,

buildings (especially glass storefronts, as glass
shattering during an earthquake can travel
some distance) and especially power lines. My
own experience with the 1989 Loma Prieta
quake happened while I was in my front yard; I
quickly estimated the height of the nearest
light post and put myself a safe distance from
both the post and from the glass that framed
the entry way of my house. It was unnerving to
feel the ground bounce and sway beneath me;
it felt as though I was standing in a moving bus
driving over a rutted dirt field. I rode it out, and
was fortunate that the glass did not break.
If youre in your vehicle, pull over to a clear
location and stop. Avoid bridges and underpassessadly, the Loma Prieta quake proved
how dangerous they can be in a major shaker. If
a power line falls on your car, the Red Cross recommends that you stay in the car until emergency personnel arrive to remove it. As contrary
as that may sound to the nature of our readership, the science behind it is clear: the tires of
your car insulate you from any electrical current
that makes contact with the cars body, but if
you step out of the car the current can flow
through you to ground and electrocute you. So
prepare to survive by stopping as far as possible from overhead wires.
11
earthquakes of the last 40 years. I recommend

it, especially compared to the alternative.)
If youre at home, its best at this point to do
two simultaneous inventories: locate your family members while looking for damage that can
kill or injure you. If youre not at home, assess
the risks around you, again focusing on fire,
electrical wires, broken glass and other debris.
If you are inside a building, chances are good
the power is out, but not necessarily: in the
1987 Whittier quake, we had full electricity and
cable TV, so we were able to monitor the status
of the city. However, in the 1971 and 1989
quakes, electricity was out for several days in

our area and for longer in the places hit even
harder. Well discuss that more in the Gear section, later in this article.
Once youve located family and identified
immediate threats, its time to concentrate on
surviving the aftershocks. This starts with basic
triage: is anyone injured? Are your gas or water
lines ruptured? Find and distribute the items in
your emergency kit and refer to your plan
(again, well go over both of these in the Gear
section). You should know exactly where to go
to turn off the gas or water, and exactly what
tools to use (its a 17mm open-ended wrench in
my house, and its in the third drawer of my tool
chest where is yours?)
Other threats may not be as obvious. Brian
Falstaff rode out the initial Loma Prieta shaker,
but while assessing damage to his Ben Lomond
homeless than a mile from the epicenterhe
noticed that his chimney had major gaps, and
then realized that the upper eight to 10 feet of it
had actually been broken off from the base and
rotated 90 degrees. This meant that another
aftershock might cause the chimneyremember, eight to 10 feet of bricksto fall through
the roof, into the house.
So Brian looped a section of rope around the
upper, detached section of the chimney, hooked
the other end to the trailer hitch on his truck,
andfrom a safe distancepulled the chimney
down into the open space at the side of the
house. One of Brians neighbors noticed him
doing this, and together they pulled down the
similarly detached chimney on his house. By
mid-afternoon, they had worked with a number
of neighbors with similar problems, preventing
further injuries and property damage.
But a final risk from a major earthquake can
be flood, especially if a reservoir is threatened
or damaged by the tremors. In the 1971 quake,
damage was detected to the Van Norman Dam,
an old earthenware dam that formed the
retaining wall for a huge reservoir at the north
end of the Valley (near the epicenter). There
was serious concern that if the retaining wall
was breached, the Valley would be flooded
with huge damage to property and potential
loss of life. For this, you want to be sure to
monitor local news and first-responder communication.
DOOMSDAY
12
|EARTHQUAKE
PERSONAL ACCOUNT
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
Gail Case
If positioning yourself in a safe
place like a doorjamb or beside a
bed is not possible, then at least
choose somewhere with soft
objects, as did Gail Case in the
October, 1987 Loma Prieta earthquake (magnitude: 6.9). Gail had
been shopping in a Sunnyvale
Babies R Us at the moment the
earthquake hit, and found herself
in the middle of the store. The
aisle to one side of her held cribs,
changing tables, and shelves; to
the other side, large packages of
disposable diapers. Gail quickly
reasoned that she stood a better
chance of survival with the soft
packs of diapers than with hard
wooden furniture, so she rode out
the quake being battered by
packs of Pampers.
The most important thing to

know in an earthquake survival
situation is to stay away from
windows. Xian Chapman of
Reseda, Calif., had been feeling
the effects of a winter case of the
flu in January, 1994, so she
dragged her pillow and blanket
out to the couch in her living
room to fall asleep watching TV
instead of in her bed. A few hours
before dawn, the San Fernando
Valley suffered an earthquake
with a magnitude of 6.7shattering her window and dropping all
the glass onto her bed. The sight
of long shards of razor-sharp
glass embedded into her mattress haunt her to this day.
DOOMSDAY
Xian Chapman
13
EARTHQUAKE|IN THE PAST
DOOMSDAY
14
The Great Alaska Quake, 1964

The highest magnitude of any earthquake
measured on U.S. soil and the second largest
ever recorded (9.2), the Alaska quake of March
27, 1964 killed 131 peoplenine in the earthquake itself and 122 in the resulting tsunami.
Anchorage, located only about 120 miles from
the epicenter, sustained the most damage and
five of the deaths, with damage to or outright
destruction of buildings within a 30-block area.
The three-minute shock destroyed many
schools, either through demolition in the initial
quake or through landslide activity.
Landslides were responsible for much of the
damage. The Turnagain Heights area of
Anchorage experienced the worst of these
landslides, resulting in three fatalities; furthermore, an area of approximately 130 acres suffered displacement, in which the ground breaks
into blocks that lift, collapse, tilt and separate
from one another. In other areas, vertical displacements lifted blocks of ground as much as
35 feet, or dropped as much as seven.
In the city of Seward, a 1,000-foot section of
the waterfront slid into Resurrection Bay. As if
the local tsunami wasnt bad enough, the collapse of buildings and industry on the waterfront caused burning oil to be poured into the
bay, and the tsunami carried the flaming oil
across the surface of the waterfollowed by

the main tsunami 20 minutes later. Seward suffered 13 fatalities as a result.
Because of Alaskas coastline, the tsunami
that resulted from this massive upheaval of the
earth peaked in a wave recorded at more than
200 feet high. 106 people on the Alaska coast
died from the tsunami; four campers on the
beach at Newport, Oregon lost their lives, as did
13 Californians, while the property damage in
Alaska, Oregon and California topped $95 million. The city of San Rafael, in San Francisco
Bay rather than on the open ocean, sustained
$600,000 in damage to the harbor and boats.
(Amazingly, the estimated 10,000 people in
San Francisco who lined up to see the tidal
wave suffered zero fatalities.)
The earthquake and tsunami deaths from
the 1964 quake resulted in the establishment,
in 1967, of the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami
Warning Center in Palmer, Alas.
(http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov) While the Centers primary goal is to provide tsunami warnings to Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California,
and British Columbia in Canada (which had
suffered $10 million in damage, though no loss
of life, in the 1964 quake), it also provides
earthquake data to anyone interested.
The New Madrid Earthquakes, 1811-12

Over the course of three months (December
1811 to February 1812), the community of New
Madrid, Mo. was hit by three massive earthquakes: one at 7.5 and two at 7.7. But what is
most significant about this earthquake (or
cluster of earthquakes, if you will) is its location: more or less in the center of the continent,
a long way from the coastlines and young-fold
mountains normally associated with earthquakes. The New Madrid quakes remain the
most powerful earthquakes to affect the eastern United States in recorded history.
At 2:15 a.m. local time, on the morning of
December 16, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook
the northeast Arkansas/Missouri area. Reports
of ground motion described as most alarming
and frightening came from as far away as
Nashville, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky;
the shaking was sufficient to wake people in
New York, Washington, D.C., and Charleston, S.C.
Houses were shaken, chimneys destroyed, and
near the epicenter, dirt and water were thrown
tens of feet into the air through liquefaction.
In New Bourbon, Mo., boatman John Bradbury, who was moored to a small island, later
reported that the perpendicular banks, both
above us and below us, began to fall into the
river in such vast masses, as to nearly sink our
boat by the swell they occasioned. Some five
hours later, an aftershock of 7.0 rocked the area

again, and again the East Coast felt the
tremors. By daylight, Bradbury had totted up 27
separate shocks.
Then, at 9:15 on the morning of January 23,
1812, a 7.3-magnitude quake again shook the
New Madrid area. For this event, the Ohio River
was iced over, so there was little river traffic
and few people to record the event, but those
who were present reported warping of the
ground, soil and rock being ejected, cracks
and fissures forming, and landslides including
caving in of stream and river banks.
The final event in this cluster struck at 3:45
a.m. on February 7, 1812, a 7.5-magnitude quake
that occurred in several shocks. Contemporary
reports put the last of these shocks as equal to
the initial event the previous December; the
town of New Madrid was leveled, and houses
as far away as St. Louis were damaged severely,
typically losing chimneys from the swaying of
the earth. The Mississippi River even bore witness to the effect, with uplift along the fault
resulting in the creation of temporary waterfalls
at Kentucky Bend, and waves were observed
traveling upstream. Finally, the creation of
Reelfoot Lake when streams, in what is now
Lake County, Tenn., were obstructed by the
seismic activity.
DOOMSDAY
PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTOS
One of the worst earthquakes in U.S. history was the San Francisco
earthquake in 1906 as well as the devastating fires that followed.
15
EARTHQUAKE|GEAR GUIDE
DOOMSDAY
16
Much of this gear is common to any emergency, and

are probably already set up
for your survival plan: food,
water, light, communication, protection from exposure. But there are a few little tips Ive picked up from
decades in California. In
order of importance:
First-aid kit. You
should at a minimum be
prepared to dress small
wounds, both laceration
and punctures, as well as
fractures and sprains. Its
like buying a motorcycle
helmet: you can get by with
a $50 helmet if your head is
only worth $50. But your kit
needs to contain, as a bare
minimum, disinfectant
(alcohol, peroxide, hand
sanitizer), gauze for making
bandages, tape for sealing
them, self-adhering tape
for wrapping injured joints,
tweezers, scissors, scalpel,
and pain relief. If you can
print out instructions on
basic first aid techniques
how to make a butterfly
bandage, and so forth

keep that in the first-aid kit.
In addition, if you live in
an area where a reservoir
might burst and flood your
surroundings, groundwater
may be contaminated so if
you use a well, be prepared
to use disinfectant tablets
(or better yet boil any water
you draw). If your water
reserves are stored in
sealed bottles (5-gallon
jugs or equivalent), you
wont need this for drinking
water, but its still a good
idea to keep
disinfectant/sanitizing
chemicals on hand for
other uses (washing
clothes, dishes, and general
cleanup).
Battery-operated
radio (with spare batteries). Chances are your
power will go out within
seconds of the first tremor,
and a battery-powered
radio will let you follow
announcements of the
aftermath of the quake.
Though power may not go
out: after the initial shock

of the 1987 Whittier quake,
we still had power and were
watching television when
the first aftershock hit. We
were treated to the eerie
sensation of seeing the
aftershock hit the news
studio, located about
halfway between the epicenter and our home. We
saw the news casters
scream and dive under the
desk as their set fell apart
on camera, lights falling
and exploding as walls
swayed and collapsed. I
thought it must be akin to
standing on the deck of a
ship and watching a torpedo coming at me, knowing it would hit but not
knowing how much damage it would do when it got
there. You should also consider a battery-operated
cell phone recharger, not
only to make calls to
communicate with
other family members,
but for other reasons
listed below.
Flashlights
(plus spare batteries), matches,
candles and
camp stove.
Never light a
match until
youre certain
you do not
have a gas
leak! But if youve
done your triage from the

previous section, you
should know that youre
safe. One tip, especially if
you have children: arrange
for everyone in your household to have a keychainstyle mini-flashlight, with a
switch that allows it to stay
on until turned off, and
hang these from lanyards.
Were big fans of the Photon Micro-Light (available
for around $10 from
sources such as the Knife
Center of the Internet; start
your search at
KnifeCenter.com/knifecenter/lights/ and look for Key
Ring Flashlights), and try to
have one on each keychain,
plus extras in the emergency kit to put on lanyards.
The first advantage is that a
mini-light on a lanyard puts
a pool of light right where
you need it: in front of your
feet, so you can look out for
debris, steps, or other dangersand of course, so you
can see your family members in the dark and damaged house. And second,
many of these lights are
available in multiple colors;
if you color-code the lights,
youll know who is coming
down the hall or around the
side of the house.
A diagram of where
to turn off water, gas,
and electricity to the
house (that is, your
master breaker box).
Broken water mains can
cause serious problems as
water either undermines
the foundation of your
house or damages the
structure itself. You should
definitely have some pipe
repair tape on hand, made
to seal leaks and breaks in
wet situations, for all kinds
centrate on tracking the

external situation, securing
the house and protecting
your family.
Probably the most
important thing, especially
if you have children: know
where the safety gear is,
and make sure they understand its importance. We
recently had our grandchildren staying with us for a
month, and like all six-yearolds, Jack loved playing
with our flashlights in the
backyard at dusk. Early in
the visit, I impressed on him
the importance of keeping
the flashlight in the same
place, and made a teachable moment to get him to
understand: we put his sister and grandmother in the
kitchen, then after I showed
Jack how to count drawers
to where the flashlight is
stored, I turned off all the
lights. Jack counted the
drawers, opened the right
one, and took out the flashlight, to the cheers of his
sister and grandmother.

Jack enjoyed the attention,
but the pride of accomplishment of having found
the emergency light made
the point that it has to be
where its supposed to be.
An emergency scanner, or at least an app for

your smartphone that acts
as an emergency scanner,
for listening to your local
police, fire and rescue organizations communications.
This can provide you far
more information about
local conditions than the
radio news, because you
can listen in directly on
first-responder radio transmissions.
I use a free app for
Android called Scanner
Radio, which has a number
of settings including the
ability to program in notifications so that if something
new occurs, my phone will
let me know. (Its also useful when you
hear sirens in
your neighborhood and
want to know
whether or not
the event theyre
responding to is a risk to
you or your family.) Of
course, this all assumes
that the cell towers arent
taken out by the earthquake; portable handheld
scanners are available for
about $100 or slightly less,
and dont rely on cell signals or wifi which can be
disrupted by a major earthquake event.
All this, of course, is on
top of what you no doubt
have stockpiled for a
generic emergency: water,
food, camping gear, and
any protection you feel is
necessary for the situation.
Experience shows that in
earthquakes, its generally
the better part of human
nature that comes to the
surface, and neighbors help
each other recover and protect themselves, as demonstrated my friends who
eliminated the risk of falling
chimneys. But either way,
preparing for some of the
specific risks presented by
earthquakes (and their
unpredictable aftershocks)
can help you and yours
come out in one piece if
not unshaken.
DOOMSDAY
of home emergencies. The

Fernco Pow-r-Wrap brand
(Fernco.com/plumbing/po
w-r-repair/pow-r-wrap)
can be used under water,
according to the instructions; I used it on a split
pipe after a hard winter
freeze and its effective and
permanent when installed
properly. This product is
epoxy-impregnated tape
packaged in a kit that
includes the epoxy catalyst
and plastic gloves for getting a tight seal with the
tape. It sets in a few minutes and can make the difference between an
uncomfortable mess and
potentially terminal water
damage on walls, floors
and foundation. And
remember, in an aftershock, weakened walls,
floors and foundation may
well mean injuries that
could be prevented.
Again, if you have children: be sure to have some
form of entertainment that
does not involve electricity.
In the 1989 Loma Prieta
quake, our oldest daughter
(about two at the time)
wasnt too afraid of the
earths shaking and shuddering, but as her mom and
I sat by the battery-powered radio listening to the
early reports of collapsed
bridges and freeway overpasses, our daughter got
bored and kept bringing us
entertainment: video cassettes, records (remember,
it was 1989 and vinyl was
still a thing). Books, card
games, and other
traditional activities will keep
them entertained safely
while you con-
17
ASG-SIP-1412-BLIZZARD 11/21/14 1:57 AM Page 18
BLIZZARD|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
18
Chill Factor
SURVIVING THE ICY GRIPS OF A BLIZZARD > Story by Graham Towers

Wind whips around you,
shooting ice and snow into your face. Youre

colder than youve ever been, colder than you imagined was possible. The wind finds any
vulnerable place in your clothing and fills it with snow. You cant see the horizon, you cant
see five feet in front of you: its a perfect whiteout. If you stand still for more than a second,
you can reach down and feel your boots already covered in powder, with more accumulating every second. If you take too long to get inside, you may find yourself buried alive.
Once the winds die down, if you were lucky enough to find shelter, you can get to a second (or third) floor window and look out on a changed landscape. Streets, cars, even
houses are totally covered in a still, white blanket. Everything is completely still, and
theres no telling how many people are outside, trapped under the snow.
What is a Blizzard?
A blizzard: A powerful, often devastating, natural phenomenon, it is a severe snowstorm with strong, sustained winds. It can last for hours or days. A peculiarly American
phenomenon (or at least an American word), the blizzard is made possible by the intermingling of cold, dry air from Canada, warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, and cold
moist air from the West Coast. When all three air currents meet, the conditions are right for
heavy wind and snow.
Some of these storms, the ones called ground blizzards, dont even require that it be
snowing. If theres snow on the ground and the winds are high enough, snow will whip into
the air and have a similar effect.
While blizzard-like events can and do happen in other places on the globe (historys
deadliest was in Iran in 1972), the U.S. is particularly prone to them. Blizzards occur most
often in the Great Plains states, coastal states in the north east, and states surrounding
the Great Lakes.
The damage that blizzards can cause is vast, as these storms combine all the dangers
of snowstorms with the violence of hurricanes. Livestock and other animals are vulnerable.
Cars and even houses can be completely buried beneath huge snow drifts. If roofs arent
ripped off by the terrible winds, then they can collapse under the weight of the snow. And
of course, once the winds die down, all of that snow is now stuck on the ground. Depending on what time of year the blizzard struck, it may be on the ground for a long time, blocking roads and restricting travel. If the blizzard struck at an unseasonable time of year, as
they sometimes do, crops may not have been fully harvested and end up destroyed.
DOOMSDAY
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
19
BLIZZARD|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
20
Surviving a Blizzard
Human life is also greatly endangered by

blizzards. In a condition called whiteout, there
is so much ambient snow being blown through
the air that a person can totally lose sight of the
horizon and general visibility can be reduced to
practically nothing (to be considered a blizzard,
visibility is no more than a quarter of a mile.)
There is no shortage of stories of people who
sought shelter in whiteout conditions, as close
as a few dozen yards away in areas they knew
welllike their own backyardsonly to become
disoriented and lose their way.
Due to the chilling effect of the high winds
(which can often reach hurricane-level
speeds), frostbite and hypothermia can occur
much more quickly than in normal snowstorm
conditions.
Blizzards can range in size from the local all
the way to country spanning. The Storm of the
Century stretched all the way from Canada to
Cuba. By the end of the 1972 blizzard in Iran, a
section of the country the size of Wisconsin had
been totally blanketed in up to 26 feet of snow.
These were largely rural areas that were
affected the most, with entire villages buried
and no high ground to get to. All told, 4,000
people died, making it the worlds deadliest
blizzard by nearly a factor of 10.
Like any disaster, the best way to survive a

blizzard is to be prepared for it. Even if youre
outside and the blizzard strikes without warning, knowing a few basic rules can save your life.
If the blizzard hits when youre at home (or
youre close enough to safely get back to your
home), you can run your heater or build a fire as
long as any heat source can safely vent to the
outside. Death by carbon monoxide poisoning
is highly preventable with proper practices and
monitoring.
Stay fed, keeping in mind that your food
supply may need to last up to four days. Even
once the storm has dissipated, the roads likely
will be impassable for some time, particularly in
areas where blizzards are rare. Drinking water is
also important: its easy to get dehydrated
when the cold temperatures fool ones body
into not feeling thirsty. Complicating matters
further, its easy for pipes to freeze and burst
when the temperature drops precipitously. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends keeping your faucets at a steady
drip, as even a tiny amount of moving water can
help prevent pipes from freezing.
Just as its easier to weather a blizzard at
home when theres an adequate supply of
emergency supplies, being trapped in your car
is made much safer by taking a few precautions. In addition to a standard emergency kit
(and a few road flares), people in areas where
snow is common should keep a small supply of
non-perishable food, bottles of water, and
warm clothes. A fully charged cell phone and
keeping at least a half tank of gas at all times
are some other common-sense measures that
are too often neglected.
In terms of procedure, should the blizzard
strike when youre in your car and too far from
shelter to safely get indoors, pull to the side of
the road and flip on your hazardsyour situation is bad enough without getting rear-ended
by somebody whos driving blind. Never leave
your car during a blizzard; its much easier to
find a car or truck on a road than it is to locate
one lone person walking through a snowstorm.
If you have a brightly colored piece of cloth
or plastic, you should tie it to the top of your
antenna or place it in a window for greater visibility. If you decide to run your car, do so only for
that someone trapped in a blizzard has the

opportunity and ability to build an emergency
snow cave while the wind rages is slim. However, should you find yourself trapped in the
elements and youre foresighted enough to
have brought along a camp shovel, a snow cave
might be your only option, particularly if there
are no visible trees, boulders, or other natural
wind breaks.
Ernest Wilkinson, author of Snow Caves for
Fun and Survival, long ago stopped taking tents
with him when he would go camping in the Colorado mountains in the dead of winter. With
just a shovel, hed build his snow caves, learning
along the way that the conventional wisdom
(finding a snow bank and bending down and
digging into it from the side) was a waste of
time and effort. Rather, he suggests digging
down into a snow bank thats at least four feet
deep before tunneling horizontally. This little
hole should already provide some relief from
the worst of the wind. Once the hole is dug,
then its time to tunnel horizontally.
Engineers have known for thousands of
years how strong domes can be, and your
emergency snow cave is no exception. The
rounded roof will be able to sustain far more
weight than a flat roof, which over time will sag
and collapse. Once the cave is large enough for
your body, the most important thing is remaining dry, or, if youre wet already, getting dry. Anyone whos read Jack Londons, To Build a Fire,
remembers that being wet is what kills in the
cold. A small emergency candle should provide
adequate warmth in a small cave, though if you
find yourself becoming dizzy or drowsy you
must vent your cave. Lighting any kind of substantial fire or camp stove inside the cave is a
recipe for disaster: youll likely succumb to the
effects of poisoning long before the heat can
affect the integrity of the cave.
Lastly, dont forget to mark your cave somehow, both for rescuers to be able to find you
and also to prevent anybody from trampling in
your cave.
PEOPLE
HAVE
SURVIVED
MORE
THAN A
WEEK
TRAPPED
IN THEIR
CARS IN
THE
SNOW.
DOOMSDAY
10 minutes every hour, and ensuring that the

tailpipe is clear and a window is cracked (again,
it is essential to be careful about that carbon
monoxide.) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recommends leaving the
cars interior dome lights on at night. These will
help rescuers find your vehicle even if the cars
headlights have been covered by the rising
snow. Plus, the dome lights will drain the cars
battery much more slowly than keeping the
headlights on all night.
Even though one naturally has less mobility
when trapped in a car, it is recommended that
you should exercise and change position regularly for warmth and to keep blood circulating.
And, of course, staying calm is the best thing
you can do, both for your over-taxed body and
your state of mind. Youre less likely to make
potentially life-endangering mistakes if youre
cool and calm.
Once the snow has stopped falling, get out
of car and raise the hood for increased visibility
and wait for rescue. People have survived more
than a week trapped in their cars in the snow.
Historically, when families have been trapped
together in the car, its almost always the brave
soul who leaves the car to find help that perishes, while the rest of the family is eventually
discovered and rescued.
Of course, theres a world of difference
between being stuck in a blizzard in the comfort of your home or car and being stuck out in
the elements with just the clothes on your
back. In this situation, time is the most important factor. Even if its not super-cold out, the
wind chill can lower your body temperature
almost as quickly as if you were in an ice bath.
Thus, your number one priority is getting some
kind of shelter from the wind. If youre lucky
enough to be near trees or any other tall, semibroad structure, this is where youll want to
regroup and likely where youll build your leanto or a snow cave.
Any shelter is better than none, but some
shelters are better than others. The likelihood
21
BLIZZARD|PERSONAL ACCOUNT
DOOMSDAY
22
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
Lauren Weinberg
For sustenance, she had nothing but two

candy bars. For water, she took snow in from
the outside and waited for it to melt on the
dashboard before drinking it. That simple act is
what saved her life, and, other than not losing
hope, was arguably her only good decision. Eating snow is always the worst option, as it lowers
the body temperature dramatically. When not
in a car or other shelter, melting snow with indirect body heat is the best option. For example,
a snow-filled water bottle in a coat pocket is a
good idea, a snow-filled water bottle placed
directly against the skin is a bad idea.
I COULD NOT EVEN BEGIN

TO PREDICT HOW SHE
COULD (SURVIVE) YOU
CAN SAY SURVIVAL
SKILLS OR A MIRACLE,
EITHER WAY.
Weinbergs story also demonstrates the
importance of even rudimentary preparedness.
She managed to survive with no creature comforts, but the danger and discomfort of her
ordeal would have been considerably lessened
if shed had a jacket (or even better, a sleeping
bag) in her trunk.
Bob McDonald, one of the workers who rescued Weinberg, stated, I could not even begin
to predict how she could (survive) Police officer James Holmes said, You can say survival
skills or a miracle, either way. Weinbergs story
is not one of planning and cunning overcoming
a freak disaster. Its one of extraordinary luck.
Before she left (during her universitys finals
week), she failed to tell anyone where she was
going and indeed, had no destination in mind,
planning on just going for an aimless drive.
Authorities traced her via her purchases at convenience stores, but were unable to ascertain
where shed gone after.
There are plenty of lessons in Weinbergs
story, the most important one being to stay
with whatever shelter is available no matter
what. Starvation and dehydration will almost
certainly not be what kills someone; it will
always be exposure. The other lesson is that
even the most basic precautions can be lifesavers. Had Weinberg sent so much as a text
message to a friend or family member, her nine
nights alone in the cold could have been
reduced to one.
Lauren Weinberg is a good example of how

shelter is the single most factor in surviving a
blizzard. She spent nine days trapped in her car
in the Flagstaff, Arizona area during the winter
of 2011. During her ordeal, the nightly temperature reached near zero. She survived despite
not having any blankets or heavy coat. When
she was discovered by employees of the U.S.
Forest Service, she was covering her legs with
her cars floor mats.
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
Boyd Seversons story is proof that even an

experienced outdoorsman in a familiar area
can make a series of small mistakes that add
up to a life-threatening situation. It was a
beautiful September day in 2007, seemingly
perfect weather for a nice hike up Mummy
Mountain in gorgeous Rocky Mountain
National Park in Colorado.
Despite being unable to find a partner, he
decided to make a go of it anyway. However, he
very prudently sent messages to a friend as he
went along, though once the weather got
rougher, his phone and his Blackberry refused
to connect.
Severson reached the summit early in the
afternoon, and from there he was able to see
bad weather moving in. He began his descent,
realizing too late that hed gone the wrong
direction. Visibility decreased as the weather
worsened and he tried to head back to find
where hed deviated from his path. Darkness
fell, the snow increased and soon he found
himself in a whiteout.
With such limited visibility, the best shelter
he could find was a small crevice among a few
large boulders. It was here that he spent a long
night. Of his experience, he says, When my
water bottles froze solid before 10 p.m., I knew
not to fall asleep.
The wind chill brought the temperature
down to 60 degrees below freezing. Severson
claims he never believed he was going to die,
though he was worried about developing frostbite. To maximize warmth, he put on every
piece of clothing hed brought, including covering his neck and ankles with Ace bandages. He
says, I generally carry too much clothing and
emergency gear, but this time I wished Id had
even more. For warmth and to keep his blood
circulating, he flexed his muscles.
A search had begun the night before when
hed failed to return from his day hike. Rescue
dogs, helicopters, and ground searchers were
mobilized. After day broke, Severson stayed
put, as he knew a search would be underway.
As the day wore on, though, he decided to
begin moving, knowing that There was no way
I was going to spend another night out. Eventually he encountered rescuers on a trail and
was saved. Seversons two mistakes were going
solo (which is never the best-case scenario but
still something that experienced hikers do every
day) and getting lost, which he blames on his
reliance on his Blackberry instead of his GPS
device. Once it was clear he was spending the
night outdoors, however, Severson mitigated
his mistakes with solid survival procedures:
finding shelter and preventing frostbite by exercising his muscle groups.
DOOMSDAY
Boyd Severson
23
BLIZZARD|IN THE PAST
DOOMSDAY
24
The Great Blizzard of 1993, more commonly known as The Storm of

the Century, was a super-storm that ravaged the East Coast of the United
States. In every metric, this storm was extreme: its size and intensity were
unheard of. The cyclonic storm that formed in the Gulf of Mexico reached
all the way up to Canada during its peak. This storm had something for
everybody: it created tornadoes, churned up the seas and induced flooding, blanketed half the country in snow, and shut down highways from the
Southeast to Canada.
Southeastern states where snow was almost a foreign concept (especially in mid-March, when the storm struck) reported shocking amounts
of snow. Alabama, Georgia, and Florida all received unprecedented
amounts of snow, along with hurricane-force winds that cost billions in
damages and left dozens dead in Florida alone.
The storm was almost unimaginably widespread: a total of 26 states
were affected, as well as Cuba and Canada. An enormous swath of the
country stretching from Texas all the way to Pennsylvania suffered the
terrifying phenomenon called thundersnow, electrical storms where the
precipitation is snow instead of rain. White-out conditions were reported
across half the country for the three days that the storm lasted.
From Atlanta all the way up to Canada, every single airport was shut
down for at least some time, stranding countless travelers.
Regions that were totally unused to snow found themselves submerged under giant drifts. Roofs and decks collapsed under the weight of
the snow, the total weight of which was estimated to be between 5.4 and
27 billion metric tons.
While other storms in individual regions had been more severe, the
Southeastern states hadnt experienced anything remotely similar since
the Great Blizzard of 1899 nearly a hundred years previous. These states
saw record levels of snowfall and record temperature lows: Birmingham,
Alabama recorded a low of two degrees Fahrenheit, unheard of for midMarch, when the storm struck.
It was one of the deadliest storms of the century, killing a total of 318
people. Some were crushed by collapsing roofs, some drowned at sea in
extraordinarily rough conditions. Amazingly, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued
a total of 235 people at sea. The storm caused the ocean to surge dangerously, Gulf waters flooding into Florida homes. Many people drowned in
the storm, more than in Hurricanes Andrew and Hugo combined. Eighteen
thousand homes in Florida alone were affected, either damaged or outright annihilated.
The Great Blizzard of 1993
THIS STORM GETS ITS GRIM NAME

FROM THE FACT THAT MANY OF THE
VICTIMS WERE CHILDREN WHO GOT
LOST IN THE WHITEOUTS ON THEIR
WAY HOME FROM SCHOOL.
The Schoolhouse Blizzard
DOOMSDAY
One of the most tragic blizzards to ever strike America was the Schoolhouse Blizzard, also known as the Childrens Blizzard. It hit the plains
states, particularly Nebraska and South Dakota, on January 12th, 1888.
This storm gets its grim name from the fact that many of the victims
were children who got lost in the whiteouts on their way home from
school. The weeks leading up to the blizzard had seen snowstorms and
bitter cold visited on the Midwest. The day the blizzard struck, though, had
been unusually warm. As a result, people were out and about, taking care
of business thatd been suspended during the recent cold snap. Students
went to school with either light jackets or no coats at all.
The blizzard descended while children were in school and adults were
at work. Many of those who perished were trying to make their way home.
In the town of Plainview, Neb., a teacher found herself out of heating fuel
in her little, one-room schoolhouse. The teacher, Lois Royce, decided to
lead her three students to her boarding house which was closer than a
football field away. Conditions were so poor, and visibility so bad, that
they got lost, and all three students tragically froze to death. Royce was
the only survivor, though her feet developed frostbite and had to be
amputated.
Seymour Dopp, a teacher in Pawnee City, Neb., kept his 17 students
overnight in the schoolhouse, using stockpiled fuel to warm the building
through the duration of the blizzard. The next morning, all his students
were still safe and sound. Dopp returned home, only to discover his own
daughter had suffered frostbite on her one-block journey home. Her
teacher, like many others, had released the students in a panic, hoping
theyd find their way home before the storm grew too severe.
There were only a few instances reported of people who ventured out
into the cold and survived. The most celebrated case was that of Minnie
Freeman, a teacher who led her 17 students a half-mile through the blizzard to her boarding house. The story goes that, with holes being blown in
the roof and the front door repeatedly being blown open, she decided that
spending the night in the schoolhouse would be disastrous. She tied her
students together with rope (this was later disputed by one of the students) and led them single-file through the storm to safety.
Freeman was celebrated across the country, and its claimed some 80
hopeful suitors mailed her letters bearing marriage proposals.
25
BLIZZARD|GEAR GUIDE
DOOMSDAY
26
Snow Shoes
If you have to be mobile outside during a blizzard, youll
want to have these on your feet. They wont make you any
warmer, but theyll sure get you where youre going faster.
MSR Ascent snowshoes cost a pretty penny (more than
$200), but theyre highly reviewed and solidly built.
OMCGear.com
ACR PLB-375
ResQLink+ Personal
Locating Beacon
Hit a button and a distress signal
bearing your GPS coordinates is sent
to Search and Rescue services. A
built-in strobe makes it easier for
rescuers to find you. You hope you
never need it, but if you find yourself
trapped in a blizzard, you can stay
put in whatever shelter you can find
with the peace of mind that youll
soon be found.
ACRartex.com
Goretex Bivy Cover

and Carry Sack
Another Military-issue stand-by, this
four-piece Bivy sack can be used in
the summer or winter, keeping you
toasty all the way down to negative
20 Fahrenheit. Be careful ordering
online, though, some people who
paid full price for new apparently
received used gear, if Amazon
reviews are to be believed.
REI.com
Nalgene Bottle Sleeve

UCO Stormproof
Match Kit
Staying hydrated in a blizzard is not

the first concern on most peoples
minds, and thus it is easy to forget
how important it is. While this bottle
sleeve is designed to keep water
cold, if you need to melt snow for
water, the sleeve will insulate the
bottle so you can warm it with your
body heat without having to worry
about an uninsulated bottle lowering
your core temperature.
REI.com
Dont even mess with flint

and steel Boy Scout-style
fire-starters. These stormproof matches, sometimes
called Hurricane matches,
are what you want if you
need to start a fire in less
than ideal conditions. You
can dunk the matches in
water and then light them
on the included strikers the
very next second.
IndustrialRev.com
The North Face

Steep Saiku
This glove means business. Its
bulk means you wont be able
to do fine-motor projects
(good luck lighting a match
while wearing these bad
boys), but that bulk also
means you wont need a fire,
at least not to keep your hands
warm. Heavily insulated and
lined with Gore-Tex, its well
worth its $180 price tag.
BackCountry.com
E-Tool Entrenching Shovel
DOOMSDAY
Everyone whos been in a camping store has seen the rinky-dink folding shovels that
you can pick for a few bucks. Odds are if youve used one of those cheaper shovels,
youve had them bend or outright snap. The E-Tool Entrenching Shovel is not one of
those. For starters, it folds up tighter and is far stronger than its brethren. Like the name
says, this is the tool issued by the U.S. military. If you ever find yourself forced to build a
snow cave quickly, youll be glad you paid the 50 bucks or so that this beast costs.
AmesTrueTemper.com
27
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HURRICANE|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
28
A Perfect Storm
SURVIVING THE TERROR OF A HURRICANE > Story by Christopher Nyerges
I love storms and I love to be outside, but when I watched
the formation of Hurricane Katrina from my television, far away in California, it was one of the rare times that I felt glad to be in front of my
TV. The news meteorologists talked about the various levels of hurricanes on the Saffir-Simpson scale, and how each greater level meant
more devastation. As the huge storm moved on a trajectory to
Louisiana, newscasters showed pictures of long stretches of highways
filled bumper to bumper with cars full of people trying to get out. The
rain was falling and pictures showed boarded-up stores and trees
swaying deeply in the increasing wind. Despite the very dire warnings,
some people chose to not get out. After all, there have been other
false alarms where the hurricane dwindled away, or changed course.
For those who chose to stay, or who had no choice but to stay, the
high winds and heavy rains took down electrical lines, destroyed
buildings, and moved through the area like a giant 175 mph eraser. If
you survived the days of horror, your misery had just begun. Your home
could be underwater, and there would be nothing to go back to.
Destroyed. Help was slow in coming, and law and order was nonexistent. Welcome to post-hurricane chaos.
DOOMSDAY
29
DOOMSDAY
30
Anatomy of a Hurricane
ENTIRE
SWATHS OF
CITIES AND
NEIGHBORHOODS
WERE RIPPED
APART AND
LEFT IN
RUBBLE IN
AN EVENT
THAT LASTED
DAYS.
What exactly is a hurricane? For one thing,

there is no other storm on earth quite like a hurricane. From a satellite, the hurricane is a powerful and tightly coiled weather system.
According to meteorologists, it is the most
powerful of the tropical cyclones, which is a
general term for all of the circulating weather
systems over tropical waters.
There is the tropical depression, which will
have maximum sustained winds up to 38 mph
(or less). Then there is the tropical storm, a bit
stronger, with maximum sustained winds of 39
to 73 mph. Then there is the hurricane. This is
an intense system with maximum sustained
winds of 74 mph or higher.
The most vulnerable area for the creation of
hurricanes in the ocean is the area between latitudes 8 degrees and 20 degrees north and
south. High humidity, light winds, and a warm
sea surface temperature set the stage for the
creation of the hurricane. As the storm develops,
the Coriolis effect causes the winds to rotate
counterclockwise (in the Northern Hemisphere),
as the winds and thunderstorms increase.
Hurricanes are powered by the heat from
the sea, and are steered along by easterly trade
winds and the temperate westerly winds, as
well as their own incredible energy that they
create. Winds are howling at the core of the
hurricane, and the seas are violent. As the huge
system moves ashore, tornadoes, torrential
rains, and floods result.
The term hurricane (from an Arawak word
meaning storm) is used for tropical storms in
the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific. In the western
Pacific and China Sea, these storms are called
typhoons (from the Cantonese word taifung meaning great wind). Down in Australia, these storms are called cyclones.
In order to further categorize hurricanes,
these intense storms over 74 mph., consulting
engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist
Robert Simpson developed the Saffir-Simpson Scale in the 1970s. Hurricanes are delineated into 5 categories, depending on strength.
Category One means the winds are from 74 to
95 mph, storm surges from 4 to 5 feet, and
generally minimal damage.
Category Two has winds from 96 to 110 mph,

6 to 8 feet storm surges, and moderate
damage.
Category Three has winds from 111 to 130
mph., storm surges from 9 to 12 feet, and
extensive damage.
Category Four has winds from 131 to 155 mph,
storm surges from 13 to 18 feet, and extreme
damage.
Category Five, the strongest, has a wind speed
of more than 155, storm surges more than 18
feet (no time for surfing!), and the damage
is typically catastrophic. [see chart on page
33]
How are People Affected?

Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Katrina
were both Category Five. This means that entire
swaths of cities and neighborhoods were
ripped apart and left in rubble in an event that
lasted days. Thousands were left homeless,
and many died.
Though a category one hurricane could be
experienced as a temporary inconvenience, it
should be clear that the hurricane is like no
other storm. Like it or not, once the hurricane is
on a collision path with you and your neighborhood and your city, normal life is disrupted, and
sometimes totally ripped apart. The storm can
be two miles across and winds (in the highest
category) can be 180 mph, something that survivors describe as unfathomable, indescribable. All of the normal functioning of daily life
comes to a halt as the hurricane roars through
the terrain. That means youre not going to your
job, or to school, or to the farm.
The electricity will fail, and communication
will become spotty. As people try to move to
higher ground, the roads and highways get
crowded, and some become unusable. Your
entire focus becomes securing your home in
case you try to hole up there for the duration, or
doing whatever it takes to get out of Dodge City
as rapidly as possibly. Oh, and then there are
young children, and sick people, and they will
need assistance.
As the hurricane threatens, and moves over
your city, your life is reduced to bare essentials,
and anything that isnt absolutely necessary
will not be done. You are in survival mode.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
What You Can Do to Survive
New Orleans, for example, is a city under

waterliterally, not figuratively. Not everyone
realized that before Katrina, but the city was
only kept dry by dikes that kept out a wall of up
to nearly 20 feet of water. When Hurricane Katrina struck into New Orleans, in addition to the
intense winds and the pounding rain, the dikes
that held back the ocean broke open, pouring
water into the Lower Ninth Ward.
Try to move to higher ground. If fact, there
are potential hazards wherever you live. And if
hurricanes are your concern, you should relocate to a higher ground. Get a topographical
map of your area, and talk with local geographers and real estate agents and do whatever
you can to find the best possible areas to reside
for some natural protection from a hurricane.
That may be hard, but in many cases, the lay of
the land dictates the way a storm moves
through the landscape. Location matters.
Next, there are numerous ways to beef up
your home to make it a few notches more
resistant to storms. There was a time where a
full basement was built before the house was
built. Yes, this cost more, and especially in the
heat of summer, and during tornadoes, this
provided some means of protection. Thats an
idea that builders should serious consider
returning to as normal.
DOOMSDAY
Many have survived lesser level hurricanes

simply by taking common sense precautions.
Weve had discussions with families who
stocked up their home, closed and boarded
everything up, and stayed home for a week or
so of a semi-frightening event. They experienced blackouts, and some damage to their
home, some flooding in their vicinities, and they
were able to carry on when the storm passed
with limited impact to their daily lives.
But that is not always the case.
The details of how you can survive a hurricane, the skills needed, and the supplies you
should have will vary from case to case. But
lets start from the beginning: your home, and
your location.
One of the easy ways to more-or-less predict the future is to study what has happened in
the past. United States hurricanes mostly occur
in the Gulf coast, and some on the Atlantic
seaboard. Get a map and look at the paths of
all the major hurricanes. You live right in a
path? Its not always possible to simply move
somewhere else. Millions of people live there,
right in the path of hurricanes past and hurricanes to come. So it is very important to realize
that some specific areas are ticking time
bombs when it comes to hurricanes.
31
DOOMSDAY
32
If you live in hurricane-prone zones, keep

abreast of news reports when hurricanes are
forming. When the hurricane is on its way, your
job is to begin squaring away things that need
to be secured, closing up windows or boarding
them up, as appropriate.
Since a hurricane may very well mean evacuation, you need to have an evacuation plan. At
what point do you decide to leave? Is your vehicle packed? Is it gassed up? What are you
bringing along for the next few days or weeks?
Do you have animals to attend to? Do you have
a good idea of where to go? Have you been
there before? Do you have a friend or relative
somewhere out of the hurricane path where
you can go? Have you established networks
among your closest neighbors so you all help
each other when things get serious?
If you live in some of the most vulnerable
hurricane zones in the Gulf Coast, and you have
no desire to move elsewhere, you should do
everything you can to beef up your house with
whatever extra money you have. And since
youll probably want to stay in your home if you
can, you should constantly stock up on all the
supplies that you just wont get if theres a serious hurricane that disrupts travel and normal
commerce.
Stay Afloat
Not commonly seen on the list of items to
buy is the inflatable raft or canoe. Yet, after an
area is flooded, thats the only way youre going
to get around what was once your neighborhood. And rescues are only going to take place
via helicopter or boats.
Leave Home?
A big part of surviving a hurricane is the
judgement call that you must make: Do I stay or
do I evacuate? Naturally, people would rather
stay home. But sometimes that just isnt possible. And if you wait a bit too long, getting out
becomes all that more difficult due to long traffic lines that are not moving, and pools of water
that grow larger. In fact, as occurred in Hurricane Katrina, though 80 percent of the residents of New Orleans managed to evacuate,
that still left 20 percent of the residents in their
homesmostly elderly, infirm, or too poor to
even find a way to get out.
Part of making the decision to evacuate
involves listening to what meteorologists and
local officials are saying. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, there were many ordering people
to evacuate, though the Mayor of New Orleans
only suggested that people leave. When Mayor
Ray Nagin finally ordered people to evacuate, it
was a bit too late for many. Officials tried to use
school buses to evacuate residents, but drivers
were short supply and as the heavy rains
increased, there was quickly no way to get out.
The lesson is that it is far better to be inconvenienced by a weeklong evacuation than to be
stuck in a disastrous situation.
Your evacuation plan should include having
a well-stocked car, and a pack in case you cannot get away by vehicle. Also consider a bicycle
as a means of evacuation.
In Your Home
If you live in a hurricane or tornado zone, you

may already take a lot of this for granted. Neighbors or relatives may have homes that have been
damaged or destroyed before, and you know
many who have survived the disaster; in some
cases, depending on your level of preparedness,
the hurricane was a major or minor inconvenience, and eventually, your life got back on
track. In some cases, everything you knew was
destroyed and you had to work hard to get back
on your feet. Being prepared in advance means
that youll be able to survive the emergency, and
get back on your feet as soon as possible.
You need to be prepared with very basic
supplies in your home, and you should have a
basement room or windowless shelter where
you can hide out when the very worst of the
storm passes through.
BEING PREPARED IN ADVANCE MEANS THAT YOULL

BE ABLE TO SURVIVE THE EMERGENCY, AND GET BACK
ON YOUR FEET AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE FOR HURRICANES

Famous examples of the five categories of hurricanes.
CATEGORY
WIND SPEEDS
STORM SURGE
HURRICANE
74-95 mph
4 to 5 feet
Allison, 1995, No deaths

Floyd, 1999, 69 deaths
96 110 mph
6 to 8 feet
Bonnie, 1998, 3 deaths
111 130 mph
9 to 12 feet
Fran, 1996, 34 deaths
131 155 mph
13-18 feet
Andrew, 1992, 65 deaths

Luis, 1995, 17 deaths
Greater than 155 mph
Greater than 18 feet
Hugo, 1989, 82 deaths

Mitch, 1998, over 11,000 deaths
Katrina, 2005, 1,836 deaths
DOOMSDAY
33
HURRICANE|PERSONAL ACCOUNT
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
DOOMSDAY
34
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was one of the strongest
hurricanes in U.S. history. It developed in August
of 1992, and the tropical storms winds
increased to 140 mph within two days of its
forming. The majority of the damage of Andrew
was due to the high winds. Of the 65 people
killed, most were killed by being crushed by
debris as their homes were ripped apart right
around them. The cost of this storm was about
$25 billion in 1992.
After the storm, there were still people who
survived in the hardest hit area of Florida. Some
stayed with their homes in an attempt to
rebuild and stave off looters. The National
Guard told those who stayed that they would
not patrol the devastated areas at night, and
that those residents should evacuate.
Those who stayed were pictured in the news
reports cooking on little fires in their backyards,
while holding their rifles and shotguns.
Hurricane Mitch
In October of 1998, heavy rains fell and continued for days, and strong winds picked up. As
Hurricane Mitch picked up, the members of the
Isabel family climbed to the roof of their Honduran home. As the water continued to rise, the
entire familyin fact, most of the villagers
were swept away. Laura Isabel, the mother,
clung to a floating tree as debris was swirling
all around her. She eventually gathered buoyant trash and managed to make-shift a small
raft, which she floated on for six days. Laura
Isabel was carried 50 miles out into the ocean
on her raft.
Isabel managed to sleep a little on the raft,
but not much. She said that she would dream
about her husband and three children, and she
sang and talked to them as if they were with her.
Finally, an airplane pilot spotted Isabels little
raft, and managed to get a helicopter to rescue
her. Isabel was taken to a hospital near her village, which was devastated and changed forever.
Isabel never saw her husband or children again.
|HURRICANE
IN THE PAST
Hurricane Katrina, 2005
Water rushed into the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans,

one of the citys poorest neighborhoods. The city pumps
could not drain the water away fast enough, and many of
the building that housed the pumps were damaged. Rescue
workers were no better off than the stranded survivors, and
some of the rescue workers used boats to rescue the tens of
thousands of people stranded.
More than 25,000 people were taken to the Louisiana
Superdome in New Orleans, a facility that was not designed
to handle that many people. Rain poured through holes that
opened where the wind had blown off the roof, and such
things as toilet paper, clean water, and medical supplies
were quickly used up or non-existant. Additionally, if you
had a pet, you were not allowed to bring it with you. The
Superdome began to seem like a prison camp to those who
were holed up there.
Katrina tested the limits of emergency response to the
limit. Help was offered from all over, and in some cases
there was no practical way to take advantage of the early
help offered. It is believed that 1,836 deaths resulted from
Katrina with 705 people still officially missing.
For example, Chief of Police for the City of Los Angeles,
Chief Bratton, stated in a televised interview that he wanted
to send some of his officers to help with the crime that
resulted as of Katrina. But he declined to even send any officers into such an area because if there is not even a place
for my officers to urinate and defecate, I will not send them
there. Hurricane Katrina had rendered New Orleans into a
wild west, with people dead in the streets, infrastructure
demolished, criminal elements roaming freely, and no place
to keep clean or maintain hygienic standards.
DOOMSDAY
Hurricane Katrina was the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history, with an estimated
$108 billion in damages. Hurricane Katrina was
the largest (up to 400 miles across), and the
third strongest, hurricane ever recorded to
make landfall in the United States.
Hurricane Katrina was first noticed on
satellite images on August 24, 2005, appearing
as a tropical storm over the Bahamas. By the
next day, it reached hurricane level with winds
of 74 miles per hour. Two days later, the storm
hit Florida, where Governor Bush declared a
state of emergency. Hurricane Katrina spent
seven hours over Florida with its 80 mph
winds, and dumped up to a foot of rain in some
areas. High winds and falling trees took out
power lines.
The hurricane moved west, increasing
speed and by August 27 became a Category 3 hurricane. By
the next day, Katrina doubled in size, and moved northwest
towards Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama as a Category
5 hurricane. President Bush declared a state of emergency
for the areas in the storms path, and local officials either
asked or ordered residents to depart.
The predicted landfall was New Orleans, and by the time
Mayor Nagin ordered everyone to leave the city, 80 percent
of the residents had already gotten out, and there were not
enough drivers to drive the school buses, which was part of
New Orleans emergency evacuation plan. Many people
were trapped.
Since New Orleans had been built on drained swampland, the various levees surrounding it were designed to
keep out the ocean water. But as Katrina came ashore, the
rainfall exceeded up to an inch an hour in places, and the
storm surges were nearly as tall as a four-story building.
Even though Katrina weakened to a Category 3 hurricane after midnight of August 29, there was still heavy rain,
high waves, and 140 mph winds. By morning, the rain alone
filled all the canals that were intended to drain water from
New Orleans. The storm surge in New Orleans was as high
as 19 feet, washing water into New Orleans. Over in Pass
Christian, Miss., there was a storm surge of 27.8 feet, the
highest ever recorded on a U.S. coast. Water flooded inland
six miles, carrying boats, washing out up to 31 oil rigs, and
taking out buildings, bridges, and highways.
By August 31, more than 80 percent of New Orleans was
under water as the levees alongside the 17th Street Canal,
and the London Avenue Canal were breached or blew out.
Water poured into New Orleans.
35
HURRICANE|GEAR GUIDE
DOOMSDAY
36
Everyone has their own idea of what

should be carried if you absolutely
must evacuate. John McCann wrote
Build the Perfect Survival Kit, wherein
he describes the endless possibilities
of survival kits, and how you need to
determine the details of your own situation. McCann has followed up with a
more recent book, Bug-Out: Reality vs.
Hype where he attempts to share the
brutal reality of bugging out versus
staying at home where you have everything you need.
Jason Deatherage, a survivalist
enthusiast and paramedic in rural
Canada, has insight into what someone should carry in an evacuation bag.
If I were to be thrown on my own
devices for an unspecified amount of
time, Id want to have an easily carried pack that could provide for my
material needs, and allow me to be

as little a burden on others as possible. In the case of a natural disaster, if
I were required to evacuate, I might
be forced to travel on foot out of the
affected area, but even if I had the
luxury of a vehicle, Id still want to be
able to carry my most essential gear
with me easily.
To me, the benefit of being well
prepared is not just personal survival;
such preparation allows me to reduce
my own demands on what would be
overburdened emergency systems
and, perhaps even more importantly,
allows me to help others instead of
scrambling to live at the last minute.
The most important preparations you
can make, however, are to be as fit and
healthy as your situation allows, and to
practice and plan well ahead of time
so that you have the skills to use whatever equipment you have to hand.
Plan also for extra people. You will
have yourself and your family, but
what if you have visitors or pick up
people along the way? Make sure
everyone in the family has what they
need, plus a bit extra.
With that said, here is what Id like
to have with me in such a scenario. My
main priority is to be able to be
healthy, warm and well-rested if possible, and have some basic items to
build and repair anything else I might
need. I can fit all of this into a 30-45
liter pack, generally with room to
spare, at a weight of around 25
pounds. Many or all of these items can
be replaced with DIY or found items,
so dont feel that you have to have the
most expensive ultralight stuff.
Pack Items
There are several companies that provide comprehensive emergency packs that
include a great many things. For example,
emergency-storage.com has dozens of different packs for a wide range of situations
and needs. When buying an emergency kit,
consider including the following:
Medical Kit
The contents of a medical kit will really be
dependent on your own knowledge and medical training, so adjust accordingly. I have found
in over a decade as a paramedic that the
biggest consideration in longer-term outdoors
medical care is sustained small wound care,
not massive trauma and gun shot wounds, so
emphasize items that keep you clean and covered. Ill leave quantities up to you, as that will
depend on what you keep your kit in. Source:
edisastersystems.com
Essential medications for you and your family
Small flashlight
EMT shears
Tweezers
Band aids (lots and lots)
Sterile saline irrigation bulbs
Alcohol wipes
Iodine tincture (can be used to purify water in
a pinch)
Triangular bandage (these can function as an
entire first aid kit themselves with a bit of
knowledge)
Sterile non-stick gauze, roller gauze, and some
non sterile regular gauze
Large gauze ABD pads
Tourniquet
Tape
Benadryl
Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Aspirin
Clove oil (for toothache)
Notebook and pen/pencil
DOOMSDAY
Sil-nylon tarp, 10x12, with pre-attached smalldiameter cordage. (Big enough to fold over for
ground sheet, or to cover a few people)
Rain jacket (and pants if you like)
Warm shirt or jacket (fleece or wool)
Flashlight, preferably a quality headlamp and
extra batteries.
Smallest Thermarest pad one can afford
Smallest, warmest sleeping bag one can
afford, with a waterproof bivy sack.
A couple of mini-bic lighters and a ferro rod for
backup (practice firemaking now, not then)
Water bottle and metal cup with lid, preferably all nesting together.
Water filter or purification tablets (can boil in
the metal cup as well)
Wide brimmed hat
Bandanna or shemagh
Swiss army knife and quality, pliers-based
multitool with saw.
Small fixed blade such as a Mora Companion
(tastes may vary, take what ever your knife
addiction will allow)
Pistol and two or three magazines
Cash and ID
Charging gear for phone
Small sewing kit with several needles, strong
thread, buttons
Toothbrush
Maps of area
Deck of cards
Extra cordage
Food: freeze dried is lightest, but allows for
hot meals; lifeboat rations are the most calorically dense for their size but bland, energy
bars are handy; MREs are heavy and bulky.
Choose according to your needs.
37
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NUCLEAR ATTACK|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
38
Its 4:30 on a Friday afternoon,
and you cant wait to

get your weekend started. The office staff is pretty much non-existent, so you
decide to bug out a few minutes early. Youre dreading that constantly ridiculous Los Angeles traffic as you make your way to the parking structure but the
only important thing on your mind is getting your weekend started with a cold
one in your hands. Seems everyone has the same idea. The parking structure is
hive of activity. You race for the road knowing all the back street shortcuts as
you begin to imagine the sun at your back with your feet in the sand. Your
weekend has finally begun, or at least thats what youre telling yourself.
As you inch further away from the office you hope youll never see again, a
blinding light sears across the sky from behind you. Its so bright it hurts your
eyes even while looking away and with them tightly closed. For a few seconds,
its brighter than the sun. Then an unspeakable crack of worlds colliding overwhelms you. Its deafening. In less than 10 seconds, youre hit with a thunderous shockwave followed by an intense heat. The mighty wind and fire incinerates everything as it approaches you.
Mushroom
SURVIVING A NUCLEAR ATTACK > Story by John Galletta
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
Asphalt, rocks, trees, shards of glass, and just about everything above surface level has been hurled at you is thrust into the air and is consumed by a
giant mushroom cloud. If you survive at all, youre most likely injured and
assuredly bewildered and confused. You do what everyone else in your general
vicinity does. You stumble from the remains of your vehicle, if youre not completely blown out of it, and try to make sense of whats just happened. With
hundreds of fires around you and the sky now growing darker and darker, you
begin to wander aimlessly as shock sets in. Thankfully, youre outside the ring
of complete decimation and youre left with a fighting chance.
ASG-SIP-1412-NUCLEAR 11/21/14 2:12 AM Page 39
Cloud
DOOMSDAY
39
DOOMSDAY
40
A Terrorists Bomb
A terrorists crude, but effective, 10 kiloton
Highly-Enriched Uranium (HEU), Improvised
Nuclear Device, or IND, was just detonated on
street level in a major metropolitan city at the
site of a major transportation hub. With the
force of 10,000 tons of dynamite, more than
40,000 people are killed in an instant and more
than 100,000 injured. Inside the blast area are
four hospitals/medical facilities. They include
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
County USC Medical Center, and UCLA Childrens Hospital and are some of L.A.s largest
medical facilities. This will certainly affect the
number of persons able to receive immediate
medical attention.
There are also 19 schools and education
facilities, nine places of worship, and one fire
station inside the blast radius. Dodger Stadium
and Sunset Boulevard are also in the outer
fringes of the blast and are still well inside the
area where injury can occur. The number is sure

to grow as this was the result of the thermal
blast only. Running abreast of the thermal
blast, is what many fear.
Potential Casualties
Extremely high doses of radiation in the
form of gamma, neutron, and x-rays will produce even more casualties over a larger area
within the next several minutes, hours and
weeks. Alpha particles, which can be released
at the time of burst, or delayed as fallout, are
harmful if internalized but can easily be
shielded by paper or dead layers of skin and
can be brushed away without harm. Beta particles, which can be shielded by plastic or aluminum, may cause skin burns and can also be
harmful if ingested. Gamma rays destroy living
cells and are harmful when exposed to them.
They can be shielded by lead and concrete.
Neutrons, emitted only during the detonation,
are 20 times more harmful than gamma rays
and can pass through several feet of concrete.

Although your body is equipped to naturally
repair cells exposed to radiation, these massively high amounts of radiation will overpower
that healing process and destroy the cells
before repair can take place.
The blast leaves a crater 100 feet deep and

more than 500 feet in diameter. The cityscape
as far out as two miles in all directions is
absolutely decimated. The surface of the earth
at ground zero has essentially been scraped
clean and vaporized. Five hundred feet from the
blast, the overpressure is 20 psi, which causes
incredible death and the complete destruction
of most buildings. What was on the surface has
been consumed by the intense fireball and
mushroom cloud and spewed into the sky,
reaching an altitude of at least 27,000 feet.
When the cloud begins to settle, it will
deposit radioactive particles, a phenomenon
called fallout, over large portions of the city
and beyond. There are no bodies, vehicles or
buildings, just a gaping hole where the train
station used to be. Just outside the three-mile
radius and as far out as seven miles of the
blast, there is still a great amount of carnage.
The air pressure is 5 psi, enough to crush residential homes. Its in this area that you begin
to see a bleak landscape never before seen
outside the movie theaters. Alien in nature,
the sights alone are enough to evoke shock
and disbelief.
Everything around is on fire. Signs of what
used to be a bustling city full of life are completely non-existent. Although much of what
you see is undiscernible, its clear that nothing
has survived nor is anything salvageable. On
the fringes of this ring is where the walking
dead are. The term walking dead describes just
that. Zombie-like in appearance with horrific
burns and traumatic injuries, these are the people that death hasnt caught up with yet but is
certain to drop in for a visit momentarily. Just
outside the seven-mile perimeter, the probability of third degree burns is still 100 percent.
There will be many whose death is imminent,
severely burned, amputees, and in shock. Nothing can be done for them. If youre lucky enough
to be outside the eight- to nine-mile radius and
DOOMSDAY
The Damage of a Nuclear Blast
up to 17 miles away, you may still experience

severe blast effects.
Those inside fortified buildings and away
from windows and doors may survive the heat
and blast effects. At a 1.5-psi overpressure,
glass windows can be expected to break. Those
rushing to the windows to see what caused the
bright light was will be met by the impending
blast (which travels faster than the pressure
wave). Windows will explode, hurling shards of
glass and other items at speeds up to 600
miles per hour and causing even more widespread carnage.
The successful detonation of the HEU IND
has occurred close to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. It detonated at a time when
the train station is at its busiest; Friday afternoon at around 4:30pm. Although relatively
small by todays standard, it still packs a wallop. Its the same size as the bomb dropped on
Hiroshima, August 6th, 1945.
Being a surface detonation, the amount of
radioactive fallout will be much greater as the
blast consumed everything on the ground and
sucked it up into its giant mushroom cloud. The
jet black cloud, now full of irradiated particles is
expected to grow to an altitude of 27,000 feet
or more and will cover the city like a blanket.
With the trade winds blowing from the west at
approximately 6 miles per hour, the cloud will
41
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
DOOMSDAY
42
produce fallout as it begins to settle. It will rain

down on potentially hundreds of miles of populated areas from the blast site and the outer
fringes where death and injury has already
taken place.
Just how did this happen? A group of radicalized terrorists, perhaps a faction of Hamas
or ISIS, has successfully smuggled the HEU in
through the L.A. Harbor aboard the only privately owned ferry systems allowed to dock
there. From the former Soviet Union through
Georgia and then on to Iran or Iraq, this special
nuclear material, or SNM, traveled to South
America, into Costa Rica, and then to Mexico on
the same route that most of the drugs and
other illegal contraband entering this country
routinely travels. From Baja California, it is
transported in the dead of night by panga boat
into United States waters. Piloted by a twoman crew and accompanied by a large shipment of marijuana, the panga boat arrives on
the quiet backside of Catalina Island.
A Source of Danger
Dubbed smugglers paradise in the 1950s,
Catalina Island sits just 26 miles from the Los
Angeles coastline. Daily ferries can take you
across from three different locations in just
under two hours. Already on U.S. soil, making it
into L.A. Harbor is the most daunting part of the
trip for the smugglers. With more radiation
detection portals around the L.A. Port than on
any other leg of the journey, this is nail-biting
time. Unlike other more easily detectible
radioactive isotopes like Cesium 137 (Cs-137), a
man-made isotope with both medical and
industrial uses, the HEU has a very small
radioactive signature or activity.
Virtually impossible to detect due to its low
radioactivity and 3 billion year half-life, (halflife is the amount of time required for a quantity to fall to half its value as measured at the
beginning of the time period), the HEU is transported to the L.A. Harbor aboard that ferry. This
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
characteristic is what makes it so hard for radiation detection equipment to detect. To be sure
it gets across undetected, the terrorists take
extra measures and encase the material in lead
pipe to shield it from possible detection and
hide it in a scuba tank that has been modified
to accommodate it.
At an undisclosed location, the other components are gathered, construction is carried
out, and the weapon is assembled. Their objective is to kill about 4 million men, women, and
children. No amount of planes crashing into
high rise skyscrapers or truck bombs would
accomplish this so their plan is to carry out the
slaughter with the use of a nuclear device. They
arrived at that number by totaling the casualties in the many wars in the Middle East.
Although crudely constructed, the weapon has
enough material to produce a larger device but
because of its inefficient design, a greater yield
will be averted.
every day over a long period of time, he stole

small quantities of the highly enriched uranium
or HEU. Since his salary couldnt keep up with
inflation, he wanted to use the HEU to buy
much-needed items for his family, like a refrigerator and a stove. Over a period of time he had
amassed a kilogram and a half of 90 percent
enriched, highly enriched uranium. He raised no
alarms and not a single soul knew until he was
caught trying to sell the HEU to a group of
thieves that were in the business of selling
stolen car batteries.
THEIR OBJECTIVE IS TO
KILL ABOUT 4 MILLION MEN,
WOMEN, AND CHILDREN.
Difficult to Plan
Had special nuclear material been available
to the terrorists who carried out attacks in London, Madrid, Bali, Kenya, Riyadh, Buenos Aries,
Mumbai, and here on U.S. soil, they certainly
would have used it. Many terrorist organizations
have sought the use of nuclear weapons to
bring death, in great numbers, to the West. Just
prior to 9/11, Osama Bin Laden met with two
Pakistani scientists and discussed nuclear
weapons. Certainly, it would have changed the
outcome to the World Trade Center attack.
Due to the current world climate, economic
downfall, and the destabilization of several
countries that possess this material, many have
loosened control of the magic material. Its
possible that military members or those in the
position of safeguarding the materials for those
countries in distress could profit from stealing
and selling this material. We already know
there are plenty of capable buyers. In almost all
the cases involving theft of this special nuclear
material, it was almost never known that the
material was even missing until the items were
seized. It is estimated that there is approximately 1,700 tons of highly enriched uranium in
the world today. Its a staggering amount, an
amount that can be used to make 50 to
100,000 nuclear weapons.
DOOMSDAY
This attack has been in the planning stages

since well before 9/11. The only thing preventing this attack from taking place sooner is the
fact that the material needed for the device is
extremely hard to get. There are really only
three ways to acquire a nuclear weapon. You
can steal a bomb. You could buy a bomb, or you
could build a bomb. The hardest part of making
a bomb is getting the highly enriched uranium
or plutonium. Many countries have these materials and often they are poorly guarded. Probably the best places to look are the countries of
the former Soviet Union.
The easiest corridor from Russia is through
Georgia, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump
from Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan.
Over the years, there have been many reported
cases of theft of highly enriched uranium and
plutonium. Every time there has been a black
market seizure and the material recovered, it
could be tracked back to Russia. But these
were only the ones caught. How many actually
made it through?
At the Luch Uranium Enrichment Facility in
Russia, a worker there discovered that as long
as the output of the material made was within
a certain amount of the input, the supervisors
attributed that difference to normal loss. So
43
DOOMSDAY
44
How a Nuclear Device Works

The nuclear device delivers its destruction in
stages. First is the intense 200-meter diameter
fireball. It delivers a burning heat to areas of
exposed skin and incinerates anything combustible. A fraction of a second later its followed by an immense shockwave moving at
the speed of sound, a wave comprised of thermal radiation (heat), nuclear radiation, and ballistic debris due to surface or shallow sub-surface bursts. From the site of the blast, which
leaves the large crater, everything is instantaneously vaporized. People are reduced to carbon ash in a split second. Just beyond,
at approximately 1,530 yards, buildings are completely demolished and
those that arent, sustain severe damage. Those inside buildings close to
the detonation are killed from the
blast, which results in the
buildingscollapse.
Out to approximately 2.2 miles, an
estimated lethal radiation dose of
5,000 REM. REM is a unit of radiation dosage (such as from X rays)
applied to humans. Derived from the
phrase Roentgen equivalent man,
(pronounced RONKEN). It will be 100
percent fatal to anything inside that
circle. Thats the equivalent of receiving 2.5 million chest x-rays in less
than a minute. Death will occur
almost instantly. Out to approximately 4.2 miles, you can expect the
radiation dose to be 1,000 REM. This
dose will cause a 95 percent mortality
rate, even with immediate medical attention.
Death will occur within a matter of hours to a
few weeks. At approximately six miles from the
blast site, the radiation level will have dropped
to approximately 500 REM. Without immediate
medical attention, you can expect a mortality
rate of 50 to 90 percent from acute effects,
alone. Death will occur within several hours to a
few weeks.
To put these dose rates into perspective, I
used a dose calculator to calculate an average
dose based on where I live. I live in Southern
California at an altitude of 564 feet, and Im
approximately 50 miles from the now-closed,
San Onofre nuclear power plant. For that, I will
THATS THE
EQUIVALENT OF
RECEIVING 2.5
MILLION CHEST
X-RAYS IN
LESS THAN A
MINUTE. DEATH
WILL OCCUR
ALMOST
INSTANTLY.
incur 28.01MREM or millirem. One millirem is

1/1000 of a REM. Twenty-eight MREM is attributed to cosmic radiation, a radiation that everyone gets by being out in the sun. Harmless until
you get sunburned and 0.01 MREM for being
close to San Onofre.
From food containing Carbon-14 and Potassium-40, I get 40 MREM and from the air I
breathe, I get 228 MREM. Ive traveled approximately 60 jet hours in the last year, for which I
received 0.5 MREM per hour for a total of 30
MREM. Ive gone past luggage x-ray inspection
at the airport (0.002 MREM each time) about
10 times, so theres another .02 MREM. I have a
porcelain crown, 0.07 MREM, a smoke detector
at my house, 0.008 MREM, and Ive had one
chest x-ray, which gets me 10 MREM for a grand
total of 366.9 MREM over the entire year. Thats
just .366 of 1 REM. You would need 5,000,000
MREM to equal 5,000 REM.
The state-recommended EPA dose limit to
perform lifesaving is 25 REM. Thats only 25
percent of 100 REM. Neither is a lethal dose
and theyre a far cry from the radiation doses
we can expect from a detonation like this. Its
also the total dose a first responder can receive
over the period of a lifetime. Although not
enough to kill, the only way you can exceed this
dose is if you are a willing volunteer. This
means you are made aware of the dose and the
dangers of exceeding it, but continue to perform lifesaving voluntarily.
The Effect of Nuclear Radiation

So exactly what effects do these high doses
of ionizing radiation have on you? The radiation
will begin to destroy the cells in the body that
divide rapidly. These include blood, GI tract,
reproductive and hair cells; additionally, radiation harms the DNA and RNA of surviving cells.
For starters, you can expect to lose your hair
quickly and in clumps with radiation exposure
at 200 REM or higher. Since brain cells do not
reproduce, they wont be damaged directly
unless the exposure is 5,000 REM or greater.
Like with the brain, radiation kills nerve cells
and small blood vessels around the heart,
which can cause seizures and immediate
death. Certain body parts are more specifically
affected by exposure to different types of radiation sources.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
The thyroid gland is susceptible to radioactive iodine. In sufficient amounts, radioactive

iodine can destroy all or part of the thyroid. By
taking potassium iodide, one can reduce the
effects of exposure; however, having them
around with you at all times might be a little
presumptuous. When a person is exposed to
around 100 REM, the bloods lymphocyte cell
count will be reduced, leaving the victim more
susceptible to infection. This is often referred to
as mild radiation sickness. Early symptoms of
radiation sickness mimic those of flu and may
go unnoticed unless a blood count is done.
According to data from Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, symptoms may persist for up to 10
years and may also have an increased longterm risk for leukemia and lymphoma. Intense
exposure to radioactive material at 1,000 to
5,000 REM would do immediate damage to
small blood vessels and most certainly cause
heart failure and immediate death.
You can expect to get nauseous, have diarrhea, and begin to vomit blood. Radiation damage to the intestinal tract lining will cause these
violent effects. This is occurs when youre exposure is 200 REM or more. Because reproductive
tract cells divide rapidly, these areas of the
body can be damaged at REM levels as low as
200. Long-term, some radiation sickness victims may become sterile.
If youre lucky enough to dodge the radiation
effects because youre at least seven miles away,
dont count your lucky stars just yet. The thermal
blast still has enough energy to cause third
degree burns. Third degree burns extend
throughout the layers of skin, and are often painless because they destroy the pain nerves. They
will cause scarring or disablement, and can
require amputation. Without immediate medical
attention, death can occur due to shock, rapid
blood loss, and easily susceptible infection.
Surviving a Nuclear Blast
DOOMSDAY
Survival inside the critical rings is highly

unlikely, however, as in Hiroshima, its possible.
Exposed and unshielded, the effects of the thermal blast and the severely high radiation doses
will cause certain death inside the critical areas.
Your only real chances for survival, should you
be within the outer areas and are not injured, are
for you to take immediate action.
Since a detonation like this will occur without warning, your first action should be to
immediately drop to the ground in a prone position. Tightly cover your face with both hands.
Do not move until the initial blast wave and any
reflected blast waves have passed. Shelter in
place if the building youre in is safe to remain
in. Otherwise, seek shelter in a fortified concrete structure if possible. Stay indoors as long
as you can, avoiding time spent around windows and doorways. Close and seal doors and
windows to retain the safer area. Use window
barriers such as blinds, curtains or other coverings to improve protection.
Moving to the center of a building may be
more advantageous, provided the building is
intact and is made of concrete. Make sure to
turn off the HVAC, any fans and exhaust fans,
combustion heaters. If you were outside and
youre seeking shelter, decontaminate yourself
before you enter a shelter. Brush dust/fallout
off your clothing away from your eyes, nose and
mouth. If youre able to, rinse any exposed skin.
If youre in an unsafe area, make your way out
with as much protective clothing on as you can
possibly collect.
Cover your head and any exposed parts of
your body. If no protective clothing such as
Tyvek suits or respirators exists, don as many
layers of clothing or material over whatever
45
DOOMSDAY
46
available water purifiers will eliminate bacteria

and debris but cannot eliminate radioactive
material. The same holds true for food. Do not
eat anything that comes from a container or
wrapper that is already open. The landscape
will be treacherous to walk through, with the
many hazards. Youll have to navigate through
or around them so as to minimize injury. It will
be slow going. Do so carefully so as not to kick
up and ingest the radioactive dust.
Basic survival skills are always good to have,
however, in an incident such as this, many of
those skills like trapping or snaring food, navigation methods using celestial aids, and purifying water may be useless. On the other hand,
first aid, navigation, sheltering, hunting, and
gathering, will come in handy.
youre wearing. Use a towel or rag to cover your

mouth and nose ensuring that you can still
breathe slowly through it. A damp towel draped
over your head and mouth will help keep contaminants to a minimum. Putting your feet into
plastic bags will help keep contaminants from
affecting your feet. Evacuate upwind or crosswind. Discard that layering and remove the protective layers on your shoes before entering
another shelter rolling them all outward and
away from you. Utilize the COLDER method
for how to use and care for your clothing.
C Keep clothing Clean
O Avoid Overheating
L Wear clothing Loose and in Layers
D Keep clothing Dry
E Examine clothing for defects and wear
R Keep clothing Repaired
Stay hydrated as often as possible. Drink
only from new, unopened containers. Do not
drink from any open areas such as drinking
fountains, ponds, or streams. Commercially
I always have a small kit bag with me in the

truck that contains a first aid kit, fire extinguisher, a case of water, cell phone charger,
jumper cables, a basic tool kit, rubber gloves,
water purifier, a portable radio, rope, a gas
mask and N-95 disposable respirators, a Tyvek
suit, road flares, a flashlight with batteries,
some glow-sticks, Fix-A-Flat, a fire starter, a
candle, some granola bars and gum, a sleeping
bag, and a Thermo Scientific Personal Radiation Detector Extended Range (PRD-ER), and
of course, extra clothes.
All of that fits quite nicely in a waterproof,
airtight, Pelican Case, 20 x 29 x 15-inches. Yes,
Ive been accused of being paranoid, but each
time Ive rolled up on an incident, or have been
away from home for longer than I intended, Ive
had what I needed to be comfortable or until
better help could arrive. Im not paranoid. Im
prepared.
Although this nuclear scenario may seem
far-fetched, it was the first of many exercise
scenarios played out in the largest, full-scale
exercise in the Department of Homeland Securitys history, the National Level Exercise 2010,
or NLE2010. During the three-day, nation-wide
exercise, local, state, and federal agencies participated in scenarios designed to test the
response to nuclear and radiological threats in
and around the Los Angeles area and in other
parts of the country, culminating with similar
scenarios in Washington, D.C.
Gear to Take
|NUCLEAR ATTACK
IN THE PAST
When the Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima,

approximately 70,000 people were killed in an instant
and tens of thousands injured. Back then, homes were
made of timber and most buildings were made from a
combination of timber and stone. Anyone in the open
air was incinerated or vaporized in an instant. Miraculously, many were able to survive. Thousands of people were injured or burned. Many were trapped in the
rubble. Just 900 feet from the bomb, two young girls
at a bank were sheltered from the worst of the explosion by the earthquake-proof building. When they
struggled outside, they found a vision of hell. The
morning sun was gone, blackened by the cloud and
smoke from the surrounding fires. It had been the
morning commuting hour, 8:15 a.m. People walking the
streets were now dead, lining the streets in every direction. For as far as they could see, everyone died immediately, naked and burned.
The two could do nothing but fall to the ground and
cry. Somehow, they found the strength and courage to
escape the danger and survive. A mile from the explosions hypocenter, a nurse was blown away from the
window. Her body was bounced around like a ball. Like
so many others, she was badly lacerated by flying
glass, but survived. In another part of town, a young
boy, trapped in the fallen debris at his school was rescued by a soldier who freed him from the wreckage.
The soldier followed the river behind the school to
safety. As he carried the boy through the burning city,
the boy heard a familiar voice. It was his father calling
out his name. The little boy recognized it and the soldier carrying hime reunited him with his father.
Although the thought of a nuclear attack is on the
minds of millions in the world, not much time is spent
thinking about it actually happening. Everyone hopes it
doesnt happen just as they hope an earthquake or
tsunami never hits, but not many do much to prepare
for it. Its often viewed in the same way news of a shark
attack is. Some say, I avoid the water, so it will never
happen to me while others say, It will happen when
we least expect it.
President Kennedy said, Every man, woman and
child living in the world today is living under a nuclear
sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of
threads, capable of being cut at any moment, by accident, or miscalculation, or by madness. The weapons
of war must be abolished before they abolish us.
DOOMSDAY
The Atomic Bomb Over

Hiroshima, 1945
47
ASG-SIP-1412-TORNADO 11/24/14 12:17 AM Page 48
TORNADO|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
48
TORNADOES
OCCUR MORE IN
THE UNITED STATES
THAN ANOTHER
COUNTRY IN
THE WORLD.
Tornadoes
SURVIVING THE TERROR OF THE TWISTERS > Story by Jenna Handley
Imagine it.
A day like any other: outside its blue and

sunny, nothing out of the ordinary. All of a sudden, clouds begin to form
in the skypuffy, white ones at firstbut within minutes, darkly ominous
clouds gather overhead and lightning begins flashing every few seconds.
A tornado is about to hit and you have minutes, if youre one of the lucky
ones, to prepare yourself. What do you do? Where do you go? How do
you stay safe?
Tornadoes are unstoppable forces that occur thousands of times a
year around the world. Difficult to prepare for, difficult to escape; these
deadly twisters are responsible for billions of dollars worth of damages
and hundreds of deaths a year, often leaving behind apocalyptic aftermaths. In one instance, a tornado obliterated a motel in Oklahoma, and
people later found the motels sign in Arkansas. Tornadoes cause lifealtering damages, and because no place in the country is safe from them
(although there are areas more prone to tornadoes), it is important to
know the steps for survival.
How Does a Tornado Form?
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
DOOMSDAY
Each year it is estimated that more than a thousand tornadoes hit the
U.S., more than any other country. Tornadoes are aggressive, swirling funnels of air that connect from a cumulonimbus cloud to the surface of the
Earth. These twisters come in various forms, including a landspout, multiple vortex and waterspout, although the most common type is a visible
condensation funnel.
These tornadoes form from funnel clouds, typically during thunderstorms, but the clouds are not considered tornadoes until they physically
touch the ground. The name tornado actually comes from the Spanish
word tronada, which translates to thunderstorm. The twisters are measured by the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which focuses on the damage caused
and ranks it from EF0-EF5.
Tornadoes occur more in the United States than another country in the
world; in fact, three out of every four tornadoes that occur globally are
located in the U.S. The most active area is known as Tornado Alley,
where more than 500 twisters occur every year. The borders for Tornado
Alley are not clearly defined, but it is roughly made up of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri,
Arkansas and Louisiana. Texas reports more tornadoes than any other
49
TORNADO|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
50
damages, which can put a lot of burden on

people who have already been through a traumatic experience.
How Can You Survive?

Similar to other natural disasters, there is
very little warning before a tornado hits due to
the nature of their formation. The average leadtime for tornadoes is currently 13 minutes, which
doesnt offer much time to prepare. Due to the
short warning, the most important survival skills
for tornado encounters is preparedness.
The best way to survive a tornado is to take
refuge in an underground tornado shelter. Tornadoes typically only affect what is above
ground, so as long as you are underground in a
secure room with a sturdy door that is latched
shut, there is little chance of death or injury. The
second best option would be a basement
because they are also underground, but few are
specially built to protect against tornadoes like
the shelters are.
If a basement is your only option, there are
several additional steps that need to be taken
in order to better ensure safety. Most importantly, stay as far away from windows as possible, if the basement has any. Hide under a
heavy table and cover yourself with a mattress
or sleeping bags to protect from heavy and
sharp debris. If you are aware of any particularly heavy items on the floor above, try to avoid
sitting under them. This is where a little extra
preparation could save a lifebefore a tornado
ever hits, mark the spots in the basement that
would be safest, so in an emergency, people
would know exactly where to go.
Taking shelter in a basement or underground refuge is fairly obvious; the real difficulties begin when a building doesnt have
either. In these instances, your best bet
would be to go to the lowest floor and get in
the smallest space available, whether that
be a closet, bathroom, stairwell or hallway.
Again, cover yourself with thick blankets or a
mattress and take cover under a table, if
possible. The Federal Emergency Management Agency published a guide to building
a safe room in your house, which is easily
accessible online and can help you prepare
for this type of situation. If you are in a car
and the tornado is closenever attempt to
state, but this is due to its large size. Per square

mile, Kansas and Oklahoma have the most.
There is not a set tornado season and as long
as conditions are right, a tornado can occur
anytime of the year.
These deadly storms develop when there
are certain conditions in environment at the
same timean abundance of warm, moist air
to cause vertical movement of air, atmospheric
instability and a trigger, which can be a cold
front or converging winds that lift moist air.
One of the reasons Tornado Alley experiences so many tornadoes is its proximity to the
Gulf of Mexico. The warm, moist air from there
collides with the cool, dry air from the Rocky
Mountains, which forms a supercell (the type
of thunderstorm that produces the twirling
updraft of air that results in tornadoes).
Tornadoes carry immense power; some are
able to pick up a house and move it down the
street. Even less powerful ones are able to
destroy cars, send debris flying and cut off vital
power lines. The total number of deaths from
tornadoes typically varies year to year, depending on the number of tornadoes and the severity of them. According to the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA, 126
people were killed in 2008, yet in 2009, only 21
people died from the twisters. In 2011, tornadoes caused 553 deaths, but just 70 in 2012.
Beyond fatalities, tornadoes are the cause
of severe injuries both before and after the
storms. People are susceptible to injury while
they are working to rescue others, clean up the
mess or even move around an affected area.
Power and gas lines can be damaged, which
leads to explosions or electrocutions. One tornado can cause millions of dollars worth of
outrun it. Tornadoes travel more than 60 mph

and can easily pick up a car. The safest option
would be to pull over at the nearest place that
offers shelter, such as a gas station bathroom.
If you have the chance, put a bike helmet on.
Many injuries or fatalities are caused by head
trauma, so its smart to eliminate this possibility
before the tornado is too close. Keep a helmet
for everybody in the designated shelter, and
make sure they are easy to access.
Similarly, if there is time, bring outside furniture into the home to prevent them from being
swept away or hurled into the house, which
would create more damage. It is also smart to
pre-reinforce your windows. This will help
inside damage remain minimal, but dont risk
your life to do this when a tornado is headed
your way. Most of the time house damage is
unavoidable during a bad tornado, and once
winds get above 100 mph, houses will begin to
break down.
In an ideal situation, you would be able to
structurally secure your home during the building stages in order to protect it from the heavy
winds tornadoes bring, but few people have
this option. If you live in a tornado-prone area, it
is likely that certain measures have been taken
to reinforce your home, especially for newer
houses. Modern building code protects homes
from weaker tornadoes, around 90 mph winds,
but when violent winds hit, it is likely that they
will start to buckle.
If possible, anyone renovating a home
should be careful to have the roof firmly connected to the walls, and the walls firmly connected to the foundation, because this has
shown to withstand tornadoes much better.
Easier home fixes would be to install impactresistant windows and outside doors, and
attach the doors with three hinges and a deadbolt. In addition, cut down dead trees or tree
limbs within close proximity to the house.
Always stay on top of roof, gutter and wall
maintenance, as any small issue could become
a huge one when a tornado hits.
Even after a tornado has passed, there is
chance for severe injury. Tornados tend to leave
a path of destruction wherever they passthis
means stray electrical wires, sharp debris,
floods, fires and other hazardous situations.
Depending on how strong the twister was,
buildings could be collapsed and roads might

be blocked. Leave your shelter carefully and
move around with caution. Pay close attention
to fallen power lines and wires in puddles. In
addition, do not use a lighter or match in the
effected area in case of fuel or natural gas
leaks. Under no circumstances should you enter
damaged buildings without the proper precaution or gear.
The best way to survive tornadoes, and
other natural disasters, is to be prepared and
pay attention. Many times before a tornado
hits, a watch will be issued. This informs residents of areas, sometimes up to 25,000
square miles, that conditions are
favorable for a tornado. It doesnt
mean that a tornado will definitely
occur; in fact, many times nothing
happens after a watch, but you
never want to count on that. Keep
an eye out on the weather during
tornado watches. Dark, low-hanging clouds indicate an impending
tornado, as does frequent lightning
and hail. Often the power will cut
out right before the tornado hits
because nearby power lines were
knocked over or damaged.
Never just rely on visual signals,
however. In some parts of the country, large trees or hilly landscape
can block an oncoming tornado
from view, so always keep the TV or
radio on for warnings. Tornadoes form and
begin destructing within minutes, so take a tornado watch as an opportunity to account for
everyone and prepare for the worst.
If one does form, a warning will be issued,
which means a tornado is imminent. Of course
it doesnt mean that it will strike exactly where
you are, and if youre one of the lucky ones, it
wont; but dont take that chance. The time to
gather padding and protective gear is not when
a tornado warning has been announced. There
will not be enough time to prepare at this point,
and many people have been killed because
they were trying to gather supplies after a
warning, but didnt make it to a safer location in
time. Take the time to ready yourself before and
once a warning has been issued, take shelter
immediately.
THE BEST WAY

TO SURVIVE
TORNADOES AND
OTHER NATURAL
DISASTERS, IS TO
BE PREPARED
AND PAY
ATTENTION.
DOOMSDAY
ASG-SIP-1412-TORNADO.CX51 11/25/14 1:53 AM Page 51
51
TORNADO|PERSONAL ACCOUNT
DOOMSDAY
52
Michael Naruta
Michael Naruta recounted his experience during a particularly brutal tornado in 1953the
Beecher Tornado in Michigan, which resulted in
116 fatalities and remains one of the top 10
deadliest tornadoes in history. Back in the
1950s, there was virtually no warning for these
disastersif you were lucky, you saw it coming
from a distance with enough time to take shelter. Michael didnt get a warning, and his story
shows how useful common household items
can be during an emergency; in this case, a
table, blankets and a flashlightand why they
are still recommended as protection today,
some 60 years later.
Michael was in his farmhouse with his
mother and two brothers, Tom and Gordon,
when the tornado hit. He, Gordon and their
mother were in the kitchen when the tornado

blasted through their house, and the three of
them were lucky enough to get knocked down
next to their heavy kitchen table. As the tornado raged, the table created a small space of
protection for them amid the collapsing walls.
Without the table, the three of them would
undoubtedly have been crushed.
Tom happened to be upstairs in his bedroom
during the storm, and he immediately hid under
the blankets on his bed. When the house collapsed, the tornado threw Tom and the bed into
the front yard, where even more debris was flying wildly. Thanks to the blanket, Tom was not
seriously injured, although any sharp piece of
debris could have easily fatally wounded him.
Once the storm passed, Tom, who was outside the collapsed home, began yelling for his
family, and was relieved to find out everyone
was alive; but Michael, his mother and Gordon
were still buried under the house with no way
to get free. Luckily, the mother was able to
locate a flashlight and shine it through cracks
to signal to Tom where they were. Tom began
to dig an opening in the debris and was able to
get it large enough for all three to slip through.
Michaels mother was bleeding from her
head and neck from the flying glass and nails
that struck her while she was shielding her children and Tom was cut on his hands and feet
from digging through the rubble. Bad as they
were, their injuries were not fatal. Although the
tornado was over and the family survived, they
felt the aftereffects for quite some time. The
incident had destroyed their house, farm and
livestock, and it took decades for them to pay
off the debts they acquired after rebuilding
their lives from ground up.
Michael recalled how his mother made
them hide under their beds anytime a storm hit,
and he has spent the rest of his life afraid of
small, enclosed spaces. He took his experience
and used it to his and others advantage; hes
studied tornadoes and participated in Skywarn,
a program that collects reports of localized
severe weather to help forecasters issue
weather watches and warnings. As Michael
stated, Its good to understand the phenomenon. It helps remove the fear.
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
When it comes to natural disasters, some

people get lucky and some people dont, it
does not always matter who is more prepared.
One woman, 89-year-old Wilma Nelson has
had the terrible misfortune of experiencing,
and almost dying in, two severe tornadoes in
the same town.
The first tornado hit in 1947 when she was
just 23 years old. She was living in a duplex at
the time with a roommate, but was home alone
the night of the storm. Nelson recounts how
she could see a menacing cloud and worried
about a hailstorm, but she was not aware that
a deadly tornado was approaching because of
the lack of advanced storm warning communication back then.
When it did hit, it took her by surprise. As
Nelson rode the storm out under her dining
room table, the tornado, the deadliest in Oklahomas history, essentially leveled her town of
Woodward and killed 116 people. The tornado
influenced the creation of the watch and warning program, which saved Nelsons life the second time around.
The second tornado was in 2012, and this
time Nelson was prepared. Her walk-in closet
was stocked with nonperishable foods, water,
tissues, scissors, pliers, a whistle and flashlights. The night of the second Woodward tornado, Nelson got into bed and, with her cell
phone and glasses close by, listened to her
weather radio. A tornado had been spotted
about seven miles away from Woodward and
was reportedly moving fast.
When the towns sirens sounded, Nelson
quickly made her way to the closet and got the
door shut right as the tornado hit her street.
According to Nelson, it sounded like a bomb
went off, and her roof was ripped away from
the house. A wood panel fell on her head but
she remained as calm as she could. The door
was blocked by debris after the tornado
passed, trapping her inside; but Nelsons neighbors came looking for her right away and were
calling out her name. She shined one of her
flashlights through the cracks so they could
locate her and they quickly got her out of the
closet. Nelson was okay, but six fellow Woodward residents had been killed in the twister.
Despite having survived two tragedies and
losing her home, Nelson remains positive, Im
just pretty tough. Ive just had to learn to be
strong. If life deals you lemons, you make
lemonade, thats my philosophy, and you do
whatever you have to do and you take it on the
chin ... and if good things come, you rejoice. Her
advice to others? Get you a weather radio,
because it saved my life.
DOOMSDAY
Wilma Nelson
53
TORNADO|IN THE PAST
The Tri-State Tornado

of 1925
The Tri-State Tornado, which trekked about
200 miles in 3.5 hours (the longest recorded
tornado in history) and ruined 13 counties in
Missouri, Illinois and Indiana in 1925, remains
the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. This FE5
twister was among a larger tornado outbreak
on March 18, 1925 across Tennessee, Kentucky,
Indiana, Alabama and Kansas.
This outbreak was spurred by severe thunderstorms all over the Midwest and the South,
and there were some reports of hail and strong
winds. These supercell thunderstorms began in
the afternoon and quickly condensed into a
squall line, or a line of thunderstorms that form
along a cold front and contain hail, heavy precipitation, lightning, and can often produce
waterspouts and tornadoes.
Although no one factor present in the
atmosphere that fateful day accounts for the
exceptionally long path and duration, the combination of a variety of elements may have contributed to its severity.
The tri-state tornado formed at about 12:40

p.m. and was reported to be a relatively little
condensation funnel in Missouri. Although the
size was small at first, the tri-state tornado
alone would cause 695 fatalities over the next
few hours. As the tornado made its way
through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, it
destroyed 15,000 houses, caused $16.5 million
worth of damage ($1.4 billion by todays standards), killed at least 695 people and injured
2,027. The entire town of Gorham, Illinois was
essentially obliterated. Almost every building
was flattened, railroad tracks were ripped from
the ground and more than half of the towns
population was killed or injured.
In Murphysboro, a total of 234 people were
killed, which is the most deaths caused by a
tornado in a single town. The tornado
destroyed about 100 square blocks in the town,
and an additional 70 were ruined from resulting
fires. West Frankfort, a mining town in Illinois,
experienced significant loss as well. When the
tornado struck, most men were underground in
the mine, and therefore safe from the disaster.
After the power in the mine went out they came
to the surface to see what had happened, and found a destroyed town.
With the men protected, almost all of
the 148 deaths and 400 injuries were
women and children.
The total tri-state death toll is
more than double the second most
deadly tornado in the U.S. in 1840.
Outside of fatalities and injuries, the
tornado left thousands without
homes and there were many reports
of fires and looting around the
affected areas. Nine schools were
destroyed during the disaster and 69
students were killed.
There have been debates over
whether the destruction was caused
by a single tornado or a family of tornadoes, and despite exhaustive
research there has been no clear conclusion. Most scientists agree that,
while there may have been multiple
tornadoes at the beginning and end
of the long track, the majority of the
widespread damage was caused by
one continuous tornado.
DOOMSDAY
54
Yet another disastrous tornado occurred in

Joplin, Missouri occurred in 2011. Part of a
larger tornado outbreak, this multiple-vortex
tornado struck the town on May 22, 2011 and
had an almost mile wide reach. The twister
caused 158 fatalities, an additional two indirect deaths, 1,150 injuries and $2.8 billion
worth of damages. When it first hit ground, the
tornado was at an EF0 intensity, but it picked
up steam as it traveled towards Joplin and
eventually reached EF5.
The damage from the tornado in Joplin was
catastrophic. Three hundred-pound concrete
parking stops fixed with rebar were thrown
yards away, something that could only have
happened with winds that exceeded 200 mph,
as one wind engineer was able to determine. St.
Johns Regional Medical Center also suffered
heavy damage, so bad, in fact, that it was
deemed structurally compromised after the
storm and was torn down. The building lost
windows, walls and part of its roof and six people were killed.
The tornado maintained its strength as it
destroyed buildings, a church and even Joplin
High School, although luckily, the graduation
ceremony was that day and the students were
three miles away at a different venue.
The mile-wide tornado hit a Pizza Hut,
where the manager had herded the four
employees and 15 customers into the walk-in
freezer. The door was unable to close, so the
manager, Christopher Lucas, tied a bungee
cable to the door and wrapped it around his
arm to keep it shut. The tornado was too
strong, however, and it sucked Lucas into the
storm, where he died. His efforts were not in
vain though, his selfless act managed to save
the lives of his employees and customers. Similar scenes were happening around the town as
the tornado continued to forge its path, stacking cars and throwing around 100-pound manhole covers. It weakened as it made its way
south to neighboring communities, where
minor damage was reported.
A preliminary survey found that around 20
percent of Joplin had been destroyed and
about 75 percent damaged, including 7,000
houses. In an attempt to prevent such severe
THE TORNADO WAS TOO STRONG,

HOWEVER, AND IT SUCKED LUCAS
INTO THE STORM, WHERE HE DIED.
damage in the future, Joplin officials
announced that they would require all houses
to have hurricane ties, or fasteners between
houses and the foundation. However they
rejected a proposal that would require concrete
basements in new homes. Only 28 percent of
new homes in Joplin had basements as of
2009, and 54 percent of the fatalities occurred
within residences.
Following the storm there was a dispute
over its intensity. One engineering study found
that there was no structural damage on par
with an EF5 rating, but the National Weather
Service in Missouri reported that their team had
found evidence, albeit a small amount, of EF5
damage near the hospital, which they claim
could have been missed in the engineering survey. This along with a variety of non-conventional damage indicatorsthe moving of the
concrete parking stops and manhole covers
led to a final rating of EF5.
DOOMSDAY
Joplin Tornado of 2011
55
DOOMSDAY
56
TORNADO|GEAR GUIDE
Prevent Window Pains
Damage occurs when the strong winds get
into the house through a broken door, roof
or window. Although these wouldnt do
much for the more severe tornadoes, they
could offer a decent amount of protection
during the lower-intensity ones. These
acrylic sheets can fit into window frames
and add extra fortification.
HDSupplySolutions.com
Head Protection
One of the main causes of death
during tornadoes is head injury, so
a simple bike helmet could prevent fatal head trauma. Once a
warning has been issued, it would
be smart to put on a helmet just in
case; better safe than sorry.
SOSProducts.com
Stay in the Light

Flashlights are crucial to have during a tornado.
Power lines are often destroyed in the storms
and cut off electricity to homes, which can be
disastrous at such a chaotic time. Specialty
flashlights, such as the one above, are perfect
in emergency situations because they are
armed with AM/FM radios and have alternate
power sources, so a lack of batteries in a house
during a tornado wont be a problem.
CampingSurvival.com
Portable Armor
Not intended to replace a safe
room, tornado shields add an
extra layer of protection and
are able to protect the wearer
from flying debris. This Tuuli
Armor Tornado shield was
tested by firing a quarterpound spike, a five-ounce
steel rod, and glass at the
shield at speeds of 200 to
260 mph; nothing penetrated
the shield. They can be used
in a bathtub, closet, car, basement and most places you
would hide for shelter.
TuuliArmor.com
Sound Signals
In the event that a house collapses and the occupants are
buried under rubble, a whistle is a lifesaver. Without a phone,
its hard to signal for help. As rescue workers move throughout
the affected areas, a whistle could alert them immediately
where you are and possibly save hours of searching.
Coleman.com
Keep Informed
DOOMSDAY
Similar to the flashlight above, this

hand-crank-powered, multi-use
tool is perfect in any emergency
situation. The mobile phone
charger with a universal adapter
provides enough power for a short
conversation, which could save
lives. Keep this crucial tool in your
designated tornado shelter,
whether its a closet or basement.
FireSupplyDepot.com
57
ASG-SIP-1412-VOLCANO.qxp 11/24/14 12:14 AM Page 58
VOLCANO|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
58
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
Fountains Fire
of
SURVIVING THE LAVA OF A VOLCANOS ERUPTION > Story by Jeff Zurschmeide
Ask most people what they think of when they imagine a

volcano eruption and theyll describe red-hot lava sluggishly flowing.
Weve all seen the film clips of lava in Hawaii doing just that. But as hard
as it might be to believe, a river of molten rock is about the best possible
case for a volcanic eruption. For the most part, you can see those coming,
and theyre going to flow in a mostly predictable way. Its the other kind of
eruption that poses an extreme challenge for survival.
There are about 1,500 active volcanoes in

the world, and 169 of them are in the United
States. Most of the worlds active volcanoes are
located along a big circle called the Pacific Rim
of Fire. If you draw a line around the west coast
of the Americas and out the Aleutian peninsula
and down through the east coasts of Japan and
Asia all the way down to Australia and New
Zealand, youve pretty much got it. Most of the
islands in the Pacific Ocean have a volcanic
component to them, too. Other volcanoes are
scattered around the world, including Etna and
Vesuvius in Sicily and Italy, Eyjafjallajkull in
Iceland, and some in the Caribbean.
DOOMSDAY
59
VOLCANO|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
Rules for
Surviving
Volcanic
Aftermath
> Husband your resources
carefully. You dont
know how long your
stored provisions need
to last.
> Depending on social
conditions where you
are, you may want to be
rescued or to keep a low
profile until order is
restored. Be prepared
for either possibility.
> Any wind or disturbance will kick up ash
and dust. When you
must venture out, wear
good, all-covering
clothes and the best
respirator you have.
> Wash your air filters
and keep them clean. If
they get clogged and
you cant breathe, your
other options wont be
as good.
> Get ash and dust off
your house and car as
soon as you can use the
hose to clean up. Especially if rain is imminent, the ash will hold
water and get heavy,
putting a burden on
roofs and gutters.
Every year, 50 to 70 volcanoes will erupt. For

the most part, this is no big deal. They belch
some gas and ash into the sky, or send some
lava along a well-defined channel, adding
some real estate to the local map. But occasionally, we get that other kind of eruptionthe
ash and dust and mud kind. Volcanologists
have a lot of scientific terms for it, but the bottom line is that a mountain just explodes, raining superheated rock and ash down on the
countryside for hundreds of miles in every
direction, while a combination flood and landslide of superheated mud and rock scrapes
absolutely everything off the landscape.
This happened in Washington State on May
18th, 1980, when Mount Saint Helens erupted
with the force of 500 nuclear bombs. People
were expecting an eruption, but no one predicted that the top and side of the mountain
would simply explode. The initial shockwave
ran at over 300 mph and flattened everything
in its path. Then came the pyroclastic flowa
wave of mud and rock hundreds of feet thick
and measuring hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit. A total of 57 people died that spring
morning, including those who defied warnings
to evacuate and some who were in areas
authorities believed safe.
But the people in the path of millions of
tons of volcanic sputum were not the only ones
with a challenging survival situation on their
hands. The ash and dust from the explosion fell
as far away as Minnesota. The entire Pacific
Northwest was covered in a blanket of fine grit
anywhere from an inch to a foot thick. If you dig
a hole in the right place, you can still find a layer
of ashy clay a few inches down.
The survival challenge for anyone under the
umbrella of a volcano, and anyone who lives
downwind of that volcano, is more subtle but no
less dangerous. Plus, theres a tremendous risk
of property damage that you might not expect.
Yellowstone The Big One

If all that doom and gloom doesnt have you
thinking in survival mode, consider this: Mount
Saint Helens was pretty small in the grand
scheme of things. The great Yellowstone Crater
is expected to blow at some point, and if it goes
up the way some scientists expect it will, the
resulting super-eruption could take out much
of North America entirely. The last time this

crater blew up, the volcano spewed out 100
million cubic yards per second, which changed
the climate of North America and may have
caused the extinction of large numbers of
species on the continent.
Yellowstone doesnt look as imposing as a
cone-shaped volcano mountain such as Mount
Saint Helens or Mount Fuji in Japan, but its
actually much more significant. When you enter
the Yellowstone crater, it looks like youre driving into a big valley. Dont be fooled by the
size, thoughits still a volcanic crater. And the
amusing tourist attractions like the Old Faithful
geyser indicate that the volcano underneath
that crater is alive and fully active.
Scientists believe that if Yellowstone fully
erupts, the ejection could cover most of the
western United States in ash, disrupting agriculture and wildlife. Up to half of the United
States could be rendered uninhabitable for an
extended period of time. An eruption of this
scale would devastate the global economy
and perhaps threaten civilization itself.
Surviving an Eruption Event

Your first challenge is to survive the actual
eruption. The best way to do this is by being
elsewhere when it happens. This is generally
possible because at least in the United States,
we keep a pretty close eye on our volcanoes.
The mountains usually offer distinct signals to
our scientists that indicate when an eruption is
likely. When the situation goes critical, youll
get an advisory to leave the area. You should
heed that advice and leave by the safest route
possible.
If you are caught by the explosion, you have
a decision to make: shelter in place or run for it.
If you believe you could be in the path of devastation, then obviously running is the right
choice. No humans overtaken by a pyroclastic
flow have ever been known to survive. Such
flows are too big, too fast, too hot, and
absolutely deadly.
But if you are not in the immediate vicinity or
along any likely path of flows, your best bet is
to plan on sheltering in place. Seal up your
house as much as humanly possible. Seal up
windows, doors, fireplace flues, HVAC system
intakes and exhausts, attic hot air exhaust
DOOMSDAY
60
VOLCANIC ERUPTION SURVIVAL RULES
vents, kitchen blower vents, crawl space and

basement vents.
The sealing job doesnt have to be fancy or
completely airtight. Youre just looking to minimize the amount of dust and ash that gets in.
You can use garbage bags and duct tape, sheet
plastic, tarps, even bedsheets. The critical thing
is not to let the ash get into your house where
you will breathe it into your lungs.
Once you have sealed your house, you can
hunker down there until the ash stops falling.
Throughout this process, normal lockdown survival rules apply. You will need to rely on your
stored drinking water and food. Utilities are
also likely to be out for the duration.
TIP: Your standard home hot water heater holds
30 to 50 gallons of drinkable water suitable for a
long-term lockdown situation.
Resist the temptation to go outside and

check on things while the ash is flying. That just
opens up the house to let ash in, and youll get
ash on you while youre outside. But at the
same time, keep an eye on accumulations of
ash through the windows, because a great
weight of material is likely to be landing on your
cars, your roof, your gutters, and so on. When
this is all over, youll have plenty of time to exercise your respirator while washing and sweeping the ash away.
Surviving the Aftermath
Volcanoes and Climate Change

In the event of a regional volcanic disaster in
North America, help should be on the way in
short order. Food will arrive and getting water
systems up and running will be a top priority.
But in the event of a nationwide or intercontinental disaster, things could look very different.
In recorded history, there are several
instances of major eruptions that have actually
changed the climate worldwide. What happens
is that the ash and dust get into the upper
atmosphere, blocking the sun and bringing on a
volcanic winter that can last for years. In
recorded history, we know that hundreds of
thousands have starved after a major eruption,
and in prehistory, it is thought that a volcanic
eruption nearly caused the extinction of
ancient man.
In that case, your long-term survival skills
have to come into play. Many of the local livestock are likely to be dead of bronchitis and
mechanical pneumonia from the initial eruption, and those that are left may be struggling
to find suitable uncontaminated food.
Crops are likely to be meager or fail entirely
at a continental level if freezing temperatures
persist through a summer. When the normal
growing season is disrupted, not just sown
crops are in trouble, but even the wild-growing
foods that a resourceful person knows how to
exploit. In this case, you could find yourself
becoming a refugee, or at least bringing your
precious stock of cash, metals, trade goods,
and skills into play to keep yourself fed, housed,
and healthy.
DOOMSDAY
While the actual eruption might be terrifying, the real challenge with surviving a major
volcanic event happens after the mountain
ceases its destructive tear.
In the near term, a volcanic eruption presents the same challenges as an earthquake,
flood, or other natural disaster. Roads are likely
to be impassable, utilities out for extended
periods, and store-bought food will be thin on
the ground.
Your first step here is to rely on your stored
provisions. This is why you carefully planned
and purchased the food and water you need to
survive for several weeks. Standard rules apply:
do not be conspicuous about how well you are
doing, maintain a regular schedule of rations,
and quietly help out as you are able.
> Keep your distance. If authorities are saying theres a good chance a Volcano eruption is
imminent, the best thing to do is bug out early and beat the rush. You should already have
your escape plan established, and the supplies ready to hand when the time comes.
> As much as possible, follow directions. Scientists who study volcanoes have a pretty good
idea where the mess is going to go. If its likely that the volcano is going to blow right
across your bug-out path, its time to change that plan, pronto.
> Pack the proper clothing. Volcanic ash is alkaline and not good for you. Wear and pack
plenty of good-covering clothing to keep ash off of you.
> Bring along eye protection to help keep ash and dust out of your eyes, and pack some
saline solution to rinse ash out of your eyes.
> Dont forget to breathepack good filtered respirators if possible, and painters masks,
surgical masks, or even just a couple bandanas to keep ash out of your lungs. Volcanic ash
in your lungs can easily kill you.
> If you must shelter in place, turn off all vents to the outside. That includes all windows,
doors, ventilation systems, and so on. Dont forget the flue in the fireplace! You want to
keep all ash and fumes outside.
> Once the eruption hits, try to avoid driving, or if you must drive, try to add extra air filtering
capability to your car. Volcanic ash does nothing good for cars, and will be sucked right
into your engine.
61
VOLCANO|PERSONAL ACCOUNT
DOOMSDAY
62
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
The Moore Family

One of the most famous stories of volcanic
survival comes from the Mount Saint Helens
eruption. The Moore family of Longview, Wash.
had gone to a campsite about 15 miles northwest of the peak of the rumbling volcano with
the intention of getting a front row seat for
some spectacular natural fireworks. The foolhardy plan nearly cost them their lives when
the eruption turned out to be far greater than
anyone could have anticipated.
The four members of the Moore family:
father, mother, and two children under five,
camped out overnight and awoke the next
morning to see the mountain going up, and the

cloud of ash and dust approaching them at
about 300 mph. Within moments, they were
engulfed in a fog of unbreathable silt and poisonous gases.
The family described the sound of the
explosion as being similar to a troubled airplanea low, loud rumble. Then they felt the
first pressure wave as the air was pushed
towards them by the force of the blast. The
Moores say that they could feel their bodies
being compressed by the shock wave.
Mr. Moore was frantically taking photos as
the cloud of dust grew around the mountain,
until he realized that he had positioned his
family far too close to the cataclysmic explosion taking place just a few miles away. When
he looked skyward, all he could see was blackness. The time to run was long past, and the
family car was a 2-mile hike away.
With no time to escape and only their camping tent for protection, the Moores had to think
fasttheir childrens lives and their own
depended on their ability to protect themselves
from the millions of tons of debris headed their
way. The family decided to shelter in place at a
tiny cabin located nearby.
By the time the Moores made it into the
cabin, trees were coming down and the black
sky was riven with lightning generated by the
particles of ash and soot. The lightning was the
only source of light making it through the cloud.
The cabin was not sealed, and ash was making its way into the structure, so the Moores
used their clothing and drinking water to create
makeshift breathing filters. By the time the
cloud passed and the eruption subsided to survivable levels on the next day, there was 6
inches of ash and dust covering every surface.
The Moores attempted to hike out of the
area and back to civilization, but with every
landmark changed or obliterated, they spent
another night outdoors in the wilderness before
being spotted by rescue workers and evacuated
by helicopter.
Quick thinking and the chance proximity of a
sturdy shelter saved the Moore family from
what would otherwise have been certain death.
Theres more luck than skill to this story, and
the lessons are clear. It is impossible to know
beforehand what an eruption will do, and the
best place to be is far away.
Sometimes being in jail isnt such a bad thing.

Back in 1902, a man named August Cyparis
ended up spending the night in jail on the island
of Martinique in the Caribbean. The story is
vague, but it seems likely that Mr. Cyparis was
stuck in the clink for his involvement in a
drunken fistfight.
But fortune often looks out for drunkards
and fools, because the cell where he was
housed was protected by thick stonewalls in the
basement of the police station. He was alone in
this dank little prison, without a window of any
DOOMSDAY
August Cyparis
kind, and only a grate in the door to bring him

fresh air. That miserable accommodation gave
him the protection he needed to survive what
happened on the following morning.
On the morning of May 8, Mount Pele
erupted spectacularly, destroying much of the
island with a cloud of dust and gas that
spewed forth at more than 400 mph. The temperature of the erupted material surpassed
1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and almost the
entire population of the island was burned to
death or suffocated in the firestorm that followed. Every building in the city of St. Pierre collapsed, and Cyparis cell was covered in rubble.
After four days in the cell, rescue crews
arrived and heard Cyparis shouting. He had suffered extensive burns and barely survived. He
testified that all light vanished and extremely
hot air mixed with ash began flowing through
his cell door. He tried to block the flow with his
clothes, and was burned over much of his
upper body by the hot air.
In later years, Cyparis made a living telling his
story and showing the scars he sustained while
surviving one of the most intense volcanic eruptions in the history of the Caribbean.
63
VOLCANO|IN THE PAST
DOOMSDAY
64
Mount Saint Helens

Eruption of 1980
PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTO
The Pacific Northwest is home to many volcanoes, laid out in a ragged line from Northern
California up through British Columbia and
Alaska. About 7,700 years ago, Mount Mazama
in what is now Southern Oregon exploded and
collapsed. The Native American tribes of the
region recall the event in their legends as a battle between two giants. The eruption left the
United States with one of its most spectacular
formations: Crater Lake National Park. With
nowhere to go, snow and rain gradually filled
the volcanos caldera, creating a pure and
earthquake measuring 5.1 on the traditional

Richter scale emanated from the mountain.
Authorities had contacted everyone known to
be living on the mountain or in its likely flow
path to evacuate. One man, named Harry Truman, refused to leave his Spirit Lake Lodge
home and business. Truman and his lodge now
lie buried at least 200 feet under the new surface of the Earth. Other victims of the blast
included David Johnston, a volcanologist with
the United States Geological Survey. Johnston
was stationed on a ridge when the eruption
came. His last words on the radio were This is
it before he was consumed by the 300 mph
blast wave and lost in the ash.
The mountain blew out its top and
sides to the northeast, releasing the
devastating flows of mud and rock.
Some late evacuees were not able to
drive out faster than the mud flows,
due to zero visibility in the dust cloud.
President Carter, surveying the disaster a few days later, compared the
destroyed area to the surface of the
moon, stating that the moon looked
like a golf course compared to the devastation around Mt. St. Helens.
For weeks afterward, residents up
to hundreds of miles away had to wear
respirators and pay careful attention
to the air intakes on their vehicles, and
all filtration systems. Water supplies
were compromised and authorities
had their hands full meeting basic
public utility needs.
Today, much of the area blighted
by the volcano remains stark and barren. Yet life began returning to the
mountain almost immediately. What is
more amazing is that the mountain is
rebuilding itself far faster than most scientists
expected. A new mountain peak is growing
down in the caldera, and it is already over 100
feet high just a little over 30 years later. It is fair
to note that we have not heard the last from
Mount Saint Helens, and residents of Seattle
now look towards Mount Rainier, while Portland, Oregon residents look to Mount Hood.
Both wonder when these mountains might roar
to life and change their verdant cities to blasted
wastelands.
beautiful lake. Scientists have measured water

temperatures and found that the water down
by the floor of the crater is quite warma sign
that Mazama is not dead, merely sleeping.
But as mentioned earlier, on the morning of
May 18, 1980, Mount Saint Helens, another volcano in the Cascade chain exploded, killing 57.
The run-up to that moment is instructive.
The mountain had been giving clear signs
that it was active for weeks and months
beforehand. The day prior to the eruption, an
PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTO
Historic
Volcanic
Eruptions
and
Climate
Change
Mount Ontake Eruption

of 2014
DOOMSDAY
Even with the advanced volcanic monitoring

and warning systems, the Earth can still surprise us with an eruption. On September 29,
2014, Mount Ontake in Japan suddenly erupted,
killing 51 people. Over 250 hikers and tourists
were on the mountain that day, some at religious shrines or nature resorts.
The Mount Ontake event is known as a
phreatic type of eruption. That means that
superheated steam and mud built up near the
surface of the mountain and suddenly blew
out. Unlike deeper types of eruption, phreatic
events are extremely difficult to predict.
When the superhot steam pressure blew
out part of the mountain, a pyroclastic flow of
ash-based mud and gas exploded out of the
new vent. This material jets out at temperatures more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and
at speeds greater that 100 miles per hour
impossible to outrun.
Of the 51 people who died, most were
caught in the pyroclastic flow. Bodies were
found crushed by boulders flung out from the
explosion, or burned to death by the hot gases
and ash. These were the people closest to the
eruption site. The victims were on foot and
could not move fast enough to outrun the
deadly effusion.
Yet about 200 people did manage to survive

the eruption on Mount Ontake, primarily by not
being in the path of the eruption when it happened. Those who survived testified to a scene
of biblical scale devastation. Witnesses
reported that the sky was darkened and the air
was a thick miasma of smoke, floating ash, and
choking fumes. Hot rocks fell from the sky,
ejected from the volcanos new vent.
Rescue workers labored for days to account
for the missing, and the death toll rose as the
missing were discovered in the locations where
the eruption overtook them. The search was
suspended and the remaining missing were
presumed dead when a serious storm made
landfall five days later.
The significance of this recent eruption on
Mount Ontake is that phreatic explosions may
take place at any time on or near a volcano.
Volcanoes are often part of chains that are
linked by underground rivers of molten rock,
and small earthquakes are an everyday occurrence in these chains. When an earthquake too
small for humans to feel changes the course of
underground aquifers, water may come into
contact with heat and flash into steam, creating the perfect conditions for a phreatic outbreak. Notably, there was another phreatic
eruption in the Philippines in 2013 that killed
five people.
Mount Pinatubo in the

Philippine islands erupted
in 1991. Scientists estimate
that more than 20 million
tons of sulphur were dispersed into the atmosphere. The result was that
world average temperatures dropped by 2 degrees
Celsius that year.
Prior eruptions in 1815
in the East Indies and in
1783 in Iceland also had
measurable climatic
impacts around the world.
In that year, summer was
a no-show in the Northern
hemisphere in those
years. Unseasonable
frosts and snows continued throughout both
years and up to 200,000
died of starvation due to
crop failure.
Going even farther
back, it is believed that an
Indonesian supereruption
about 75,000 years ago
ushered in a small ice age,
dropping global temperatures for years and sharply
reducing human populations all over the globe.
All signs are clear: a
true supereruption could
bring on a global winter
that could last for years or
even decades. Crops could
fail everywhere on Earth,
leading to mass starvation and the unrest that
would surely follow.
65
VOLCANO|GEAR GUIDE
DOOMSDAY
66
Respirator
This is a critical survival
item in your kit. If you
live anywhere near a
volcano, you need one
of these, properly fitted,
for each member of
your household. Volcanic ash is irritating to
any part of you that
comes into contact, but
especially to your respiratory system and eyes.
NorthernTool.com
Eye Protection
Goggles are best here, something that will do
as much as possible to keep the volcanic ashdust out of your eyes. As mentioned above,
this ash is super irritating to your eyes. Make
sure you get a good pair for each person in
your householdand maybe a few spares.
Ordinary swimming goggles from the sporting
goods store will work, or welding goggles with
clear lenses.
BarzOptics.com
ASG-SIP-1412-VOLCANO.CX67 11/25/14 1:55 AM Page 67
Water Filter
In the event that water systems are down for
some time, youll want to filter any water you
plan to drink. The particulate ash will be the
worst, so think about getting more than one
filter because the filters may become clogged.
Katadyn.com
Flare Gun
If you did manage to survive, youll want to be found.
When the airplanes are surveying the damage, you can
send up a signal. In most cases of people surviving where
others did not, they survived because they were able to
alert rescuers to their presence.
OrionSignals.com
Sealers
DOOMSDAY
Plastic sheeting such as painters

drop cloths and ordinary garbage
bags are perfect for sealing your
house against volcanic ash or
other airborne pathogens. Get
some bungee cords and duct tape
for sealing off vents like your fireplace flue, hot air escape vents on
the roof, and the kitchen blower
vent. Dont forget those attic and
crawl space or basement vents.
HomeDepot.com
67
ASG-SIP-1412-SHOOTER 11/21/14 2:28 AM Page 68
SHOOTER|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
68
Flying Lead
SURVIVING AN ACTIVE SHOOTER SCENARIO > Story by Tori Tellem
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
A killing spree has

begun. Its in a high school cafeteria and the freshman homecoming
prince has opened fire on his classmates using a 40-caliber handgun.
Theres no time to react; he is calmly shooting. Three students
instantly dropped to the floor from head wounds. Some students try
to run out of the cafeteria, tripping and falling over one another in the
frantic rush. Someone pulls the fire alarm and more chaos erupts as
students rush from the building. Others hide in classrooms. Within
minutes, the police arrive and find the shooter dead of a self-inflicted
gunshot wound.
In October 2014, the freshman homecoming prince at MarysvillePilchuck High School just outside of Seattle did just that.
What is an Active Shooter Situation?

The FBI classifies an active shooter as someone actively engaged
in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated
area. Some of the most common locations that make headlines
have been schools, workplaces, public gathering sites, and even
houses of worship. And these types of incidents are on the rise.
The FBI has identified 160 active shooter cases in the U.S. taking
place between 2000 and 2013. In these incidents, 486 were killed
and 557 were wounded. The shooters themselves are not part of
those stats. Of those incidents, 64 were considered mass killings
three or more killed, according to a federal definition. The incidents
studied happened in both small and large towns, urban and rural
areas, and in 40 of 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The highest casualty count happened during the movie theater
shooting in Aurora, CO, in 201212 were killed and 58 were wounded.
In 2007, the shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va., saw 32 killed and 17 wounded. Most
recently, the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut incident
in 2012 had 27 deaths, while 2 were wounded.
In all but two incidents the FBI tracked, there was a single shooter.
In 64 incidents, the shooter committed suicide. And at least five
shooters from four incidents remain at large.
The FBI report A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and
2013 noted, the findings also reflect the damage
that can occur in a matter of minutes. In 64 incidents where the duration of the incident could
be ascertained, 44 (69 percent) of 64 incidents
ended in 5 minutes or less, with 23 ending in 2
minutes or less. Even when law enforcement
was present or able to respond within minutes,
civilians often had to make life and death decisions, and, therefore, should be engaged in training and discussions on decisions they may face.
Additionally, The 15 incidents that occurred
in open spaces resulted in 45 people killed,
including 1 law enforcement officer, and 54
people wounded (including 10 law enforcement officers).
One pattern the FBI did not see? Similarities
in shooter ages; ages have ranged from 17 to 72.
Also, victims were young and old, male and
female, family members, and people of all
races, cultures, and religions.
Active shooter incidents happen for a range
of reasons, explained Jeff Zisner, president and
CEO of AEGIS Security & Investigations
(aegis.com), whose company offers security
training, including a workshop called Tactical
Response: How to Survive an Active Shooter.
There are, however, trends and pre-incident
indicators that typically lead to such an incident and fall within several categories. Terrorism-related active shooters: attempting to
instill fear for the purpose of political or ideological gain. Victim: they were bulliedany kind
of environmentdomestic dispute, or someone
they know was a victim. And mental illness:
Typically this in itself isnt a pre-incident indicator that would result in someone becoming an
active shooter; however, mental illness with
other environmental pressures may lower the
cognitive barrier to someone justifying the act.
Officer Stephen Daniel of the Houston Police

Department told the Examiner out of Houston
back in 2012 that he doesnt like to hear that
survivors of active shooters say they didnt know
what to do. He noted a survivors mindset is
required, and society has progressed to the
point where this is not an uncommon event. We
want you to know what to do.
VICTIMS
WERE YOUNG
AND OLD,
MALE AND
FEMALE,
FAMILY
MEMBERS,
AND PEOPLE
OF ALL
RACES,
CULTURES,
AND
RELIGIONS.
DOOMSDAY
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
How to Survive
The best thing to do is get the hell out of the

area as fast as possible, said Matt Klier, owner
of Active Shooter Defense School
(asdschool.com). So if you work in a large
office building explore it, find all the alternative
exits and even use the staff maintenance exits
and elevators. Do this daily; learn your environment prior to an incident. Having an escape
route in advance is key. If youre at a mall,
where are the nearest exits? If youre in a hallway, go to a room and lock the door.
The first thing you should do is look for and
get behind hard coverhard cover is anything
that will stop a bullet, Klier continued. Buildings, concrete, walls, the axle or engine of a car.
Stay behind it, get low, and move away if possible. Avoid rooms without an exit.
According to Pepperdine Universitys emergency information on active shooters, Developing a survival mindset is first and foremost.
Take time to understand your surroundings and
environment before an emergency. If you hear
gunfire, drop to the ground immediately, face
down, flat. Also, move or crawl away from the
gunfire, and stay down. The university also suggests tips like hiding behind furniture or finding
a room that locks, and block the door with
heavy furniture. Close the blinds and shut off
the lights, and definitely dont look out a window to see whats going on.
The Department of Homeland Security suggests remembering three key words for survival: run, hide, fight. By run, have an escape
route. Also, dont try to move any of the
wounded. Evacuate, even if other people dont
want to go with you. In terms of hide, be out of
the shooters view and stay quiet. This means
ensuring your phone or other noisemakers are
set to silent.
If youre caught in an open area such as a
hallway or large room, do what we call run the
walls. Staying out of the center of the room
allows for some concealment and may allow
you to slip out unnoticed, get low, crouch,
duck, hide behind desks, leap frogging from
one hiding spot to another, explained Klier.
Do not stay still unless it is absolutely the only
option. If you hear shots on the east side, go
west! Do not panic, trust your instincts, and
get out! Run then run some more until youre
sure you are safe.
69
SHOOTER|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
70
close enough to rush the shooter while he is

reloading, and of course strong enough, do it.
Theres great video of the guy shooting through
the White House fence and people rush him
when he reloads. And yes, they were successful, said Klier. Bottom line: Going up against a
gun without a gun doesnt have a high safety
ratingbut it does have a success rating.
In fact, the FBI study identified 21 of 160
incidents where unarmed citizens made the
selfless and deeply personal choices to face
the danger of an active shooter, and In 11 of
those 21 incidents, unarmed principals, teachers, other school staff and students confronted
the shooters to end the threat. In 10 incidents,
citizens, working or shopping when the shootings began, successfully restrained shooters
until police could arrive. And in six other incidents, armed off-duty police officers, citizens,
and security guards risked their lives to successfully end the threat.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
Pretend to be Dead?
Youve probably heard various suggestions,

such as run in a zigzag or play dead. Zisner of
AEGIS noted, Playing dead may or may not
workespecially out in the open. Its always
advisable to find cover/concealment than
being in the line the fire. Added Klier, Hitting
a fast-moving target at a long range is very
difficult even for professional shooters, so yes,
run, leap, hide, bounce, zigzag and get to cover
then repeat.
Fight or Flight?
Fighting with the shooter is a last resort,
such as if the shooter enters the room youre in.
Make plans with others on what to do prior to
this possibility. If the situation requires this, you
will want to try to seem larger than life and display a lot of physical aggression, have improvised weapons, and throw things at the
shooter. Commit to your actions, advised the
Department of Homeland Security. If youre
About pretending to already be dead: The

situation depends. You may be able to stay
motionless or pretend to be unconscious.
Playing dead may or may not workespecially
out in the open, Zisner explained, who also
teaches a Run, Hide, Fight class. Its always
advisable to find cover/concealment than
being in the line the fire. Klier added, Playing
dead may be an option, but the last option, and
I would only do it if I had another dead person
to hide under.
To help law enforcement or the 911 operator,
if possible take note of the number of shooters,
the location and what the shooter looks like,
the type of weapons being used and how many,
and how many victims their may be. Expect the
first officers on scene to not help injured victims; rescue teams and medical personnel will
follow in the next wave to do that. Put down
any items in your hands, and raise your hands
and spread your fingers, keeping them visible to
law enforcement at all times.
If you arent injured, you may be asked to
help move those who are to a more secure
location. And know that even if youre OK, you
may be held by law enforcement until the situation is deemed under control and all witnesses have been questioned.
|SHOOTER
PERSONAL ACCOUNT
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
Shari Thornberg
DOOMSDAY
On April 16, 2007, an active shooter incident

took place in the dormitory at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg,
Va. The shooter then chained the doors shut in
a building and began shooting at the students
and faculty inside. Thirty-two people were
killed and 17 were wounded. Sophomore
Kristina Anderson told the Star Exponent in
2013 that she was in the back of her classroom
when she heard gunshots through the wall,
then suddenly the gunman burst into her classroom, firing.
My first instinct was to get down on the
floor and my hands on my head. I looked back, I
saw his torso, magazines and two hands out. I
knew to cover my eyes. Once he started shooting, it was very, very quick. He didnt say anything, he didnt stop; he literally went down the
rows of people. It was very methodical. She
was shot three times, including in the back. I
just knew to hold on and that it would all be
over, she said.
Shari Thornberg was a survivor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. She
told USA Today in 2012, We
heard pop-pop-pop, pop-poppop, and I thought, Thats a
weird noise. I first thought it
was the janitor taking down
risers and setting up tables.
She then heard more shots
and screaming, and through the intercom
heard the janitor yelling, Put the gun down!
Put the gun down!
Thornberg and two coworkers locked the
door of the teachers room, and the three of us
struggled to get in a small closet. We just
waited in the closet, saying The Lords Prayer
out loud over and over again, and praying for all
staff members and the children. She described
it as what seemed like forever. The shooting
incident lasted only about 10 minutes.
In fact, the Department of Homeland Security noted that active shooter incidents typically
end after 10 to 15 minutes.
71
SHOOTER|IN THE PAST
DOOMSDAY
72
On April 20, 1999, Eric

Davis Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher at
Columbine High School in
Littleton, Colo. They both
then committed suicide
before law enforcement
entered the school. School
safety and law enforcement response to active
shooters became a nationwide discussion.
That same year, Supervisory Special Agent
Dr. Greg Vecchi, the unit chief of the Behavioral
Science Unit located in the FBIs Training Division at the FBI Academy, Quantico, Va., told
the Inside the FBI podcast, School shootings
before Columbine in 1999 were handled by a
contain and wait approach. And what that
meant is that the police would build their
perimeter, have a perimeter, just kind of contain it and wait. With Columbine and the
changes in behavior that that brought, as far
as a school shooter, that required what we call
an active shooter, or a very active response,
because if you contain and wait, then people
will die because youve got the kids in there
with the guns. Then that was changed after
Columbine to active shooter, and thats been
the mentality thats been used to actually go in
after the subject, or after the offender, to prevent further violence.
Aurora, Colorado,
Shooting, 2012
On July 20, 2012, James Eagan Holmes, with a
rifle, shotgun, and handgun, allegedly released
tear gas in a theater at the Cinemark Century 16
movie theaters in Aurora, Colo., during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises, then started
shooting. Twelve people were killed, and 58
were wounded. The shooter was wearing body
armor, and apprehended by police. They later
found his apartment was booby-trapped with
explosives.
According to the Aurora Century 16 Theater
Shooting After Action Report for the City of
Aurora released in April 2014 by TriData Division, Overall, police, fire, EMS, and all public
safety agencies were able to overcome adverse
conditions and get patients treated and transported. No one died who could have been
saved.
Additionally, While there are things to
improve, as is always found in hindsight, the
City of Aurora should be proud of its response
to the largest civilian shooting in U.S. history,
and the largest mass casualty incident in
Auroras history. To repeat the key point, the
outcome could not have been better in terms of
lives saved and a rapid arrest. Also to come out
of the incident was the need to clearly define
threat levels and to distinguish between a hot
zone with active shooters and a warm zone
where there is concern, but no immediate
threat will be discussed further in the Fire/EMS
and the Incident Command chapters.
Columbine
High School,
1999
DOOM_1412_73 11/25/14 2:17 AM Page 73
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ASG-SIP-1412-PANDEMIC.qxp 11/24/14 12:04 AM Page 74
GLOBAL PANDEMIC|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
74
Global Sickness
HOW TO SURVIVE A WORLD-WIDE PANDEMIC > Story by Carrie Visintainer
Sometimes the worst begins on the most regular of days.
A. This colorized
transmission electron
micrograph (TEM)
reveals some of the
internal structural of
the Ebola virus.
B. Influenza A H7N9
as viewed through an
electron microscope.
Both filaments and
spheres are observed
in this photo.
C. This is a transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of the
West Nile virus (WNV).
DOOMSDAY
Imagine a family of four on a typical school day morning. They get dressed, eat
breakfast, watch for the school bus, and head off to work. But by mid-morning,
mom isnt feeling well. She has chills, muscle pain, and a sore throat. Its the
flu, it seems, which she finds strange, because she had her annual flu shot a
month ago. Yet many of her co-workers have been sick, too.
Mom goes home to rest, but by the end of the day shes worsening. Within a
week, the entire family is sick. Its then that things begin to spin out of control.
Moms respiratory distress becomes severe, but shes turned away by her doctors office, because theyre overloaded with flu patients and have no more
antiviral medication. In the Urgent Care waiting room, rows of people hack and
wheeze. Some are sitting or lying on the floor. Rumors spread that this is bad
really badand that people are getting pneumonia and some are dying from
respiratory complications. Not only those in high-risk populations, like the
elderly and ill. Everyone is at risk.
Message boards, blogs, and forums permeate the internet, propagating a
wave of mass hysteria. Yet public health officials try to keep things under control. Calmly, they describe the facts. It appears that a new influenza A virus has
emerged. Often called the bird flu, because it is carried by wild aquatic birds
like ducks and gulls, its what causes seasonal flu epidemics. But in this case,
scientists havent seen this particular strain before, which means the human
population hasnt had previous exposure to the virus and virtually no one is
immune. Current flu shots wont help. The virus is very contagious. Young,
healthy people are at risk. Cases are popping up in various countries around
the world.
Of course, measures are being taken. Scientists are working diligently to
develop an effective vaccine, but no one can predict when it will be complete.
Drug companies are making more antiviral medication. Travel restrictions and
bans have been issued in order to contain the spread of the virus. Schools are
closing down one by one, both in order to protect students and staff, and also
so the buildings can morph into makeshift clinics. In the meantime, citizens are
asked not to panic.
75
DOOMSDAY
76
This scenario describes a realistic example

of a flu pandemic, a rare global epidemic where
an infectious disease moves quickly, affecting
huge numbers of people in a short period of
time, spanning state lines and borders, crippling the economies of highly affected nations,
and creating large scale serious illness. Unlike
an outbreak, which we hear about regularly on
the news and find listed on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) websitediseases or natural disasters that are contained to a certain
country or region like the recent enterovirus
D68 in the U.S. or the Washington Oso mudslidethe global nature of a pandemic puts
enormous strain on healthcare and government
systems around the world, because mass illness means a shortage of hospital beds, ventilators and other life-saving equipment, supplies, and health care professionals.
Fear and panic are key factors in a pandemic. So are the tricky properties of viruses.
They are unpredictable, sometimes lying dormant for months or years without causing illness. Or they unexpectedly mutatechange
forminto a new, unfamiliar version that scientists havent seen, meaning theres no vaccine.
Maybe the new version transmits in a new way,
such as through the air instead of only through
bodily fluids, causing extra cause for alarm. Or
the virus doesnt respond to medication. Perhaps it preys on the immune systems of per-
What Causes a Pandemic?
fectly healthy peoplethe prime gene pool

instead of the sick and elderly. There are so
many possibilities.
Because of this, the reality is that public
health officials agree that a future pandemic
and the flu is a major concernisnt a matter of
if, its a matter of when. One must only look
back at history to see the reason for this prediction. Various examples come to mind. For
starters, in 1918, the notoriously deadly H1N1 flu
pandemic infected 500 million people across
the world with incredible endurance, traveling
even to highly remote locations like the Arctic,
attacking the immune systems of primarily
healthy young adults. The U.S. death toll alone
was 675,000. Theories on how the pandemic
began are varied; a couple of investigations
point to Kansas. Another to China. British virologist John Oxford speculated that the virus
originated in a troop camp in France, harbored
in birds and then mutating to pigs, which were
kept at the camp; eventually transmitting and
causing aggressive illness in humans.
More recently, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic,
commonly called the swine flu, comes to mind.
Originally thought to be an outbreak confined
to Veracruz, Mexico, this strain never seen
before in humans was detected in April 2009 in
a 10-year-old patient in California. More cases
were diagnosed in California, and then beyond,
and by June the World Health Organization had
declared an official pandemic. According to the
CDC, in a one-year time span, the pandemic
caused approximately 60.8 million infections,
274,304 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths in
the U.S. alone.
Other Diseases
But pandemics are not limited to only the flu. Consider,
for example, human acquired
immunodeficiency virus
(HIV/AIDS). Although the origins
of the virus can be traced back to
Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the
1920s, the first cases werent reported until
1981. HIV has been a particularly perplexing
virus for scientists to understand because it lies
dormant in infected individuals without causing
symptoms, sometimes for many years. Before
public education campaigns were developed
and HIV testing became widespread, people
were unknowingly spreading the virus widely,
often through sexual contact or by sharing needles during recreational drug use. This caused
the pandemic to grow to alarming proportions.
As of 2006, the CDC reported more than 65
million cases of the infection and 25 million
deaths in the U.S. Currently, more than 35 million people are living with HIV around the world.
DOOMSDAY
THE NOTORIOUSLY
DEADLY H1N1 FLU
PANDEMIC INFECTED
500 MILLION PEOPLE
ACROSS THE WORLD
WITH INCREDIBLE
ENDURANCE
77
WHAT IF TERRORISTS DROP A

BOMB CONTAINING SMALLPOX
INTO THE MIDDLE OF A CITY?
Bio Warfare
The other important factor in speculating
about the potential for another pandemic is
that Mother Nature isnt the only culprit. Biological agents, including bacteria and viruses, have
been used in acts of biowarfare and bioterrorism throughout history. These terms refer to the
deliberate release of a biological agent into the
air, water, or food, with the intention of sickening and killing large numbers of people. As far
back as 450 B.C., Scythian archers, part of a
group that ruled a vast region around present
day Iran, concocted a mixture of decomposed
bodies of venomous snakes, human blood, and
manure, and allowed it to putrefy. They dipped
their arrows into this concoction that contained
the bacteria of gangrene and tetanus, among
other things, and then shot these arrows at
their enemies.
The first recoded weaponized biological
agent in North Americasmallpoxwas used
during the French and Indian Wars in the mid
1700s. The commander of British forces in

North America formulated a plan to reduce
the size of the Native American tribes that were
hostile to the crown, so in late spring 1763,
when there was an outbreak of smallpox in the
garrison of Fort Pitt, blankets and a handkerchief were used to collect the pus or dried
scabs from the smallpox sores of the infected
British troops and were then ceremoniously
given to the Indians. Native American tribes in
the Ohio Valley suffered a smallpox epidemic.
And much more recently, there have been
acts of terror involving biological agents that
concern officials. For example, in the
Rajneeshee bioterror act of 1984, salad bars in
10 restaurants in Oregon were deliberately
contaminated with salmonella by followers of
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, sickening 751 people and hospitalizing 46. The anthrax attacks
after 9/11 also come to mind, as does the fact
that ricin has been sent through the mail to
political figures in the last year. Because of
events like this, contamination of public food
and water systems, and the use of the postal
system to disseminate pathogens, remain a
top concern, and public health and biosecurity
experts are always asking the question,
Could this be done on an even larger scale?
They spend a lot of time in committees brainstorming possibilities. What if terrorists drop a
bomb containing smallpox into the middle of
a city? What if anthrax is released into the air
in a subway station?
As a result, after 9/11 and the subsequent
anthrax attacks, the CDC pooled its resources
and went to work developing a list of the biological agents that are potential threats in an
act of bioterrorism. They put them into categories based certain factors: their ability to be
easily disseminated, cause public fear and
panic, result in widespread illness and death,
and ultimately cripple the infrastructure and
economy of a society. Category A agents
those that pose the greatest threatinclude
anthrax, smallpox, tularemia, botulism, pneumonic plague, and the viral hemorrhagic fevers,
which includes Ebola. To make matters worse,
acts of bioterror create not only a public health
emergency, but a biosecurity issue that requires
an even deeper level of resources, investigation,
and surveillance.
DOOMSDAY
78
In looking back at historical events, the good

news is that weve learned a lot from whats
already happenedboth through Mother
Nature and through deliberate actswhich
have helped take steps toward preparing for
the future. Strides have been made. For example, scientists understand the HIV/AIDS virus
more clearly, and drugs have been developed
which treat symptoms, improve quality of life,
and increase life span for infected individuals.
In addition, screening for HIV has become
the norm in U.S. culture, and communities
around the country have dedicated time and
energy to raising awareness; educating people
about how to prevent infection and transmission of the disease by practicing safe sex,
such as using condoms.
In terms of the flu and the potential for
another pandemic, the CDC has come up with
simple ways to prevent infection and transmission. Four everyday recommendations that people can implement include getting an annual flu
vaccine, covering your cough, washing hands
often, and taking antiviral drugs if you become
ill and your doctor recommends them.
Hospital preparedness for large-scale illness has also been a major focus. Post 9/11, the
Bush administration and future leaders have
allocated increased funds to helping healthcare
systems. This has meant purchasing more hospital beds and equipment, developing committees that discuss evidence-based protocols
and procedures, and creating coalitions; partnerships between neighboring hospitals.
Healthcare systems are required to practice
mandatory drills, in which hospital communications staff announce a disaster, and volunteer
patients arrive at the hospital and may be suspected of having been infected with smallpox
or anthrax or Ebola. The front line doctors,
DOOMSDAY
How to Prepare
79
DOOMSDAY
80
pandemic. In her recent book Scatter, Adapt,

and Remember: How Humans Will Survive A
Mass Extinction, science writer, Annalee Newitz,
captures this spirit of survival when she says,
The world has been almost completely
destroyed at least half a dozen times already in
Earths 4.5-billion-year history, and every single
time there have been survivors. Thus, if weve
done it before, we can do it again. She cites
examples of how organisms in nature have survived harsh conditionsfrom cyanobacteria to
gray whalesand how we can learn from them.
In addition, she discusses how ancient tribes of
humans, specifically Jews, learned to survive
war and oppressive conditions by dispersing
and creating new communities.
On the ground in society, the CDC provides
comprehensive plans for how specific groups
businesses, communities, parents, schools,
travelers, and health care professionalscan
prepare for a future pandemic. For example, a
five-step practical plan is suggested for reducing the flu in schools. Recommendations
include encouraging staff and students to stay
at home when theyre sick; covering noses and
mouths when sneezing or coughing; avoiding
touching your nose, mouth, and eyes to avoid
the spread of germs; washing hands often; and
disinfecting surfaces and objects.
Surviving a Global Pandemic

There are important ways for individuals to
prepare, too. According to the Emergency Preparedness Center, an online resource focused
on practical solutions post-disaster, the best
way to survive a pandemic is to avoid getting
sick. Which means avoiding sick people. This
may sound obvious, but preparation for avoiding people and society requires forethought,
and its important to develop a comprehensive
planfocusing on both skills and gearthat is
appropriate and your family. Here are some
tools to get started.
Building Self-Sufficiency
If the pandemic is prolonged, which is a
strong possibility (remember the 1918 flu), its a
good idea to plan for societal shutdown. Sick
people arent going to be at work, and those
who arent sick may be at home caring for ill
family members. Many businesses may close.
nurses, and staff respond as if it were a real situation, containing the contagious patients and
initiating a series of steps of decontamination;
ultimately preparing for a real situation.
And science continues to leap forward as
well. Partially with government funding, virologists at major universities have been studying
biological agents of concern, including emerging viruses; gaining ground in understanding
their properties and behavior. In addition, some
researchers are partnering with pharmaceutical
companies to create effective vaccines and
antiviral drugs that can be stockpiled for use in
case of emergency. They are constantly working to predict what might be needed next.
With all that has been learned and with
ongoing efforts in place to improve current
emergency protocolsome of this gleaned
from the mistakes that have been made in the
current Ebola crisisthe good news is that
many experts believe we can survive a future
Its important that you and your family are able

to live comfortably in your home, so that you
can implement your own form of social distancing. Recommendations include:
> Ideally, choose to live in a less populated or
rural area
> Install alternative power sources in your
home, such as solar panels and shingles
> Store several battery-operated lanterns
> Consider having a propane heater (and tank)
on site
> Store a radio with extra batteries in order to
listen to news updates
> Dont forget entertainment. If youre stuck
inside your home for a long time, youll want
things to do. Collect books, games, craft projects, and other activities you and your family
enjoy. Especially with children, it will be
important to make sure there is plenty to do.
Food and Water
Medical Considerations
In the case of a pandemic, hospitals will be
overloaded, and you wont want to go near
them, in order to avoid exposure. Plan in
advance for what you might need.
> Make sure you have a current medical history

on each family member
> Keep extra medications on hand for family
members who suffer from chronic conditions.
Dont forget important toiletries like contact
lens solution, toilet paper, and paper towels.
> Make sure you have a first aid kit that
includes basic supplies for cuts, bruises, and
minor injuries
> Take a CPR and First Aid class to build your
skill set
Preparing for the Flu

Since a flu pandemic is one of the greatest
threats, the Emergency Preparedness Center
lists the following steps to take, in case you
get sick.
> Build up a supply of over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen, acetaminophen and
cough suppressants.
> Stock up on energy drinks for rehydration and
replacing lost electrolytes.
> Its also good to have a supply of rubbing alcohol, disposable tissues, and a thermometer.
> If you are planning to travel, you can track flu
trends at Google.org/flutrends/us/#US.
DOOMSDAY
If grocery stores shut down, or if the water

supply becomes contaminated, youll want to
make sure you have sustenance.
> Approach food stockpiling little by little until
you have about a months worth of food
stored. Each time you go to the grocery store,
buy few extra items; preferably things you are
already used to eating. Store them in your
pantry. If you have children, engage them as
you choose what to buy.
> Plant a garden. Even small plots produce a
significant amount of food. Depending on the
time of year, you may be able to eat straight
out of your garden. If you live in a place that
doesnt have a year-round growing season,
learn how to can fruits and vegetables and
then add them to your stockpile for the winter.
> Learn basic cooking skills, and involve your
children.
> Stores water in your pantry. In addition, fill
empty jugs with water and put them in the
fridge and freezer. In addition, make sure you
have a reliable method for sterilizing tap
water, if this becomes necessary.
81
GLOBAL PANDEMIC|IN THE PAST
DOOMSDAY
82
Ebola Pandemic of 2014

Theres no question: The Ebola outbreak in
West Africa is on everyones minds, especially
because cases have begun to pop up in the
U.S.; the result of health care workers becoming
infected after treating sick patents. But what
does this mean for everyday people? Should
we be alarmed? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offers the following information
about the current epidemic.
Whats the history? Ebola was first identified in 1976 in what is now the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. Since then, outbreaks
have appeared sporadically in Africa. The 2014
epidemic is the largest in history, affecting multiple countries in West Africa. Scientists believe
that the fruit bat may be the host for the virus.
What is it? Also know at Ebola hemorrhagic
fever, Ebola is a serious disease caused by
infection with a virus in the Filoviridae family.
Scientists have discovered five types of the
Ebola virus, and four of these are known to
cause disease in humans.
How is it transmitted? People can get Ebola
if they come into contact with the blood or
bodily fluids, such as urine, saliva, sweat, feces,
vomit, breast milk, or semen, of an infected person. It is important to note that a person must
be symptomatic with Ebola in order to transmit
the virus to another person, and direct contact
is necessary (i.e. the virus must enter through
broken skin or through your eyes, nose, or
mouth). Ebola can also be transmitted through
contaminated needles or syringes, and through
infected animals like fruit bats or primates.
How do you know if you have Ebola? Symptoms appear two to 21 days after exposure and
may include fever, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, muscle pain, and unexplained bruising or bleeding. It is important that
a person seek treatment immediately upon
diagnosis.
Is there a cure? Currently, there is no FDAapproved vaccine or antiviral medication available to treat Ebola. Thus, when a person
becomes sick, health care practitioners treat
the symptoms. Recovery depends on the persons immune system and the quality of care.
Are hospitals prepared? Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital treated the first patient who
returned from West Africa with Ebola; a Liberian man who later died from the disease.
Although mistakes were made and two health
care workers became infected, experts believe
that much has been learned. Its difficult to face
an unknown virus for the first time, and steps
are being taken toward better preparedness.
For example, immediate steps have been taken
to offer additional training to hospital employees on how to combat the virus, including safe
procedures for removing protective gear such
as gowns and gloves.
What can you do? The CDC recommends
focusing on four priorities in order to protect
yourself from becoming infected:
> Wash hands frequently with soap and
water, and use an alcohol-based hand
sanitizer.
> Do not touch the blood or bodily fluids
(urine, saliva, feces, vomit, sweat or
semen) of a sick person.
> Dont handle clothing, bedding, needles or
medical equipment that have come into
contact with a sick persons blood or bodily fluids.
Do not touch the body of someone who has
died from Ebola.
|GLOBAL PANDEMIC
GEAR GUIDE
Brownells sells a comprehensive pandemic

kit that provides essential gear. There are two
options: the Essentials Pandemic Kit ($54.99)
and the Ultimate Pandemic Kit ($119.99).
Brownells.com
Items in the Ultimate Pandemic Kit include:
DOOMSDAY
Filter masks, 10-pack. Masks protect you from inhaling germs

and viruses. They are an excellent line of defense; not as protective as a hazmat suit, but much better than no protection at all.
Nitrile Ambi Textured Gloves, 100-pack. Gloves are essential
when touching a person who has been infected with a bacteria
or virus, and they also protect against germs that may be present on surfaces like countertops and handles.
Biodegradable soap. Use this liquid soap to kill germs. Its particularly useful for cleaning surfaces and for hand washing.
Survival Towels, two-pack. These towels are very compact and
stored in sealed discs about the size of a half dollar. Unwrapped,
the towels are 13 x 22 inches. Use the towels and biodegradable
soap for frequent hand washing.
Adventure First Aid Kit. This kit contains all supplies necessary
to treat minor scrapes, cuts, and burns.
Zippo Emergency Fire Starter. This combination of supplies
allows you to boil water rapidly in order to sterilize a piece of
gear, such as a utensil that a sick person used for eating. Waterproof matches in a sealed plastic tube are included, plus tinder
and match striker surfaces on top and bottom. The Jet Boil Zip
and gas can are self-contained.
83
ASG-SIP-1412-CHEMICAL 11/24/14 12:01 AM Page 84
CHEMICAL|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
84
Toxic Terror
HOW TO SURVIVE A DEADLY CHEMICAL ATTACK > Story by Kyle Chezum
Youre standing on the second floor of an enclosed shopping
mall, overlooking an atrium where hundreds of holiday shoppers stand
pressed together around a small stage in the center. A local blues band has
just started its set, and youre getting into the music. The second floor, like
the lower level, is crowded with families and tourists, but the sounds and
laughter give the mall an upbeat, vibrant atmosphere.
As the band finishes its first song, you hear a loud pop from somewhere
in the crowd to your right, followed immediately by another from across the
atrium. You look, but dont see anything out of the ordinary. The music continues. But you hear someone coughing, hard.
And then it happens.
Someone in the atrium below screams. Its not just one person coughing
anymoreits 15 or 20, and then, without warning, its everyone. The crowd
surges and presses against you. Youre unable to move. Shouts echo through
the mall. A cloud of thin, colorless vapor drifts along the second floor balcony and seeps through the railing onto the stage below.
You try to move through the crowd to get away, but your hands are shaking and your vision is blurry. Youre finding it very hard to breathe. You see
bodies convulsing on the floor of the atrium, but your eyes seem unable to
focus. Something is very wrong.
In the next 30 seconds, youll either make it outside into clear air, or youll
end up like the others below.
Chemical weapons are substances or devices that take advantage of the

toxicity of various chemical agents to harm or kill humans. Highly toxic compounds dispersed over a wide target area can result in significant casualties,
far more than would be possible with conventional weapons. Chemical
weapons are therefore classified as weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
Though frightening and highly lethal, chemicals arent practical as
weapons unless they are deployed effectively. Most chemical agents are liquids at room temperature and must be inhaled into the lungs or make contact with skin to produce any effect. As a result, deployment requires heating
or agitating the chemical such that it transitions from a liquid to a gas.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
What are Chemical Weapons?
DOOMSDAY
85
HALF A
MILLIGRAM
OF SARIN IN
LIQUID OR
VAPOR
FORM WILL
KILL AN
AVERAGE
ADULT.
Chemical agents can be deployed directly

onto a target by spraying, dropping, or dumping, or by placing exposed chemicals in an area
and allowing evaporation to draw the toxin
into the air. Alternately, chemicals can be
sealed within various munitions, including
bombs, rockets, and artillery shells designed to
release the toxin upon detonation or impact.
Chemicals in liquid form can be used to poison
water and food.
Types of Chemical Weapons

Nerve Agents: Colorless, odorless, and
tasteless, nerve agents are among the most
lethal chemical agents in existence. They can
be inhaled into the lungs in aerosol form or can
pass through the skin or eyes to enter the body.
There are a variety of nerve agents, but the
most well-known is probably sarin.
Like all nerve agents, sarin attacks the central nervous system and causes muscle spasms
that paralyze the lungs, making breathing difficult or impossible. Half a milligram of sarin in
liquid or vapor form will kill an average adult.
Developed and used experimentally by the
Nazis prior to World War II, sarin did not see
battlefield deployment until much later, when
Saddam Hussein used it against Iranian troops
and Kurdish rebels during the First Persian Gulf

War. Sarin has been used against civilians as
wellon March 20, 1995, the cult Aum Shinrikyo carried out a large sarin gas attack in the
Japanese subway system that killed 13 and
injured thousands more.
Blistering Agents: These chemicals affect
the skin and lungs of victims, causing severe,
burning pain and chemical burns. Death can
occur due to respiratory distress caused by
damage in airways.
Mustard gas, also called sulfur mustard, is
perhaps the most infamous blistering agent. In
1916, German scientists Wilhelm Lommel and
Wilhelm Stienkopf designed a process that
allowed the Imperial German Army to produce
mustard gas on a large scale. As a result, mustard gas saw frequent use in World War I. Its
painful and deadly effects earned it a fearsome
reputation among Allied troops.
Choking Agents: Chemicals designed to
kill via suffocation are called choking agents or
pulmonary agents. These chemicals cause fluid
to build up in the lungs and cause severe throat
irritation, coughing, and other symptoms.
Chlorine gas is a highly toxic choking agent,
and is known as the first modern chemical
weapon to be deployed effectively in combat
DOOMSDAY
86
when it was used by the Nazis against the

French at the Second Battle of Ypres in World
War I. The French suffered over 6,000 casualties from the gas. Phosgene, another choking
agent, was also used extensively during World
War I.
Blood Agents: Blood agents are derived
from cyanide or arsenic and affect the body
through absorption into the blood. Blood
agents block the transfer of oxygen and carbon
dioxide among cells, literally suffocating the
body to death at the cellular level. Hydrogen
cyanide and arsine gas are two weaponized
blood agents.
What to Watch For:

Signs & Symptoms
Chemical weapons dont behave like conventional weapons. A thin, barely-visible gas
drifting from the back of an unmarked truck
seems at first less threatening than a squad of
soldiers wielding assault rifles. But the end
result is far more dramatic and terrifying.
Chemicals can be insidious. In the 1995
Tokyo sarin gas attacks, members of the Aum
Shinrikyo cult brought plastic bags filled with
liquid sarin into subway cars. The bags were
wrapped in newspaper, then discreetly punctured and left sitting on the floor. Witnesses
saw nothing out of the ordinaryjust a few
folded newspapers.
Most chemical attacks begin and end within
minutes. Recognizing that an attack is occurring is critical to your survival. The only way to
determine whether an attack is occurring is to
watch for subtle physical signs and observe the
presence of symptoms in yourself or others.
> Thick vapor emanating from a suspicious

source, such as a vehicle, canister, package, or
luggage.
> Any low-flying aircraft that appears to be
cropdusting a populated area.
> Oily pools or a sheen of oily liquid on surfaces
in the target area. This would typically be
observed immediately following certain types
of chemical attacks.
Symptoms of Chemical Poisoning

By far the most reliable and effective way to
confirm whether a chemical attack is occurring
is to observe the symptoms of the victims. The
more familiar chemicals agents, like sarin, VX,
chlorine, phosgene, and cyanide, share many of
the same symptoms.
Coughing
Difficulty breathing
Blurred vision
Burning in nose, throat, and eyes
Nausea and vomiting
Drooling
Headache
Dizziness
Exposure to nerve agents will also result in
symptoms like the following:
Weakness
Convulsions
Muscles spasms
Loss of consciousness
Paralysis
During an attack, you may not see, hear,

smell, or taste the chemical agent in the air.
This is part of what makes chemical weapons
so difficult to defend against. Detecting a
chemical attack before it occurs or while its
happening isnt always straightforward. Watch
for the following.
> Any suspicious cloud of mist or vapor, particularly if the cloud is yellowish or greenish in
color and appears heavier than steam.
DOOMSDAY
Physical Evidence of a Chemical

Attack
87
DOOMSDAY
88
Mustard gas is a bit different than the others. With mustard gas, symptoms do not typically appear until two to four hours after exposure. The most familiar symptoms of mustard
gas include the following.
Painful irritation, itching, and blistering of
skin
Irritation and swelling of eyes
Temporary blindness
Nausea and vomiting
Fever
Diarrhea
Weakness
How to Survive a Chemical Attack

A chemical attack could occur in one of two
ways.
Foreign or domestic terrorists could use
chemical weapons to carry out specific, isolated attacks against civilians in public places.
Shopping malls, transit centers, large festivals
and gatherings, skyscrapers, and other
enclosed, crowded areas are prime targets for a
terror attack. Recent events prove that such an
attack is not at all improbable.
A foreign nation could resort to chemical warfare as part of a larger, sustained military conflict
against the United States. While much more
deadly and destructive, this scenario is less plausible than the threat of terrorist activity on U.S.
soil. Nevertheless, the possibility of such an
attack exists, and preparation is key to survival.
Whats the real risk of a chemical attack
occurring in the United States? Some experts
contend that the risk is disturbingly high. In the
past several decades, multiple chemical
attacks have been carried out by unstable governments and terrorist groups in various parts
of the world, notably the Middle East. Russia

stockpiled chemical weapons during the Cold
War, as did the United States. Its not at all difficult to imagine some of these weapons falling
into the hands of terrorist organizations or
rogue nations, like North Korea.
An Isolated Terrorist Attack

Depending on the chemical agent and how
its dispersed, survival may be more a matter of
luck than anything elseyoure either terminally exposed within a minute or two, or youre
probably going to be fine. But this doesnt
mean theres nothing you can do to prepare. On
the contrary, this narrow window for survival
makes advanced planning and awareness even
more important.
Recognize that a chemical attack is occurring. This is very important. If you fail to assess
the situation and recognize whats happening,
youre less likely to survive.
Dont panic. When you panic, your breathing
speeds up, and breathing fast is the last thing
you want to do during a chemical attack. Rapid
breathing pulls in more of the surrounding air,
increasing your exposure to the chemical agent.
Get out of the area. This is your first and only
objective. If the attack occurs indoors, go outside immediately. Break a window if you must.
Speed is critical. Depending on the method
used to deploy the chemical, fatal exposure
can happen within seconds. Your odds of survival increase the faster you move. Once youre
outside, head to high ground. Most chemical
vaporslike chlorine gas, sarin gas, and mustard gas, for exampleare significantly heavier
than air and will travel downhill.
Cut off and dispose of clothing. Remove all
clothing that may have come into contact with
the gas or liquid, but dont pull your shirt off over
your headthis will allow the chemical to contact the skin of your face. Cut off all clothing and
dispose of it by sealing it in plastic bags.
Wash your entire body thoroughly with
soap and water. This will remove any chemicals remaining in your body. Dont skip this
step. You wont always be able to see the
chemicals on your skin, and the longer the substance is there, the greater your exposure will
be. A shower could mean the difference
between life and death.
SHOPPING MALLS, TRANSIT CENTERS,

LARGE FESTIVALS AND GATHERINGS,
SKYSCRAPERS, AND OTHER ENCLOSED,
CROWDED AREAS ARE PRIME TARGETS
FOR A TERROR ATTACK.
Seek medical attention. Depending on

the agent to which youve been exposed,
full symptoms may not set in for as long
as several hours. Its a good idea to get to
a hospital or emergency room immediately, even if youre feeling fine after the
attack. Be aware that in the event of a
large attack, local medical centers may be
overwhelmed with victims. Dont let this
deter youif the symptoms do get worse,
youre better off collapsing in a hospital
parking lot than in your bedroom at home.
If the attack is very small, with just a few
people affected, doctors and emergency
room staff may not know what to look for
or what treatment to provide, so be sure
to tell them what happened.
Surviving sustained chemical warfare

is different than surviving a single isolated
chemical attack in a public place, and it
requires much more preparation. The degree to
which you are prepared in advance will determine whether you live or die.
Vacate the area. As soon as an attack
occurs, grab your bug-out bag and gas mask
and get to high ground. Dont try to move
upwind or downwind from the point of attack
if you try to go upwind, youll pass right through
the affected area, and going downwind will
only delay the inevitable. Instead, travel in a line
perpendicular to wind direction. This is usually
the fastest way to get out of range.
If you cant get out, seal yourself in. If youre
at home when the attack occurs and youre
unable to leave, immediately seal all doors,
windows, chimneys, and vents with heavy
plastic sheeting and duct tape. Turn off your
heater or air conditioner. Your goal is to stop
airflow as much as possible until the chemical
agent has had time to dissipate or settle.
How long this takes will depend on the
chemical. Sarin gas, for example, is highly
volatile and dissipates rapidly in the air. By
contrast, the nerve agent VX is much more stable and can persist on the surface of an object
for days or months after contact. Stay indoors
and move everyone to the second floor of the
house, if possible. Do not hide in your base-
ment, as most chemical agents are heavier

than air and will pool in low areas.
Suit up. If you have a gas mask or a hazmat
suit, this is the time to use them. Put on your
gas mask firstyour respiratory system is your
greatest vulnerability in a chemical attack,
regardless of the agent used. In addition to the
hazmat suit, be sure to stock multiple pairs of
thick rubber gloves and boots.
Test the air using a chemical agent detector.
These devices are relatively compact and not
too difficult to obtain. Having one in your home
could be the difference between life and death.
Avoid standing water and dont touch wet,
slick, or oily surfaces. Chemical agents can cling
to surfaces for very long periods of time. As
mentioned above, the chemical VX can stick
around for months before gradually evaporating, which means any surface that appears wet
or oily could be harboring the deadly agent long
after the air is clear.
Stay secure until help arrives or until your
chemical agent detector registers that the air is
clear. Use your chemical agent detector to test
the air every hour until readings return to normal. If youve secured yourself in your home
and you lack adequate protective gear, dont go
outside until help arrives.
DOOMSDAY
Surviving Sustained Chemical

Warfare
89
CHEMICAL|PERSONAL ACCOUNT
DOOMSDAY
90
Tokyo Subway Attack, 1995

On March 20th, 1995, Yasuo Hayashi boarded
the subway at Kita-Senju Station in Tokyo,
Japan. He carried an umbrella, a newspaper,
and three plastic bags filled with a thin, clear
liquid. He had hidden the bags within the folded
pages of the newspaper prior to boarding. After
taking a seat, he set the newspaper and the
three concealed bags on the floor at his feet
and waited in silence as the train started on its
course, crowded with morning commuters.
As the train approached its second stop,
Hayashi stood and deftly jammed the tip of his
umbrella into the wrapped bundle. He did this
several times, his movements careful and discreet. The train pulled up to Akihabara Station,
the doors opened, and Hayashi stepped swiftly
out onto the platform. From there, he walked to
ground level where a car and driver waited for
him and disappeared into the city.
On the train, several minutes passed without event. But as the clear liquid soaked
through the newspaper and puddled on the
floor, it began to evaporate into the air, gradually drifting through the entire passenger car.
Passengers began cough, vomit, and convulse.
Other felt dizzy or weak and struggled to
breathe. At the next stop, a passenger kicked

the damp newspaper bundle out the door and
onto the platform, where the toxin continued to
evaporate and spread, but the damage had
been done. The train continued on through two
more stops as symptoms worsened among the
passengers, until finally someone pressed the
emergency stop button.
The sickened commuters stumbled out of
the train in a panic. Many collapsed on the platform. Transit staff and emergency medical professionals didnt know what had happened or
what aid to provide. The punctured plastic bags
remained where they had landed, untouched.
No one knew what to do.
At the same time, similar attacks were in
progress on four other Tokyo subway cars. The
plastic bags contained the nerve agent sarin,
one of the deadliest chemicals in existence.
Each of the perpetrators used the same
method to smuggle the substance aboard and
release itthe bags were wrapped in newspaper, placed on the floor, and punctured. In some
of the other cars, the bags went undetected for
much longer, increasing the damage and delaying cleanup.
In all, 13 people died in the attack and as
many as 5,000 were injured.
The attack had been organized and carried
out by the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, a secretive organization with millions of
dollars in cash and assets and more than a few
highly regarded scientists among its members.
The cult had produced the sarin from scratch.
When Japanese police raided an Aum Shinrikyo
compound following the attack, they found a
massive stockpile of chemical ingredients. Aum
Shinrikyo could have produced enough sarin to
kill 4 million people. The motive for the subway
incident remains unclear, but it may have been
an experiment, a test in preparation for a much
larger attack.
Chemical warfare is not a thing of the past.
While the international community has almost
universally banned chemical weapons, this has
not stopped rogue regimes and terrorist groups
from employing such weapons to devastating
effect. Unfortunately, the threat of a chemical
attack today is all too real.
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
|CHEMICAL
IN THE PAST
The history of chemical warfare is largely a history of

restraint and prohibition. Put
simply, no one likes chemical
weapons. Chemicals agents
are difficult to handle, control,
and deploy, and their lethality
often puts operators at risk of
exposure. The horror and
destruction of chemical warfare makes chemicals an
unsavory choice even for violent dictators and aggressive
regimes.
In World War II, the Nazis
refrained from using chemical
weapons on the battlefield
against Allied troops out of
fear that the use of such
weapons would provoke a
reprisal in kind. The Allies likewise did not use chemical
weapons against the Nazis for
the same reason. Neither side
wanted to go down that road.
At the Hague Conference in
1899, world leaders met to discuss and establish laws of
war for international conflicts. The attendees passed a
proposal banning the use of
artillery shells filled with poisonous gasses, the first international chemical weapons
ban. More recently, in 1993, the
international Chemical
Weapons Convention led to a
worldwide ban on the development and deployment of
chemical weapons, and signatory nations agreed to destroy
their chemical stockpiles.
But despite efforts to rid
the world of these armaments,
chemicals weapons have
played a role in many conflicts
over the past hundred years.
Halabja Massacre, 1988

From 1980 to 1988, Iraq and Iran waged
the longest conventional war of the 20th
century. Called the Iran-Iraq War or the
First Persian Gulf War, the conflict began
when Iraq invaded Iran in an attempt to
establish itself as the dominant power in
the region. Saddam Hussein, president of
Iraq, feared that the ongoing Iranian Revolution could spread across the border
between the two nations and lead to internal uprisings in Iraq. As Iran wrestled with
domestic unrest, he saw an opportunity to
strike. The ensuing eight-year conflict
would claim the lives of more than
265,000 soldiers and 100,000 to 280,000 civilians.
During the war, Iraq employed chemical weapons to devastating
effect on multiple occasions. The CIA estimates that Iraqi chemical
weapons killed anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 Iranian troops. But
one specific attackthe Halabja Massacrestands out both for its
destructive scope and for the nature of its target.
To understand the Halabja Massacre, you must first understand the
situation in northern Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War. Saddams fears of
internal turmoil were not unfounded. Within Iraq, ethnic Kurds had sided
with Iran and established a resistance force to combat Saddams troops
in a region called Iraqi Kurdistan in northern Iraq. Iran had begun a successful offensive campaign into this region and had pledged to provide
supplies and weapons to the Kurdish rebels. Saddam, who had already
put down Kurdish revolts in the area, knew that swift, decisive action
was necessary to eliminate this threat.
On March 16, 1988, Iraqi aircraft dropped chemical bombs over residential areas in the Kurdish city of Halabja. Its not clear which specific
chemicals the bombs contained, but CIA analysts believe sarin and VX
were the primary agents involved, along with mustard gas. The bombs
unleashed clouds of lethal gas that swept through the city and left
panic, illness, and death in their wake.
The full extent of the damage is impossible to measure. In the immediate aftermath, the attack left 3,200 to 5,000 people dead and 7,000
to 10,000 others severely injured. The vast majority of those hurt and
killed were civilians, including many women and children. Health complications as a result of chemical exposure killed thousands more in the
years that followed.
While chemical weapons had already been used many times in the
war, the Halabja attack was different. At Halabja, Saddam attacked
civilianscitizens of Iraqin order to quench a growing revolution. The
international community later labeled it an act of genocide. Today, the
Halabja Massacre remains the largest chemical attack carried out
against a civilian target and is considered the single most devastating
chemical attack in history, showing the full extent of the damage even a
localized chemical attack can cause.
DOOMSDAY
History of
Chemical
Weapons
91
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92
Unless you plan to spend the rest of your

life suited up in full hazmat gear and a gas
mask, theres no way to completely protect
yourself from a surprise chemical attack in
public. But there are a few critical items you
should keep in your home or bug-out bag to
protect yourself or your family in the event of
a large attack in your area.
Hazmat Suit
(Level A)
Plastic Sheeting
Surviving a chemical attack is about
reducing or preventing exposure to the
weaponized compound. As a result, a
simple barrier will provide some protection, and one of the best ways to establish a barrier is with industrial-grade plastic sheeting held in place by duct tape.
Keep a stock of plastic sheeting in your
home and use it to seal windows, doors,
and other opens in the event of an attack.
HomeDepot.com
Nerve agents and blistering agents can inflict

injury and death upon
contact with your skin. For
complete protection, a
hazmat suit is essential.
But not all hazmat suits
are created equal. In the
United States, various
hazmat suits are ranked
according to the level of
protection they provide.
Make sure you purchase a
Level A hazmat suit, as
these are the only suits
that can protect against
chemical vapors.
EnviroSafetyProducts.com
Chemical Agent Detector
Nerve Agent
Antidote
(Atropine)
Many chemical attacks
involve nerve agents due to
their high toxicity and
volatility. Atropine, a substance derived from deadly
nightshade, can be administered via injection into the
thigh to help counterattack
the effects of nerve gas poisoning. Atropine can be
purchased with a prescription or with authorization
from a physician. Another
antidote, pralidoxime, is
also highly beneficial, but is
not available to the public.
AceSurgical.com
Also called a CWA (Chemical Warfare Agent)

Detector or TIC (Toxic Industrial Chemical)
Detector, a chemical agent detector is a small
device, often handheld, used to detect the
presence of nerve and blistering agents in the
air. There are many such detectors available.
They work by pumping air through a glass
detector tube containing a chemical reagent
that changes color depending on the presence
and concentration of the gas in question.
SmithsDetection.com
Gas Mask
DOOMSDAY
The most essential and recognizable protective item for defense

against chemical attacks is the gas
mask. Make sure your gas mask
uses a filter containing activated
carbon. The mask itself should
cover your entire face and head,
creating a tight seal against your
skin. A gas mask wont block
everythingat best, it will help
keep you alive a few hours longer
than if you didnt have it. Even if
youre wearing a gas mask, get out
of range of any chemical attack
immediately.
BossSafety.com
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94
Waves Death
of
Imagine a wave
as tall as a 10story building that can approach land at 100

miles per hour. It uproots and destroys everything it encounters from large trucks to entire
buildings. And then the wave recedes, pulling
the destruction back with it. More waves come
and then go back, between five minutes to an
hour apart.
Tsunamis are difficult to predict because
they can be caused by disasters across the
ocean. Entire towns can be demolished. At
times, thousands of people drown or are killed
when stricken by floating debris.
When the tsunami finally stops, missing
loved ones, power outages, lack of clean water
and more cause mass confusion. The devastation has only just begun.
What is a Tsunami?
A tsunamiharbor wave, in Japaneseis a
wave that can reach a height of 100 feet. Sometimes tsunamis arent large, breaking waves, but
appear as a rapidly rising water level, which is
why they are sometimes wrongly called tidal
waves. Small tsunamis happen almost daily
due to earthquakes and other disturbances, but
are too far away from land to cause any damage. Wave trains, or the series of waves, can
travel as fast as 500 miles per hour deep in the

ocean but will only rise a few feet. In shallow
water, near the coast, the waves crash against
the ocean floor, lowering the waves speed and
raising its height. Waves recede and, if a receding wave collides with an oncoming wave, the
kinetic energy released forces the forward-moving wave to mount higher.
Tsunamis can be caused by underwater volcanic eruptions, underwater landslides, ice falls
and as a result of the impact from a meteorite
falling into the ocean. But the most common
cause of a tsunami is an undersea earthquake.
When two tectonic plates push together, it
causes an earthquake that pushes energy up
into the ocean. This displaces water, and lots of
it, in different directions, one into the sea and
one toward the coastline. By the time these
killer waves reach land, they are tall and powerful enough to sweep away entire villages.
About 80 percent of tsunamis occur within
the Pacific Oceans Ring of Fire, a zone full of
volcanic and seismic activity. This is not to say
tsunamis that occur elsewhere arent dangerous. Historys deadliest tsunami occurred in the
Indian Ocean in 2004. Locations hit by
tsunamis include Japan, Hawaii, Chile, Indonesia and Portugal, to name a few.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
SURVIVING A RELENTLESS WALL OF WATER: THE TSUNAMI > Story by Nikki Grey
DOOMSDAY
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Hundreds of thousands of people are killed

or injured in tsunamis. Victims people and
animalsdrown, are electrocuted or are killed
by explosions or floating debris. Tsunamis
destroy cliffs and beaches, along with trees
and vegetation. The rush of water ruins infrastructure of homes, businesses and bridges
costing as much as billions of dollars in damages. Ships and large objects can be carried
miles inland, adding to the destruction.
Coastal areas flood, causing problems with
sewage and contaminating drinking water. Diseases such as malaria spread. Sea creatures
can die from pollution in the sea. If a tsunami
hits a nuclear plant, as one did in March 2011 in
Japan, radiation can become a danger, which
can result in birth defects, cancer or death
years after the tsunami occurred.
This is all not to mention the emotional and
mental toll on those fortunate enough to survive. Victims often suffer from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder years after the tsunami, or even
their entire lives.
How to Survive a Tsunami

The first way to prepare for a tsunami is to
know where tsunamis are likely or even possible to occur. Coastal areas near fault lines or
near volcanoes are obvious places to consider,
particularly if they are near the Pacific, but
tsunamis have begun and then raged through
entire oceans. Earthquakes as far as Chile have
caused tsunamis in Hawaii.
They can happen minutes, hours or even a

day after the initial earthquake (depending on
how far away it was). And just because a
tsunami hasnt happened in an area or isnt
predicted to happen in an area, doesnt mean it
wont. A tsunami can hit any ocean shoreline.
It might start as a mere rumble, but a loud,
roaring sound coming from the ocean could
also indicate a tsunami. Survivors have compared the sound to that of a freight train.
Another telling sign that a tsunami may be
coming is a rapid fall or rise of ocean waves
near the coast. A receding ocean may precede a
tsunami by five minutes or fewer, according to
experts. So, if you see a rapidly receding ocean,
get out of there. Fast. (If youre already on a
boat in the ocean, going deeper to sea would be
safer than trying to head toward the shore,
where the waves increase in height.) Animals
also tend to know when a tsunami is coming so
if you see some leaving, coupled with other
signs, you should probably follow suit.
Evacuate immediately if you hear a tsunami
warning. Do not try to get a closer look. Ever.
Youre too close if you can see it.
Know that there will be chaos all around
you if a tsunami strikes. The ocean will roar.
People will be running, screaming and even
dying around you. Staying calm can save lives.
Head for the hills or a mountain, anywhere
on higher ground (preferably 100 feet above
sea level) or travel two miles inland. If you cant
do that fast enough, find a sturdy, concrete
building with at least 10 stories, as thats as
high as waves can reach (but, if possible stay
away from buildings that are near water
because water can crack or harm walls). Go to
the highest floor or a rooftop. If you cant do
that, climb a tall, sturdy tree and hold on. Stay
away from downed power lines or anything
could electrocute or fall on you.
Physical fitness can only help here. Being
able to run fast or having the strength, speed,
and agility needed to climb a tree, not to mention be able to fit on a branch, could save your
life. If you arent able to evacuate quickly
enough, you can still survive if youre a strong
swimmer. (Not a strong swimmer? Take
lessons.) Youll want to know how to swim,
with debris such as parts of houses, large
trucks or ships coming at you.
Move with the current and keep your legs

up, so they dont get caught on something that
can pull you underwater. Shed loose clothing
or anything on you that could get caught on
other items. Make use of anything you can use
to float.
Continue to be on the alert after the waves
begin. Just because you survive a first wave,
second or even a third, doesnt mean youre in
the clear. Waves can keep coming for as long as
an hour after the first. Wait until official word is
given that its safe to return. Get away from the
beach and stay away from rivers and streams
because tsunamis can travel up those bodies
of waters as well.
Although those tips may help someone survive during a tsunami, the best way to ensure
survival is to prepare before the first wave strikes.
Tsunami Warnings
DOOMSDAY
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration has its own network of radio stations that broadcast continuous weather information directly from the nearest National
Weather Service office. Its called NOAA Weather
Radio All Hazards and it airs official Weather
Service warnings, watches and forecasts around
the clock. So listen in, if you know of a recent
earthquake or disaster. Sign up to receive early
alert text messages from NOAAs tsunami warning center online at www.Tsunami.gov.
The National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation

Program recommends knowing if your work,
school, your childrens school, or any other
place you and loved ones frequent are in a
tsunami hazard or evacuation zone. If they are,
find out the locations height above sea level
and distance from the coast (you can use
Google Earth). This might affect evacuation
plans. Find out what they are. Knowing where
your children are supposed to be picked up in
the event of a tsunami is far safer than racing to
their school only to realize theyre gone and
youve put yourself in harms way needlessly.
Next, come up with your own evacuation
plan. Map out routes to take you to safety,
preferably at least two miles inland or 100 feet
above sea level. Think of alternative routes.
Practice so you know them so well that no matter what is going on, day or night, you can get
there. Make sure your family knows the evacuation plan. If youre a tourist, learn about the
places you are staying and visiting and plan
accordingly. Learn the local tsunami protocol.
Have an emergency kit ready (more on specific gear later). Basic supply kits should include
one gallon of water per person for three days; a
three-day supply of non-perishable food; a battery-powered radio with batteries; a flashlight
and batteries; a whistle; a wrench or pliers; a
dust mask; a map; a cell phone with inverter or
solar chargers, and a manual can opener.
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Paul Landgraver
Maria Belon
The Indian Ocean earthquake that occurred

December 26, 2004 and resulting tsunamis
killed more than 200,000 people in more than
10 countries including India, Indonesia, Sri
Lanka and Thailand.
Paul Landgraver, a scuba diving instructor
who was in his early thirties at the time, survived the tsunami in Thailand. The morning of
the tsunami, the power flickered in his house
about 400 feet from the beach. He looked outside and saw people running up the street and
shouting. He also noticed smoke and dust,
along with brown water rolling toward his
house. Landgraver didnt think much of this,
and attributed it to a strange full-moon high
tide, he later wrote in an article about the
event published in Esquire magazine in August
2005. He and his companion Karin went
upstairs to avoid getting wet. But the water
rose higher and higher, eventually caving their
front door in and rushing upstairs.
Initially the scuba instructor tried to throw a
mattress out of the window to float on, but the
water was too fast, so he jumped. Karin and
Landgraver were separated, and he was hit by
something and pulled under water. He struggled to get back to the surface. He floated at
about 30 miles per hour, watching helplessly
as a man is impaled by a piece of wood. Landgraver swam and avoided debris and trees. His
pants were caught on something, so he ripped
them off. A refrigerator struck him and he was
pulled toward a collapsing building, but he
kept swimming.
Landgraver said he survived by acting like he
was whitewater kayaking, according to a story
in National Geographic Adventure, published in
2009.
I looked for smooth water, avoiding obstacles by swimming left or right as best I could. I
tried to float as much as I could on the surface,
Landgraver, who in just four minutes was taken
more than a half-mile by the tsunami, said. He
later reunited with Karin, who also survived.
Landgraver went on to found an organization of
divers that helped people affected by the
tsunami called Dive Aid.
The 2012 movie, The Impossible, is based on

Maria Belon and how she and her family survived the same tsunami as Landgraver. Belon
and her husband, Enrique Alvarez, were enjoying Christmas vacation with their sons Lucas,
10, Tomas, 8, and Simon, 5, at a resort in Khao
Lak, Thailand. Belon was reading a novel by the
pool, while her children played in the water,
when she heard the tsunami coming.
Suddenly we heard a horrible sound, like
the sound of thousands of big planes, Belon
told People magazine in an article that ran in
January 2013. Seconds later, there was a black
wall in front of us. I thought it was death. I
couldnt imagine it was water. It was a monster.
The most horrible monster you can imagine.
Soon after, the family was swept away by
the wave Belon watched in terror as her husband and Tomas and Simon were hit first. She
called to them, but it was too late and they
were all taken under. Belon was under water for
nearly three minutes before she emerged, badly
hurt with internal and external injuries. Separated from her family and terrified they were
dead, Belon held on to a palm tree. She noticed
Lucas floating nearby and they held each other
in a tree until a Thai man helped them to safety.
Alvarez held his younger boys, until the wave
crashed him into a column on the ground floor
of the hotel. He clung to a tree and cried for his
family, because he was sure everyone was
dead, until he heard Tomas shouting. He went
to his son and they held onto another tree, until
they heard Simon calling out for help. Later,
Alvarez left his sons with a few other survivors
on the roof of a hotel and searched the hospitals, finding Belon and Lucas.
For more than a year after the tsunami, Belon
was treated for her injuries in hospitals in Singapore and in Spain, the familys homeland. Belon
helped actress Naomi Watts depict her in The
Impossible, for which Belons family returned to
the resort that had since been rebuilt.
PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTO
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
SECONDS LATER, THERE WAS A BLACK WALL IN

FRONT OF US. I THOUGHT IT WAS DEATH. I COULDNT
IMAGINE IT WAS WATER. IT WAS A MONSTER.
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TSUNAMI|IN THE PAST
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Japanese Tsunami of 2011
MORE
THAN 19,000
PEOPLE
DIED AND
THOUSANDS
MORE WERE
EVACUATED.
The fourth largest earthquake since record

keeping began occurred off the Pacific coast of
northern Japan on March 11, 2011. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake took place about 15 miles
deep into the ocean at 2:46 p.m., Japanese
time. About an hour later, it caused a tsunami
with 30-feet high waves to hit the coast.
More than 19,000 people died and thousands more were evacuated. By the next day,
six million homes10 percent of Japans
householdshad no electricity. One million
didnt have water. (Smaller waves of about
seven to 11 feet reached Maui and the Big Island
in Hawaii; 3- to 4-foot waves hit Oregon, as
well. The northern port of Crescent City in California was destroyed by waves, however, and a
man in Northern California was swept away to
his death by the waves.)
Thousands of Japanese rescue workers
responded to the crisis, along with relief workers from organizations such as the American
Red Cross. Many countries, including the U.S.,
sent search-and-rescue teams. In the aftermath of the tsunami, hundreds of thousands of
people were reported to be in shelters. Thousands were stranded in areas that were hit and
waiting for rescue workers to reach them. The
tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear plant by disabling its cooling systems,
causing reactors to melt. In a televised speech,
Emperor Akihito addressed the country and
urged people to never give up hope, take care
of themselves, and live strong for tomorrow.
Rare addresses such as these in Japan tend to
only happen in times of war or great crisis.
Months later, after continued nuclear power
plant issues, the head of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission warned U.S. Congress of
extremely high levels of radiation. Eventually
more people living nearby were told to evacuate.
Tokyo Electric Power Company admitted in
2013 that radioactive water from the
Fukushima Daiichi plant had leaked into the
Pacific Ocean. Cleanup of Fukushima continues
and is estimated to cost $50 billion. About 1.5
million tons of debris is estimated to be floating
in the Pacific, although it is not believed to be
radioactive.
Although there havent been cases of cancer

linked to the radiation, there are still health
concerns for those affected. Rebuilding efforts
near the nuclear disaster are slow. Public infrastructure such as roads and railways have
mostly been repaired since the disaster, more
than half of the original evacuees remain displaced, according to an editorial in The Japan
Times published in March 2014.
Valdivia Tsunami of 1960

The largest earthquake in recorded history
happened in Chile and caused a Pacific-wide
tsunami in May 1960. It took lives off the
Chilean coast, in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines. The 9.5-magnitude earthquake hit at 7:11
p.m. May 22 of that year, near the city of Val-
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
cal Survey. Crescent City, Calif. was also hit by

waves about 15.5 hours after the initial earthquake, causing run-up, but no deaths. Damage
was caused to harbors in Los Angeles and Long
Beach; for the most part, damage was done to
small boats, with an overall cost an estimated
$500,000.
About 22 hours after the earthquake, the
1960 Chilean tsunami hit Honshu, Japan. The
waves reached 18-feet high and killed 138 people, causing about $50 million in damage.
About 32 people were killed or missing after the
tsunami hit the Philippines. Southern Chile suffered $550 million in damage.
The 1960 earthquake in Chile and resulting
tsunamis killed 2,000 people total; 3,000 people were injured; 2,000 became homeless.
Chile continues to suffer from earthquakes, but
none have been as large as the one in 1960.
DOOMSDAY
divia. About 15 minutes later, a tsunami, with

80-foot waves, crashed into the coastline near
Lebu and Puerto Aisen. Much of Queule, Chile
was washed away by the tsunami, although the
area was a mile away from the ocean.
The waves continued to rage in the sea,
traveling thousands of miles to hit Hilo on the
Big Island in Hawaii 15 hours later. Many residents in the bay area did not evacuate their
homes because previous tsunamis there had
done little damage. And the first waves were
only a few feet tall. The later waves, however,
grew to 35 feet, killing 61 people. The tsunami
destroyed more than 1,600 homes.
The shape of Hilos bay caused it to be hit
hardest by the tsunami. Other Hawaiian Islands
were only hit by waves ranging for three to 17
feet tall. The damage cost $75 million in
Hawaii, according to the United States Geologi-
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Its always a good idea to have a basic

survival kit at hand in case a disaster
strikes, but if you live in or are visiting a
coastal area, arm yourself with these
tools to make your chances of survival
that much greater.
Submersible
Two-Way Radio
Having a radio to hear the
news and warnings
before, during and after a
tsunami is essential. If
you get separated from a
loved one and you each
have one of these, youll
be able to communicate
in all the panic. And, of
course, ensure the radio
remains functioning by
purchasing a weatherproof device.
Uniden.com
Dry Bag
You might be wondering where youre going to put all
this stuff while trying to escape a tsunami. A dry bag,
thats where. Typically made of nylon and waterproof,
one of these is a must-have. Go ahead and put gloves, a
whistle and other survival gear in there, while youre at it.
CascadeDesigns.com
Personal Floatation Device

PFDs, generally referred to as life vest or
jackets, provide buoyancythe force in
pounds needed to keep a persons head and
chin above water. (Generally, adults need an
extra seven to 12 pounds of buoyancy to stay
afloat.) PFDs should fit snuggly. Many PFDs
include extras such as a knife holder. PFDs
are also available for dogs.
RescueTech1.com
Signal Flare
Signal flares can shoot high
enough in the sky to alert others to
your location. You might escape a
tsunami only to get stranded
somewhere, unable to leave safely
or you may be too injured to move.
A flare can signal others you need
help and possibly save your life.
OrionSignals.com
Water Filter
For survival, there isnt much we
need more than water. After a
tsunami strikes, theres often
chaos and it can be days or even
weeks before help arrives.
Depending on a few factors such
as temperature and activity, a
person can live three days without water. Water filters can
come in the form of micro-filters,
survival straws or even UV-purifying water bottles.
Katadyn.com
Dry Suit
Watersport dry suits,
unlike wetsuits, prevent
water from entering,
keeping you dry and
warm while immersed
in water. If you have the
chance to get one of
these on before a
tsunami strikes, do so.
The suit can also protect the wearer from
polluted water and
sharp edges of debris.
WhitesDiving.com
DOOMSDAY
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ASTEROID|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
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Planet
SURVIVING THE CATASTROPHE OF AN ASTEROID IMPACT

Imagine this:
NASA scientists have predicted an asteroid is going to drop from

the sky onto Earth. It would be more than a mile wide, traveling at about 20,000 miles per
hour. The impact would be comparable to 2 million atomic bombs. Hitting the ground would
turn whole cities into craters. Hitting the ocean could cause a Tsunami wave hundreds of
feet in height. The dust in the air would cause months of darkness. What exactly should you
do with information about a giant speeding rock careening toward Earth?
Basically, nothing. Its probably just the plot of a movie.
There are millions of asteroids out there in orbits that do come close to Earths orbit, and
impacts have happened many times in Earths past, and it will happen again in the future.
Its just a matter of when, Lindley Johnson, NASAs asteroid expert and director of its NearEarth Objects Program, explained to American Survival Guide.
Killers
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
> Story by Tori Tellem
ASTEROID|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
106
Call it a speeding rock in space, or call it a

small planetary body and one without an
atmosphere. Asteroids are usually found orbiting the sun in whats called the Main Asteroid
Belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
According to NASA, asteroids are thought to be
primordial material prevented by Jupiters
strong gravity from accreting into a planetsized body when the solar system was born 4.6
billion year ago. The firstand largestasteroid, Ceres, was discovered in 1801.
An asteroid less than about 30 feet in size is
commonly called a meteoroid while still in
space before it hits Earths atmosphere, becoming a meteor that burns up on entry before it hits
the surface, explained Johnson. Asteroid
impact is what scientists consider a very low
probability, but high-consequence event.
Once a year, theres a car-size asteroid that
does hit Earths atmosphere and makes a fire-
ball spectacle of itself, then burns up before

reaching the surface. And every 2,000 years or
so, an asteroid about football-field size does hit
Earth and causes catastrophic damage to the
impact area. But its only about once in a million years that something large enough hits
Earth to threaten civilization.
NASAs team sets out to find any asteroid
that might pose an impact hazard to Earth, and
to know that information far enough in advance
to do something about it. Scientists detect any
asteroids in Earth-approaching orbits, and
then we do what we call propagate the orbit,
which is to predict the movement of those
objects well into the future, Johnson said. In
fact, were pretty high precision now to 100
years in the future of where that asteroid will be
in relation to where the Earth is, and not only
the Earth, but also for all the major bodies in
the solar system.
The group has already found pretty much
the entire population of large Earth-approaching objects out there, anything bigger than
three-quarters of a mile across, even knowing
how big and small they are.
As of today, we are tracking some 11,508
near-Earth asteroids, noted Johnson. Any
asteroid that would be the size that would
annihilate Earth, we have already found. But he
also noted that there are estimated to still be
tens of thousands of asteroids larger than a
football stadium that can come near Erath and
are still undiscovered.
How You Can Survive

Heres the thing: Earth is impacted by stuff
every day (like those meteor showers we rush
to watch), and the planet also collects about
100 tons of material a day, like sand and dust
coming in from space. And Mother Earth does a
pretty good job of protecting herself.
The object is moving so fast, the molecules in the Earths atmosphere cant really get
out of the way so they build up pressure and
cause friction on the object. Enough heat and
friction on a smaller object in the atmosphere
cause it to break up, explode, and disintegrate
before it hits the surface, Johnson explained.
But a larger object coming at a high velocity,
its internal strength is greater than what the
atmosphere can handle, so it is able to make it
What is an Asteroid?
all the way through the atmosphere before

that pressure and heat build up to the point
that it explodes.
The way in which were most likely to survive a true asteroid threat is based on the fact
that scientists, once the object is found by telescopic surveys, can predict where it would hit
the Earths surface and would then be able to
evacuate the area, similar to the preparation for
a hurricane thats heading for the coast. But
there are high-tech procedures that could prevent this from happening while the asteroid is
still in space. It works like this: They find an
object that might be an impact threat many
yearsif not decadesbefore possible impact
and put a force upon it that either increases its
speed slightly or decreases its speed slightly.
You only have to change the velocity of an
object maybe an inch per second many years in
advance and by the time that it gets to where it
would have impacted Earth, its in a completely
different place in its orbit, explained Johnson.
Smaller objects, say 300 feet wide, can be
hit with a spacecraft at a relative velocity to it,
like eight miles per secondthe kind of velocity
orbital trajectories have. This technique is called
kinetic impactor, and it will slow down the
object, and then several years later when it
would have impacted Earth, it will be in a different place of its orbit. Scientists could also utilize
a spacecraft for something called gravity tractor,
where we hover in what we call a halo orbit in
front of or behind the asteroid, and mutual gravity attraction between the spacecraft and the
object will eventually change its velocity and
have the same effect as the kinetic impactor.
However, if there isnt enough time for these

techniques to have an effect, then to get a
spacecraft to the object to be able to deflect it
or disrupt it, a nuclear device could be used.
In December 2005, President Bush signed
into law the NASA Authorization Act (also
called the George E. Brown Jr. Near-Earth
Object Survey Act), which stated, the objectives of the George E. Brown, Jr. NEO Survey
Program are to detect, track, catalogue, and
characterize the physical characteristics of
NEOs equal to or larger than 140 meters in
diameter with a perihelion distance of less than
1.3 AU (Astronomical Units) from the sun,
achieving 90 percent completion of the survey
within 15 years after enactment of the NASA
Authorization Act of 2005.
The study team assessed a series of
approaches that could be used to divert a
NEO potentially on a collision course with
Earth. Nuclear explosives, as well as nonnuclear options, were assessed, and nuclear
standoff explosions are assessed to be 10-100
times more effective than the non-nuclear
alternatives analyzed in this study. Other
techniques involving the surface or subsurface
use of nuclear explosives may be more efficient, but they run an increased risk of fracturing the target NEO.
Theres certainly no reason to panic that
the earth is going to be hit by an asteroid anytime in the near future, Johnson explained. We
are tracking objects that are in orbits that
approach the Earth, but none have significant
probability of impacting the earth in the next
100 years.
AS OF TODAY,
WE ARE
TRACKING
SOME 11,508
NEAR-EARTH
ASTEROIDS.
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107
ASTEROID|IN THE PAST
DOOMSDAY
108
There was a pause heard round the

world in 2004 when an asteroid about
1,000 feet wide was spotted on an
orbit that comes close enough to
Earth that initially it was calculated to
have some probability of smashing
into us in April 2029Friday the 13th,
in fact. Its official designation was
2004 MN4, although the discoverer
named it Apophis after the Egyptian
god of destruction. Back in 2005, Paul
Chodas, an orbit analyst with NASAs
Near-Earth Object office responded,
We werent too worried, but the odds
were disturbing.
The object thought to wipe out
Earth and dinosaurs 65 million years
ago was estimated to be about six
miles in size, but we certainly would
know of any object that size now, and
there are none that big that will
impact the Earth any time in the foreseeable future nor thousands of years
into the future, as a matter of fact,
Johnson explained.
The Barringer Crater in the Arizona
desert is a recent example of impact
on Earth, although by recent, its estimated to be 50,000 years old. The
640-plus-foot-deep and mile-wide
crater was caused by an approximately 150-foot-wide, 300,000-ton
asteroid. Something like that hitting
close to a metropolitan area would do
a lot of damage and there would be a
lot of casualties, Johnson said.
In 1908, an asteroid about 100 feet
in diameter blew up over a remote
part of Siberia, destroying more than
half a million acres of forest. And in
1989, an asteroid about a quarter-mile
wide and cruising at 24,000 mph
came about 450,000 miles from
Earth. Scientists believed the asteroid
and Earth had actually passed
through the same point in space by a
difference of just six hours.
IT WAS CALCULATED TO HAVE SOME

PROBABILITY OF SMASHING INTO US IN
APRIL 2029FRIDAY THE 13TH, IN FACT.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
Asteroid Dangers,
1908-2029
DOOM_1412_109 11/25/14 2:20 AM Page 109
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ASG-SIP-1412-AI 11/21/14 2:47 AM Page 110
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
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Becoming
Self-Aware
HOW TO SURVIVE WHEN THE MACHINES RISE > Story by Joe Gurrola
ASG-SIP-1412-AI 11/21/14 2:47 AM Page 111
It makes our lives easier and it has helped us grow as a

species. The life expectancy rate has increased by more
than 40 percent in the last 100 years due to our technological advances. The computer that runs the smartphone in
your pocket is a 1,000 times more powerful and a
1,000,000 times cheaper than the most advanced computer at MIT in the year 1970, according to famous futurist
and inventor, Ray Kurzweil.
But what happens when we get to the point where technology, instead of increasing our life expectancy, begins to
diminish it? The prospect of a reduced life span (or no life
span at all) is just one possibility when talking about a
potential Artificial Intelligence takeover. The disastrous
results of creating an artificially intelligent supercomputer
that we could not control would be devastating to the very
existence of the human race.
Realistically, there are a few different outcomes that are
being discussed by scientists and futurists. There is the possibility that humans continue the trend of using technology
as an extension of the brain (like our smartphones), to the
point that we retrofit ourselves with certain equipment that
changes the way that we think and how we experience the
world. This would be a sort of transition from human to what
scientists and philosophers are calling transhumans. That is,
a being that is built upon the biological structure of a human,
but who does not possess the feelings or desires that we traditionally associate with the human condition. Technology
would change human beings so much that transhumans
would be significantly different from human beings in terms
of their ideals and abilities.
Another scenario that has been discussed by philosopher
Nick Bostrom, and which is the most common in pop culture
representations, is the possibility of humans building a
supercomputer that decides that humankind is in some way
a danger to its survival or in the way of reaching its maximum potential. This sort of scenario has been the subject of
such films as The Matrix, by the Wachowski brothers and Terminator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Either of these events would take place on a global scale
and would, more likely than not, result in the extermination
of the human species. These types of Artificial Intelligence
scenarios would pose an existential risk to humanity, one
that threatens not only to put a significant dent in the
human population, but to exterminate humanity altogether.
We would cease to exist.
An existential risk is one that threatens the premature
extinction of Earth-originating intelligent life or the perma-
nent and drastic destruction of its potential for desirable

future development (Nick Bostrom, Existential Risk As a
Global Priority, 2002).
As noted by Bostrom, humans have survived natural existential risks for centuriesone example being the Black
Plague. But the plague was not something that was actively
trying to kill us. A conscious supercomputer that was bent on
destroying us would be a far more dangerous and a most
likely unstoppable opponent. It would be smarter than all of
humanity combined, and, given the amount of interconnectivity that will exist in the future, it would most likely know
everything about anyone alive.
So, when would such a thing happen and more importantly, how could we stop it?
The Singularity
Kurzweil has written extensively on the subject of Artificial Intelligence, specifically on the moment where Artificial
Intelligence surpasses all human intelligence combined. This
moment is called The Singularity. Many philosophers and
scientists believe that The Singularity will occur as early as
2040. The Singularity is something that is difficult to see
beyond, as it is hard to conceive of a world where machine
intelligence surpasses that of human intelligence. Philosophers have borrowed the term Event Horizon from physics,
which is the moment just before an object is sucked into a
black hole, to describe how difficult it is to theorize at present about what the world would be like post-singularity.
The Singularity could mean lots of things for humanity. It
could be the case that machine intelligence helps us answer
some of the biggest problems of the universe, such as Why
are we here? and What is the purpose of existence? That
is, we could use machines to our benefit and coexist with the
intelligence that we will have created.
Fuzzy feelings about The Singularity aside, there could
be a lot of trouble just over the event horizon.
Machine Takeover
Machine takeover seems to be the more obvious problem
in terms of pop culture awareness of the dangers of Artificial
Intelligence, but how exactly would something like Skynet, in
the Terminator films, actually take place?
Well, it seems that we would have to look to the future, to
that moment where human intelligence is surpassed by Artificial Intelligence. It is impossible to see beyond this previously mentioned event horizon, but it is possible to theorize
about cases where even the most innocent uses of AI could
potentially lead to the extinction of the human species.
DOOMSDAY
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
Technology is a beautiful thing.
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Take a commonly used example of an artificially intelligent machine that is given the task of making paper clips.
The machine could be making paper clips and realize that
the most efficient way to make paper clips would be to utilize certain resources that humans might need, but because
it is programmed to make paper clips in the most efficient
way possible, it may utilize the necessary human resources
anyway. Even worse, imagine that the machine realizes that
being turned off at night significantly decreases its production of paper clips and decides that it is going to stay on at
night instead. The machine would perceive the human desire
for it to be shut off as a threat to its end goal of paper clip
production, and subsequently seek to destroy any possibility
of being turned off by destroying human beings.
Obviously, this is an exaggerated scenario, but it illustrates the need for significant insight into how exactly the
artificially intelligent machines of the future will function.
Will these machines be able to understand the nuances of
human desires, or will they make the direct connection
between a programmed goal of efficiency and the inefficiency of human beings in relation to their production?
Unless we put significant efforts into finding the right
way to program our artificially intelligent machines, it is likely
that we will lose control of our own destiny.
The second scenario of a machine takeover is the one
where machines literally become aware that humanity
poses a risk to the existence and persistence of the machine
itself, and so it decides to destroy humanity in order to
ensure its own survival. This is pretty serious stuff, and if we
were ever to reach this point in our future it is unlikely that
we would be able to survive.
This sort of scenario would most likely happen because of
a lack of planning in the structure of the programming given
to an artificially intelligent machine. However, this could also
be an unforeseen consequence of reaching the singularity. It
is possible at the moment the first superhuman computer is
created that that AI could create other AIs, which could then
calculate the danger humankind poses to its own existence,
and thus seek to annihilate the inferior species.
The machine takeover scenario is one that human beings
would have virtually no (no pun intended) control over. Even
some computer viruses now have the ability to evade deletion, showing that they may have developed some sort of
cockroach like intelligence. Imagine that same desire to
survive in a computer with unlimited intelligence and
resourcesnow thats scary.
Transhumans
The idea of Transhumanism comes from a philosophical
movement that took place during the early 19th century. Transhumans are essentially human beings that have become so
intertwined with technology that they will have far surpassed

the capability of human beings themselves. Another word
used in common language for this sort of being would be a
cyborg, which is an organism that contains both biological
and technological materials as part of its person.
Why would Transhumanism be a problem? Well, there
are two realistic scenarios about why retrofitting ourselves
with technology would lead to some complications.
Technological Advancement to the Point of the

Loss of the Human Condition
If someone were to ask us what makes us human there
would probably be a variety of answers, but probably what
makes us human more than anything else is our consciousness, our desires, and the way we see the world. All of those
things have the potential to change with the creation of a
transhuman species. It is possible that we could alter ourselves to the point that we no longer think like human beings.
We wouldnt have the same desires, feelings, or goalswe
would be changed not only as individuals, but as a species.
The scary thing is, this is probably the most foreseeable
disaster related to Artificial Intelligence. We already carry our
smartphones in our pockets and use them to answer questions and solve problems for us on a daily basis. Before the
21st century, the concept of being able to use a pocket-sized
device to literally have access to the entire Internet (essentially providing its users a second brain) had not been realized. Now I can use my smartphone, and if you ask me a question and I dont know the answer I can simply look it up and
most likely have the answer for you in less than 30 seconds.
Because of something called Moores Law, we know that
information technology grows exponentially. This law holds
not only for the power of the technology itself, but also for
the decrease in its size as well as a significant drop in cost.
So, using Moores Law, we can imagine that at some point in
the near future we will have machines that will be exponentially smaller, cheaper, and more powerful than the ones we
have now. To quote futurist Ray Kurzweil, the machine that
fits in your pocket today will fit inside a blood cell 25 years
from now.
This exponential technological growth, coupled with our
ever-increasing dependence on technology, could have serious consequences in the future if we make the wrong
choices in how to use our technology to better ourselves.
Just imagine what it would be like to have access to everything without having to interact with an external interface
imagine having the same technological and knowledge
seeking tools that you have in your computer or smartphone
inside of your mind. Our dependence on technology for communication is already having significant effects on our ability
to communicate with one another face to face. The way that
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
ASG-SIP-1412-AI 11/21/14 2:47 AM Page 113
generations are growing up now is significantly different

than just two decades ago. Our conception of reality could
change entirely if we had essentially all of the information
compiled online inside of our minds. We may end up living
more of our lives in there than we do in the outside world.
This kind of technological advancement could change all
of those things that we say make us human: our desires,
feelings, consciousness, and goals.
Subjugation of the Human Species by

Transhumans
The second issue associated with the creation of a transhuman species is that transhumans would most likely be
far superior to their predecessors, homo sapiens. Many
philosophers believe that a creation of this new species
would most likely lead to the Transhumanists essentially
ruling the inferior human beings. This possibility would
essentially reduce human beings to the level of a chimpanzee in todays terms. Chimpanzees, because they live in
a human-dominated world, depend on human beings for
their survival. Human beings would most likely be subjugated and used to serve the needs and goals of the superior
transhuman species.
This possibility illustrates just how important preserving
our humanity is. We typically think of an Artificial Intelligence
takeover as machines trying to destroy human beings, but
we rarely think of it as us destroying our humanity, and thus
destroying ourselves. If Transhumanism were ever to
become a reality, then it is a very real possibility that humanity as we now know it could become extinct.
We may have to define survival when talking about the

potentialities of an Artificial Intelligence takeover. Since
DOOMSDAY
How Can We Survive the Rise of the Machines?
there has never been a recorded event of this sort, there can
only be talk about the possibilities of what could happen
and how we could survive. And even then, the discussion
should not be one about the survival of the individual, but
rather one about the survival of the human species.
So then, maybe we need to redefine what it means to
survive. As was mentioned earlier in the article, human
beings have survived naturally occurring catastrophes like
the Bubonic plague, which wiped out a third of the human
populationbut human beings were the most intelligent life
forms in that equation. That is, if there was a species that
could have figured out a way to survive something like that it
would have been, in all probability, the most intelligent life
form in the equation. But the paradigm shifts when we talk
about a potential AI takeover. Instead of it being a virus
spreading, it would be a super-intelligent entity that we created intentionally trying to wipe us out of existence. Thats
scary. Not only would we be physically powerless to stop
something like a supercomputer, wed also be exponentially
trumped in the candlepower category. We would no longer
be the smartest beings in the equation.
In our pursuit of greatness, we often tend to overlook outside factors that could be affected by our achievements. We
rarely ask, what are the ethical implications of achieving a
certain goal? Now, this question may not be a big deal if the
goal were talking about is paying off a loan or buying a
house; in those scenarios, the goal can most likely be
achieved with a marginal ethical cost. But when were talking about the potentiality of creating an artificially intelligent
supercomputer, we better think long and hard about the ethical implications of our decisions and our goals.
CEO of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, was recently quoted
equating the creation of Artificial Intelligence with the
releasing of a demon in horror movies. Musks words were:
113
ASG-SIP-1412-AI 11/21/14 2:47 AM Page 114
If I were to guess at what our

biggest existential threat is, its probably that With artificial intelligence,
we are summoning the demon. In all
those stories with the guy with the
pentagram and the holy water, and
hes sure he can control the demon. It
doesnt work out.
Not surprisingly, Musks hyperbole
was not taken as far-fetched by many
experts in the field of AI. The importance of understanding the consequences of our innovations for our
species cannot be overstated. Evaluation into the good that will be attained
with our technologies must be evaluated against any potential harm that
could be caused because of it. Going
forward, the ethics of technological
innovation must be taken as a serious topic in the field of AI,
especially in the face of the coming singularity.
What Makes Us Human?

Another thing that we must do to ensure the survival of
humanity as we move deeper into the era of AI is remember
what makes us human and evaluate if our technological
advances are in line with the goals that we have as a species.
Obviously, the survival of our species is key, but so also are
our hopes, feelings, and consciousness. The preservation of
the essence of human beings must be an essential aspect of
AI research going forward. The transition from a primarily
biological life form like a human being to a transhuman one
with different cognitive processes, goals, and feelings is an
existential risk to biological intelligent life. If human beings
are transformed to the point where they no longer match the
criteria for biological intelligent life, then the existential risk
of AI will have been realized.
This is not to say that tinkering with our human bodies
would be all badwe could potentially retrofit ourselves to
attain longer lifespans and higher order thinking, while still
preserving our emotions and other cognitive processes.
But it seems that part of what makes us human is our
curiosity and our inability to provide answers to the questions we have right away. Certain limitations and inabilities
seem to be an intrinsic part of what it means to be human.
As we strip more and more of these inabilities away, and as
we start to think differently, at some point would we cease
to love like we love, and feel like we feel? It is certainly imaginable that traditional forms of learning such as reading and
face-to-face teaching could become obsolete with our
expanded minds. And as the foundations of the way we
learn change, so probably will the

things we learn. What will it mean to
be human in a post-singularity world?
The question remains as to how
much we can change ourselves before
we begin to lose some of the intrinsic
parts of who we are. This issue, like the
ethical issues of AI, needs to be taken
seriously when discussing the survival
of the human species.
No matter how far our technological potential reaches, we must always
be aware of the dangers posed by our
progress. We have discussed how even
a simple directive such as make paper
clips efficiently, could have catastrophic results for the human species.
Making sure that our technological
advances do not surpass our understanding of the way they work is crucial to maintaining control. We must be vigilant in taking all necessary precautions
to grow AI as safely as possible. Humankind has never experienced a threat that has the potential of Artificial Intelligence. Its important to keep that fact in our minds as we
move forward with innovation in this field, and as we move
towards the imminent singularity.
Preservation of Humanity
New technological advancements are being made every
day. The last phone I had was a flip phone with 3G. Now I
have a smartphone, and I feel like I can do anything on it. I
even feel smarter when I use it, and I noticed that the way
my brain works has changed. For example, Im much more
comfortable with the app-based Windows 8.1 than I was
with Windows 7 after I began using a smartphone. My brain
is changing as the technology Im using changes. But there
are also negatives to this advancement.
Dependence on technology significantly increases the
strain on face-to-face interaction. Walking into a restaurant
youll notice way more people on their phones than you
would have 10 years ago. Theres less talking, and more texting (and Snapchatting and Vining and Facebooking). Be
aware of the world around you and the people around you.
Dont lose sight of what makes you human. Its true that
were changing with our technology, but we shouldnt lose
our ability to empathize or communicate. And if youre
spending your time on the Internet, spend it reading something worthwhile (like learning about the future of AI), so
that you continue to learn. Keeping up with technology is
tough nowadays, but its important to know whats happening to the world around you, and to humanity in general.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
DOOMSDAY
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DOOM_1412_115 11/21/14 3:19 AM Page 115
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ALIEN|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
DOOMSDAY
116
Close
Encounters
HOW TO SURVIVE AN ALIEN INVASION > Story by Jeff Zurschmeide
Weve seen it
a dozen times in the moviesthe space ship

hanging in mid-air over the White House, or some other easily recognizable place. Then we see the aliens coming down to announce their intentions, or just starting the destruction without a word. Alien invasion is a
go-to plot that has sustained science fiction for a century. The idea goes
back to such gems as, War of the Worlds (the 1938 radio show adapted
from the H.G. Wells novel) and the cult favorite, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension. The movie, Independence Day, is a
modern standard of the genre.
If youre of a survival-oriented mindset, the interesting part of the Independence Day story begins where the movie ends. What happens next? We
leave our heroes standing victorious in a world where every city and the
planets infrastructure has been utterly destroyed and hundreds of millions
of people have just been killed. Their problems are just beginning. But to
get to that clear-cut survival scenario, they first had to defeat the aliens.
What Do Aliens Want?

The part thats unpredictable is what the aliens will want with us when
they come. The notion of eating humans leaps to mind, but really, were
not economical livestock. We take at least 15 years to grow to full size, and
in that time we eat thousands of times our final body weight in high quality food. Compare that to a pig, who goes from birth to 250 pounds in 6
months on about 750 pounds of food. And that doesnt even begin to
touch the issue of whether any alien life form could even digest Earthborne organisms.
So, if they dont want to eat us, that leaves two more options, the first
being that the aliens want slaves. Here again, thats a stretch. Think about
ityouve got the technology to travel across the galaxy and visit Earth.
What exactly do you need with a bunch of hungry, unhappy, rebellious
slaves to do that you cant already do?
DOOMSDAY
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
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Surviving the Invasion

In the event of any alien attack, the farther
you are from the major population centers, the
better your chances of surviving to repopulate
the Earth someday. Well break the survival
skills into two phasessurviving the invasion,
and surviving the aftermath.
To survive a war against a much more technologically advanced foe, your best bet is to
TIP: You can buy or make a fruit harvester. Thats

a set of thin hooks and a basket to catch the
fruit, all on the end of a long stick much more
effective than shaking a tree!
The most likely scenario is that the aliens

would simply want us gone so they can stripmine the planet and use our home as raw
materials. Just to get here, theyd have to be
much more technologically advanced than we
are, so they might view us the way wed view an
ant colony living in the spot where weve
decided to build our new garden shed: Nothing
there worth noticing.
In that case, weve really got a challenge on
our hands. At least in the slavery or livestock
scenarios, theyll want some or most of us to
stay aliveat least for a while. In the strip-mining scenario, we just have to hope their
weapons and defenses arent too advanced.
escape and elude. If you choose to stand and

fight, youre pretty much on your own. For most
of us, its time to go to ground, bug-out, hide
out, and keep a low profile for as long as it lasts.
A single human doesnt present a target very
much different than any other comparably
sized animal, and its unlikely the aliens will
waste time looking for individuals hiding out in
the mountains.
Remember that laying low includes keeping
your presence a secret from other humans, who
will likely be desperate for the same resources
youre using. Dont assume that were all on the
same team in the face of a crisis.
So, bring all your outdoor skills to bear in
this phase. Work on remaining unseen, and
dont forget to minimize your heat signature.
You may have to live rough for some time, perhaps through a winter, so be sure you know
how to keep warm, find food and water, and
stay healthy.
To survive, youll need the same gear you
need to survive human wars, including
weapons, shelter, stored food, medicines,
tools, and clothing for all weather conditions.
You will need to hunt or defend yourself, so
consider firearms and ammunition a priority,
but if you can use a bow for some or all of that,
theyre quieter.
The best situation is a well-concealed offgrid cabin far away from civilization, preferably
a long way up a difficult road. In that cabin,
youll want your firearms and well-equipped
bow, a supply of shelf-stable food, a source of
clean water that does not depend on electricity to pump, some stored firewood, warm
clothing, and a full set of tools. If youre there a
long time, the tools may be among the most
important things.
Youll want saws and an axe or two, plus a
splitting maul, wedges, and a big sledge hammer if you need to augment your firewood
supply. Youll want hammers and nails, gardening implements, and all the tools of the
hunter-gatherer.
Potentially, a great deal of badness could

ensue depending on how long it takes to fight
off the attackers. We cant rely on our harmless
native germs to kill off the invaders as in War of
the Worlds, and really, the notion that we could
figure out how to hack into the aliens computer
system and give their network a virus was never
realistic. This could be a long, tough war. But if
youre well equipped and have the skills to go
with the equipment, staying alive until the
aliens leave or die should be quite possible. But
then what?
TO SURVIVE A WAR AGAINST A

MUCH MORE TECHNOLOGICALLY
ADVANCED FOE, YOUR BEST BET IS
TO ESCAPE AND ELUDE.
The true disaster of an alien invasion is

really the same as most other man-made or
natural disastersassuming we win. If we lose,
well, its been observed that humans are tasty
with ketchup and fries.
So, imagine that youre standing there surveying the wreckage of the invading warship,
amid the smoking ruin of your city or town. How
do you survive the day after Independence Day?
First, you can assume that if your town has
been demolished, every other town of that size
or greater, worldwide, has probably received
the same treatment. Washington D.C., New
York, London, Moscow, Beijingall left in
smoking ruins. In this case, the smaller the
town you live in, the better off you are. It is reasonable to expect that all infrastructure will
have been destroyed, including power, water,
and communications, because thats the first
thing that any technologically advanced
attacker is going to eliminate.
So there you are, standing over the wreckage
of the flying saucer, kicking that dead alien in
the head. Or, that part that looks kind of like a
head, anyway. It could be hard to tell. But the
point is, you have survived the invasion and Battlefield Earth. Congratulations. Now you have to
get back to work. Theres a planet to rebuild.
The survival scenario now shifts dramatically. Where other people were a threat before,
now a good team and a community represents
your best shot to jump-start the world. Theres
a reason that just about everything in the world
you can think of was built by teams of people
working together.
A larger group of people will have individuals with specialized skillsdoctors, engineers,
mechanics, and so on. All the skills you need to

get utilities up and running again, evaluate dangers, and keep a guard up while you work. People with useful skills will be highly prized in this
phase of recovery, so it will help if you have
something to offer besides a hungry belly.
It may sound like a paradox: the loner survives the war, while the team player survives
the aftermath, but both those characteristics
are part of being a resourceful survivor. To
thrive, be willing to pitch in and help in any way
you can, and be capable of learning new skills
to increase your value to the community.
DOOMSDAY
Surviving the Aftermath
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ALIEN|PERSONAL ACCOUNT
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120
Stories of alien abduction also go back to

ancient times, and tend to be similar in
nature. The person or persons are taken up
into the alien ship, where they are observed
or tested. Few have reported the kind of gruesome experiments popularized in fiction.
Obviously, all who have related these stories
have been returned unharmedbut of
course, any who did not return would never
be able to testify to their experience.
In recent years, the case of Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker is often recounted. The
two men were fishing in Mississippi when
they say they were taken up in an ovalshaped aircraft by strange-looking aliens
who communicated with them telepathically.
The two men were returned to Earth, and
told their story to the police. They were left
alone for a time, but their conversation was
recorded and neither man gave any hint of
perpetrating a hoax. Indeed, they seriously
discussed what had happened to them.
A few years later, Betty and Barney Hill
were driving their car in New Hampshire
when they encountered a UFO. Later, they
realized that they had each lost several hours
of their memory, and when they regained
their senses they were 35 miles from their
last remembered location. They believed
they had been abducted by the crew of the
UFO. They claimed that their watches froze
and could not be restarted, and their shoes
and clothing were scuffed. Both of the Hills
were interviewed under hypnosis and sustained their story.
In every case reported, humans who have
ben abducted have been subject to far
greater power and technology than they
could resist. Survival seems to have been
entirely in the hands of the abductors, so
sensible compliance seems to be the smart
play in these mysterious cases.
STORIES OF SURVIVAL
|ALIEN
IN THE PAST
What a Hostile Alien Invasion

Might Really Look Like
The best-known case of alien contact concerns the well-known events that are alleged to
have occurred near Roswell, NM. The artifacts
and perhaps even bodies or survivors of an
extraterrestrial crash landing are believed to be
stored in a secure facility in Nevada known as
Area 51. If that was an alien invasion, it wasnt
much of one, as the aliens either died or were
captured and held by government forces using
1947 technology.
But if you just look back further, there are
many accounts of mysterious flying ships dating back to biblical times. People described
what they saw as best they could, in the terms
that they knew. Thats why when people read
about fiery chariots swinging low to carry people off to heaven, they wonder if this could be a
description of an alien encounter.
In the year 1290, William of Newburgh
wrote about a strange UFO that appeared
over a monastery: The abbot and monks
were at a meal, when a flat, round, shining, silvery object flew over the abbey and caused
the utmost terror.
Over 170 years later in 1461, the Duke of
Bourgogne related the story that an object
appeared in the sky over France It was as long
and wide as a half moon; it hung stationary for
about a quarter of an hour, clearly visible, then
suddenly spiraled, twisted and turned like a
spring and rose into the heavens. Then in 1479,
a large comet was observed over the Arab
peninsula. The people who saw it stated that
the object had windows.
These stories are not hard to find, and similar observations have been reported periodically right up to the present day.
DOOMSDAY
Alien Invasion:
Roswell, N.M., 1947
As hard as it may be to believe, there are real historical

records of the same kind of invasion. Before you scoff, this
isnt about flying saucers in these cases the aliens came
in sailing ships, some commanded by Christopher Columbus and others by Captain James Cook. But to the people
they encountered, the strange white-skinned people with
their firearms and iron tools were as strange and advanced
as galaxy-traveling space aliens would be to us.
The first situation was faced by the Arawak tribe on the
island of Hispaniola, now home to the Dominican Republic
and Haiti. Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493 and used
his advanced technology to subjugate the island. He took
slaves and plundered the world known by the Arawaks. He
brought European diseases to which the Arawaks had no
historical immunity but its also thought that the
Arawaks may have transferred syphilis to the Europeans.
On repeated trips to the Caribbean, Columbus demanded
gold as tribute, plundering the islands to pay off his Spanish financial backers. Further conquistadores spread out
throughout the new world, using the advanced technology
of firearms and ironwork to plunder the civilizations they
encountered.
On Hawaii, history took a different turn. The Hawaiians
were a warlike people, and when they determined the purposes of the English, they fought back effectively and
turned Cooks fleet away, preserving their independence
for a time.
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ALIEN|GEAR GUIDE
DOOMSDAY
122
See In the Dark

Aliens are often described as coming
from places much hotter than Earth.
They may have extremely high body
temperatures, and so would show up
clearly through infrared binoculars.
Amazon.com
Advanced Communications
Youll want to stay mostly passive with this tool, but you
can get news about conditions and tips on tactics to fight
the invaders by listening in. HamRadio.com
Solar Power
Even if the entire infrastructure has been
reduced to a series of
smoking craters, youll
still be able to rely on the
sun to charge your electronics. Plus, solar is silent
and will help you remain
undiscovered.
GoalZero.com
Library Lifesaver
No, seriously. This is not about
putting your status on postapocalyptic Facebook. This is the
place to keep your library of howto books on every topic from raising livestock to electrical generators and basic math, biology,
medicine and physics. It will be
critical for future generations
that the accumulated knowledge
of the human race is not lost.
Amazon.com
Water to Drink
DOOMSDAY
If you have to rely on rivers

and streams for your drinking water, youll want a
reusable filter to keep that
water safe.
BuyLifeStraw.com
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EMP|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL
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The Invisible Jolt
SURVIVING THE DEVASTATION OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE > Story by Kyle Chezum
You wake in the night and hear shouting
What is an EMP?
An Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) is a sudden burst of
electromagnetic radiation. These EMPs occur every day. The
sun produces electromagnetic bursts constantly, while electronic circuitry can create small electromagnetic effects during standard operation. Most of these common EMP events
go unnoticed.
Massive pulses, though, can destroy sensitive electronic
devices, from computers and cell phones to the transformers that regulate our power grid. A large EMP could be catastrophic, and preparation begins with understanding what
causes such events.
EMPs arise from two primary sources.
outside. The room is thick with darknessall the lights are

off. Somethings wrong. You assume its a power outage and
grab your smartphone to check the time, but its dead, too.
That doesnt make sensethe phone had a full charge earlier and is plugged into the wall. The shouting continues.
Someones trying to call an ambulance. You get up and go to
the window, but you cant see anything outside. The streetlights are black silhouettes against a blacker sky. Someone
pounds on your front door, calling your name. You run to the
door and open it. Your neighbor stands outside. Its happened, he says. Cell phones and landlines are down, and
nobody can get their car to start. A few flashlights are still
working. Everything else is fried.
You say nothing. Theres nothing to say. Like your neighbor, youve begun to understand whats wrong. The world
you knew is gone. No more lights, no more cars, no more
phones, no more Internet, or radios, or refrigerators. Any
electronic device more sophisticated than a simple flashlight
is fried beyond repair, along with the entire power grid and all
communication networks.
Your nation, maybe the world, has been hit by an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP).
Solar Coronal Mass Ejections (CME)

A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a sudden eruption of
plasma from the surface of the sun. Also referred to as a
solar storm, a CME sends charges particles hurtling through
space. If a large enough storm were to hit Earth, the pulse
would induce massive electrical currents in electronic cables,
causing transformers to short and plunging our electrical
grid into darkness.
Nuclear Detonation (NEMP / HEMP)

A Nuclear EMP (NEMP) is an electromagnetic pulse created by a nuclear detonation. When a nuclear warhead detonates close to the surface of the Earth, much of the EMP
blast is absorbed into the ground. As a result, the actual EMP
is negligibleif youre close enough to notice the EMP, youre
probably in range of the actual explosion.
But when a nuclear warhead detonates dozens or hundreds of miles above the Earth, high in the upper atmosphere, the resulting pulse spreads outward at close to the
speed of light, with nothing to contain or interrupt it other
than air molecules. This is called a high-altitude nuclear EMP
(HEMP), and its what most scientists and military strategists refer to as an EMP attack.
The effects of a nuclear EMP are similar to those of a
solar EMP, only more severe and more precise. While solar
EMPs destroy large electrical systems like transformers, the
gamma rays produced during nuclear fission create a separate pulse that is highly damaging to small circuitry, making
a nuclear EMP far more destructive, overall.
THE WORLD YOU KNEW IS

GONE. NO MORE LIGHTS, NO
MORE CARS, NO MORE PHONES,
NO MORE INTERNET, OR RADIOS,
OR REFRIGERATORS.
Nobody knows the full extent of the damage a solar EMP

or nuclear EMP attack would cause, but experts hypothesize
that the outcome would be catastrophic.
In the 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union separately conducted multiple high-altitude nuclear tests. The
resulting EMP damage spanned hundreds of miles. If a similar weapon were detonated today at a tactically optimal
location and height above the United States, theres little
doubt the resulting pulse would knock out virtually all electronic systems and devices in North America, effectively
erasing modern civilization.
DOOMSDAY
PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTO
What Would Happen?
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How Likely is an EMP Event?

The threat of an EMP striking the United States is all too
real, and as electronic technology advances and we grow
more and more dependent on it for daily life, our vulnerability increases.
When discussing the likelihood of an EMP event occurring,
former head of U. S. Strategic Command General Eugene
Habiger says, It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when.
Advanced nations like Russia and China are more than
capable of producing and detonating high-altitude nuclear
bombs. North Korea is believed to have successfully tested a
powerful EMP weapon in 2009. The components required to
create a small but effective EMP device are readily available,
and the engineering proficiency needed for construction is
basic enough that small terrorist groups and lone-wolf
extremists could feasibly build their own EMP bombs.
While not nuclear in nature, these devices could still bring
down a large city or target points of tactical significance.
What about natural EMPs from the sun? At the moment,
NASA is keeping an eye on solar activity with the goal of
forecasting extreme solar weather. But experts suggest we
will have no more than two or three days of advance notice
should the sun emit a cripplingly large burstsomething
that could happen at any time.
How to Survive an EMP

As many as 250,000 to 500,000 deaths will occur
immediately following a large-scale EMP event as commercial airliners lose power and drop from the sky, medical life
support systems stop running, power plants and hydroelectric generators fail catastrophically, pacemakers give out,
and other similar effects ripple across the nation. Assuming
youre not one of these unlucky first casualties, your chances
of immediate survival are actually rather high.
EMPs dont harm the human body. You wont even know
an EMP has occurred until you try to turn on a light, start a
car, or make a phone call. But experts predict that a sufficiently large EMP attack would result in tens of millions of
deaths over the two or three years that follow. What you do
in the first few days after the event will determine your
chances of surviving long-term.
Preparing to Survive
In the immediate aftermath of an EMP, the steps youll
need to take to survive will vary depending on where you live,
your health, inclement weather, resources in the area, and
the supplies and tools available to you. This guide cant
address every possible factor that could influence your situation, but if you want to survive, no matter where you are,
preparation is critical.
In the first five minutes following the pulse, youll make a
critical decision. This decision is the single most important
factor that will affect your survival, and if you put off making
this choice, youll end up paying for it.
You need to decide whether to

dig in or get out.
IMAGE COURTESY OF FEMA
In the case of an EMP caused by a solar coronal mass

ejection (CME), the damage to small electronics would be
less severe, but the event would nevertheless shut down our
power grid and phone networks for as long as a year or more
while critical repairs are made. A year without power would
be enough to bring our nation to its knees.
Assuming you live in a moderately populated urban or suburban area, the repercussions of this decision will rule the next
decade of your life. You can start adjusting
your living space to accommodate an offthe-grid lifestyle, or you can grab your bugout bag and as much water as you can
carry and make a break for it. Which
option is better? It depends.
Digging In: Your home is no doubt
already stocked with many essential items
youll need for survivalfood, water, blankets, tools, medicine, room for storage,
and so on. Your home provides shelter. You
probably know your neighbors and various
members of your community, which may
add a layer of security. In addition, getting
out of town only makes sense if you have
somewhere to go. Youre better off trying
IMAGE COURTESY OF FEMA
Start meeting and connecting with residents in your

neighborhood today. You need to know whos trustworthy
and who isnt, and no matter how prepared you are, you
wont have the time or presence of mind to accurately gauge
this in the wake of a disaster.
Develop a community response plan for your neighborhood. Discuss potential disaster scenarios and map out a
blueprint for how youll work together to survive as a community. Write it down. Rehearse it as a group. This is a great
way to determine what resources are available and who is on
board to help.
Digging In: Survival Techniques

If youve chosen to stay put, to remain in familiar territory
with a community you trust, take the following immediate
steps to set yourself up for survival.
Collect as much water as possible. After the grid goes
down, youll still have running water, but it wont last long. If
youre at home when the pulse hits, start filling bottles,
buckets, tubs, and other containers with water from the tap
as fast as possible. Collect as much as you can. Dont let
anything else enter your mind until this is done. If you wait,
you wont get another chance.
Get to a grocery store. Grab all the cash you have, lock
your door behind you, and dont stop to talk to anyone. Run
to your local grocery store immediately. You want to get
there before everyone else doespreferably while everyone
else is still thinking this is just a simple power outage.
Stock up on the following items.

> Canned beans, canned vegetables, and canned fruit.
> Dried foods like jerky, pasta, beans, and brown rice.
> Peanut butter, nuts, and dried fruits and vegetables.
DOOMSDAY
to secure yourself in your home than wandering with nothing

but a backpack through unfamiliar countryside.
Getting Out: Living off the grid long-term is almost
impossible without land and a supply of fresh water, and in a
resource crisis, the last thing you want are neighbors. Your
greatest threat to survival may well be the people around
you. Lack of electricity and communications will cripple law
enforcementimagine an urban area with no security cameras, no burglar alarms, no phones, no tasers, no searchlights, no police cars patrolling the streets. Riots, looting, and
general anarchy will reign. Urban areas must import food
from elsewhere, and with all transportation shut down, starvation will set in sooner in the cities than in rural areas.
Whether you decide to stay or go, you must make the
choice and commit to it within the first five to 10 minutes following the pulse. If you waste hours or days trying to decide
or end up changing your mind later, it will be too late to take
the specific tactical steps required for survival.
Assume the worst. Youll lose nothing if youre wrong,
and youll gain valuable time and composure if youre right.
By assuming the worst, you give yourself permission to make
decisions you wouldnt otherwise make, and youll be able to
make these decisions faster. Dont wait around hoping
things will get better in a day or two. Allow yourself to enter
survival mode immediately.
Form alliances earlybefore disaster strikes. Allies
are important whether youre planning to remain in your
community or head for the hills. Establish a group of trustworthy neighbors, friends, and family members, and make
sure everyone knows the stakes. Your chances of survival are
better when youre part of a team, but everyone needs to be
on the same page.
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GUNS, AMMUNITION, KNIVES, CLUBS, BOWS,

AND OTHER WEAPONS WILL PLAY AN IMPORTANT
ROLE IN YOUR SURVIVAL OVER THE COMING YEARS.
> Canned meat, especially canned salmon, chicken, and turkey.
> Canned soup, especially thick soups and chili.
> Bottled water and sports drinks containing electrolytes.
> Whole grain flour, oats, and salt.
> Vitamin supplements and powdered superfoods.
Purchase everything with cash. If youve acted fast
enough, chances are the stores are still open for business
and accepting cash. Take the shopping cart with you when
you leaveyoull need it to transport your goods back to your
home or apartment.
Stock up on medical supplies. Your next stop is a local
pharmacy or general goods store. Your goal is to obtain a
good supply of standard medical supplies and medicines.
> Bandages, gauze, and disinfectant.
> Over the counter pain relievers and fever reducers.
> Dish soap, hand soap, and hand sanitizer.
> Chlorine for water purification and storage.
> First aid kits, surgery kits, and syringes, if available.
Create a cooking area. If you have a large charcoal or
wood barbecue at your home, youre all set. If not, designate
a sheltered space in your yard as a cooking area and dig a
shallow fire pit. Your cooking space should be close to your
house, as this will allow you to take advantage of the fire for
heating purposes.
Dig a latrine. Find a section of your yard located downhill and away from your home. Dig a shallow trench about 4
feet long, 6 inches deep, and 6 inches wide. Set aside a pile
of loose topsoil to use to cover waste.
Establish a defensible position and a security

detail. In cooperation with your neighbors and other community allies, determine what area you will protect and
establish a plan to guard and defend it from criminals, vandals, and vagrants. It may be best to choose a group of two
or three homes and create a single fortified position. Alternately, your neighborhood may be laid out in a way that creates a natural defensible perimeter.
Locate and distribute weapons. Unfortunately, theres
no avoiding this step. Guns, ammunition, knives, clubs, bows,
and other weapons will play an important role in your survival over the coming years. As a group, take stock of available weapons and ammo, and determine how to distribute
them for optimal security. Carry a tactical knife on you at all
times, and if you own a gun, dont let it out of your sight.
Getting Out: Survival Techniques

If escaping to a rural area or into the wilderness is your
plan, preparation is critical. This probably isnt a feasible
strategy if youre not ready ahead of time. If you think your
chances of survival are better on your own, keep the following in mind.
Know your destination. Dont run without a goal. Bring
a map and compass and start out with a clear idea of where
you plan to end up. Your destination should be somewhere
close to fresh water and natural food sources. If you dont
know where in your area to find these things, youre not prepared enough to get out.
Before disaster strikes, you should identify a bug-out
location (BOL) within a one- to two-day walk from your
home that can serve as your destination in the event of a
catastrophe. Map out a way to get there and memorize it.
Assume all roads will be blocked. Walk the route in advance
and note important landmarks.
Plan for delays. Identify two or three sites along the
route to your BOL that can provide temporary shelter during
your journey. Rehearse the route, and keep the map and
compass handy in your bug-out bag in case your plans need
to change on the way.
Dress in layers. You will know best how to dress for the
conditions in and around your home and your BOL. Regardless, dressing in layers is always advisable, as it allows you to
bring multiple clothing items that you can wear or remove as
the weather demands.
Grab your bug-out bag or a backpack you can fill with
food, water, and supplies.
If youve prepared properly, you already know what you
need to bring with you, and your bug-out bag is fully stocked
and ready to go. If not, fill a backpack with non-perishable
high-energy food items, like granola bars, jerky, and peanut
butter. Take along a first aid kit and as much water as you
can carry. Knives, a gun, ammunition, and any other
weapons and tools you can fit are essential.
Hit the road. Get out as soon and as fast as possible.
You wont be the only one planning to vacate the city, and as
soon as the reality of the situation hits everyone else, the
road is going to be full of desperate wanderers. Youre not
safe in the open. You need to make it your goal to reach your
BOL immediately.
|EMP
IN THE PAST
History of EMPs
No truly catastrophic EMP event has
yet occurred, for the simple reason that
up until 50 or 60 years ago, such an
event couldnt occurour reliance on
electronic technology had not yet
advanced to the point where EMP disruption would cause complete social
collapse, as it would today. Nevertheless, a number of historical incidents
serve as proof that EMPs in their various
forms are real and highly dangerous.
The Carrington
Event (1859)
Starfish Prime (1962)

More than 50 years ago, an early
nuclear weapon detonated 250 miles
over the middle of the South Pacific
Ocean produced an electromagnetic
pulse strong enough to knock out
streetlights and telephone communications systems in Hawaii and New
Zealand. About one-third of all satellites in low orbit failed, and some
sources claim that the blast fried ignition systems in cars a 1,000 miles
away from the launch site.
The test was called Starfish Prime.

Carried out by the United States on
July 9th, 1962, the full power of the
EMP couldnt be measuredit went
off the charts. As the pulse struck
Hawaii, the public learned for the first
time that a nuclear bomb detonated in
the upper atmosphere could damage
electronic systems.
The Starfish Prime blast occurred
at a height of 250 miles. A nuclear
warhead detonated at a similar height
over Kansas or Nebraska today would
shut down the entire continental
United States, most of Canada, and
parts of northern Mexico.
The Soviets conducted their own

high-altitude nuclear tests and saw
similar unexpected results. During one
such test, called Project K #184, the
Soviets detonated a relatively small
nuclear warhead 180 miles above a
remote region of Kazakhstan. The
resulting EMP took out 350 miles of
telephone lines and 620 miles of
buried power cables, and started massive fires in a nearby powerplant. A
Russian scientist later reported that
the plant was completely destroyed.
Starfish Prime and Project K were
controlled tests performed in remote
areasback in 1962. Imagine the devastation that would result from an actual
attack carried out with a modern EMP
warhead over a tactically significant
region where all aspects of daily life rely
on advanced electronics.
DOOMSDAY
On September 1st, 1859, British

astronomer Richard Carrington aimed
his telescope at the sun and sat down
with ink and paper to sketch what he
observed through the lens. After
recording a series of large sunspots, he
saw two massive points of white light
flare up rapidly and vanish. He had
never seen anything like it.
Hours later, a massive geomagnetic
storm tore through Earths atmosphere, lighting up the night sky with
immense auroras visible as far south
as Cuba and Jamaica. But this was just
the beginning.
At the time, the United States had
just started to adopt electronic communication in the form of the telegraph. Telegraph wires crisscrossed
the nation, connecting major cities, but
beyond this, electrical systems didnt
play a large role in public infrastructure. On the night of September 1st,
telegraph operators throughout North
America watched, confused, as one of
the most powerful EMPs in recorded
history wreaked havoc on the telegraph network. The pulse did more
than just disrupt communications.
Electric sparks leapt from telegraph
machines, injuring workers. Telegraph
paper burst into flames. Metal contact
points melted. Lines were inoperable
for hours. When operators discon-
nected the machines from their power

supplies, they found that they could
still transmit, as the lines were powered entirely by the induced current
from the EMP.
The storm came to be called the
Carrington Event and stands as an
unprecedented example of the effects
a powerful EMP can have on electronic
communication systems. But the Carrington Event wasnt a fluke of history.
Similar EMP disruptions have occurred
in the decades since. In 1989, a solar
coronal mass ejection caused an EMP
that shut down Quebecs entire power
grid for 12 hours and brought the region
to a complete standstill. During the
same event, the U.S. grid struggled but
managed to stay mostly online, with
the exception of a few localized failures. The 1989 event was about onethird the size of the Carrington Event.
On July 23rd, 2012, a CME erupted
from the sun and narrowly missed
Earth, passing directly through our
planets orbital path. The storm struck
a satellite, and measurements
revealed that the 2012 CME may have
been larger than the Carrington Event.
Daniel Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space
Physics at the University of Colorado,
said in a presentation in April 2014, If
it had hit Earth, we would still be picking up the pieces.
129
ASG-SIP-1412-EMP 11/23/14 11:53 PM Page 130
EMP|GEAR GUIDE
DOOMSDAY
130
Five Essentials for EMP Survival

Survival in a world gone dark wont be
easy, but these five essential items will help.
Chlorine Dioxide
Tablets
Water treatment systems wont be
operational in the wake of an EMP,
and theres a good chance your
municipal water supply wont last
long. Youll need to find water to
survive, and any water you find will
need to be purified. Chlorine dioxide tablets are great for this, and
theyre easy to store and transport.
PotableAqua.com
Bicycle
Youll need transportation, and a
bike is going to be your best
option. Most cars, trucks, trains,
airplanes, and motorized boats
are going to be permanently out
of commission. Find a bike thats
lightweight, easy to disassemble
and repair, and suited for off-road
travel, and get accustomed to riding it well before disaster strikes.
SchwinnBikes.com
Candles & Lanterns

Light is often taken for granted in the modern
world, but without electricity, this will be a
major concern. Stock up on candles, kerosene
lanterns, matches, lighters, and wicking. It
wouldnt be a bad idea to get a book on how to
make candles and keep it handy, as youll need
to either find or make your own candles when
your stockpile runs out. Coleman.com
Faraday Cage
A Faraday cage is a metal enclosure designed to block electromagnetic radiation. Theyre easy to
build using materials available at
your local hardware store, and you
can find step-by-step instructions
online. Store essential electronics
like handheld radios, medical
devices, GPS systems, and others
inside a Faraday cage to help prevent damage from an EMP.
Wood Stove
A cast iron wood stove will
make cooking and heating
much safer, easier, and more
efficient in the aftermath of
an EMP. While its not something you can carry with you
on the move, its a good idea
to have one in your home or
bunker or wherever you plan
to dig in. Stock up on wood
and charcoal if you can.
Amazon.com
ASG-SIP-1412-QUOTE-C3 11/21/14 2:56 AM Page C3
I do not believe that civilization will be

wiped out in a war fought with the
atomic bomb. Perhaps two-thirds of the
people of the Earth will be killed.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
Albert Einstein
DOOM_1412_C4 11/21/14 2:59 AM Page C3

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DDAY_COVER 11/21/14 3:10 AM Page US_C1

FROM THE EDITORS OF AMERICAN SURVIVAL GUIDE DOOMSDAY SPRING

Engaged Media By Beckett

ASG-SIP-1412-BROCHURE 11/21/14 1:00 AM Page C2

Be Prepared! Get Informed!

ASG-SIP-1412-BROCHURE 11/21/14 1:01 AM Page 3

ASG-SIP-1412-TOC.qxp 11/24/14 2:11 AM Page 4

Surviving a Nuclear Attack

How to Survive a Deadly Chemical Attack

Surviving the Terror of the Twisters

Surviving a Relentless Wall of Water: The Tsunami

104 PLANET KILLERS

Surviving the Lava of a Volcanos Eruption

Surviving the Catastrophe of an Asteroid Impact

110 BECOMING SELF-AWARE

116 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

How to Survive an Alien Invasion

124 THE INVISIBLE JOLT

Surviving the Devastation of an Electromagnetic Pulse

ASG-SIP-1412-TOC.qxp 11/24/14 2:12 AM Page 5

One of the illusions of life is that

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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EDITORIAL, PRODUCTION & SALES OFFICE

ENGAGED MEDIA BY BECKETT

This magazine is purchased by the buyer with the understanding

ASG-SIP-1412-EDIT 11/24/14 12:59 AM Page 6

Ryan Lee Price

The Four Horsemen

ASG-SIP-1412-CLOCK 11/24/14 12:30 AM Page 7

THE DOOMSDAY CLOCK:

Five Minutes to Midnight

and potential impact on the planet. Calling

DOOMSDAY CLOCK HIGHLIGHTS

The initial setting of the Doomsday Clock.

The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb.

North Koreas test of a nuclear weapon and Irans nuclear ambitions.

ASG-SIP-1412-EARTHQUAKE 11/24/14 12:27 AM Page 8

EARTHQUAKE|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL

Youre in the middle

of an otherwise ordinary day, filled with

Why Does the Earth Quake?

ASG-SIP-1412-EARTHQUAKE 11/24/14 12:27 AM Page 9

ASG-SIP-1412-EARTHQUAKE 11/24/14 12:28 AM Page 10

EARTHQUAKE|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL

Unlike the air blast of a nuclear explosion,

doesnt mean the damage isnt serious. The

ASG-SIP-1412-EARTHQUAKE 11/24/14 12:28 AM Page 11

AT ABOUT 6 A.M., I WAS AWOKEN BY WHAT I THOUGHT,

The first rule, as in any disaster, is dont

Survive the Collateral Damage

Make it Through the First Quake

If youre outside, stay clear of trees, poles,

ASG-SIP-1412-EARTHQUAKE 11/24/14 12:28 AM Page 12

EARTHQUAKE|ANATOMY & SURVIVAL

earthquakes of the last 40 years. I recommend

quakes, electricity was out for several days in

ASG-SIP-1412-EARTHQUAKE 11/24/14 12:28 AM Page 13

The most important thing to

ASG-SIP-1412-EARTHQUAKE 11/24/14 12:28 AM Page 14

EARTHQUAKE|IN THE PAST

The Great Alaska Quake, 1964

across the surface of the waterfollowed by