Preparing for Disruption of Utilities

[Raptor]

Several events in 2021 have reinforced the need for proper planning and preparation of basic services. we gone from a time when electrical power and internet connectivity was a luxury to today when these luxuries will shut down critical infrastructure like fuel supplies, food and even water.
The Colonial Pipeline & JBS hack, the Texas winter grid failure are 3 that come to mind.


This is an article dealing with a simulated cyber attack.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/41243/the-national-guard-just-simulated-a-cyberattack-that-brought-down-utilities-nationwide

National Guardsmen just completed a two-week training exercise which saw them respond to a simulated cyberattack that took out critical utilities across the United States. The exercises have become an annual event, but this year took on even more significance after coming on the heels of several major ransomware and cyber attacks that crippled large parts of American infrastructure in recent months.

A good prepper has to be prepared with basic supplies to deal with these disruptions.

This is a thread to discuss such needs and preps...that and do feel free to start a new topic on your subject.

As for me I learned and relearned lessons over the years.
The lesson that I have been taught several times that in an emergency the thing that will be missed most is the ability to communicate quickly and effectively. I am used to being able to use a cell phone to dial anyone in the world within seconds or at least text them.   

You need to have a family (or business) plan that assumes all comms will go down. A default option when comms cannot be completed.

An alternative may be to post and all is well on your social media if it is accessible.

Still you should have a default plan that assume no communications are possible 
For instance if you have school age children teach them to stay at school until you can get them or go to a specific family member's home.

If you recall during  both Katrina and 9/11 all phones within the affected areas were non-functional for a long time. Those without pre-arranged plans were at a great disadvantage. 

[Blast]

You are absolutely right about loss of communications. In the aftermath of hurricane Ike, government relief services "commandeered" the Harris county cell phone system for their private use, making it almost impossible to make a call. During that time I used Twitter to post updates since the app could hold the message until a signal was obtained and then all my contacts could see it, rather than trying to call assorted people.

That being said, I got off Twitter years ago because it turned into a cesspool. Now that I have my ham radio license, I can make radio contact with someone outside the affected zone and have them call my family. Of course, if the grid is down across the nation even that isn't going to work.
-Blast