Comment by PlatoIsADisease
10 hours ago
Years ago I was concerned about this and made a plan with my wife for what to do if she was at work.
But now we have a bunch of kids in different schools and haven't updated our plan.
Does anyone have a plan for what happens if we have a really bad event?
A really bad event would be that long-distance transmission lines act like antennas and pick up millions of volts and blow up all the transformers.
I don't know how much you can plan for that other than "if it happens, try to get home", and then all the usual prepper stuff.
Feel a bit sensationalistic. It happens, it's not rare, and we've always got on with life perfectly fine.
Pray for clear skies and go out and watch the beautiful aurora, silly!
Depending on the kids' ages, you can teach them quite a lot about the Earth's magnetic field and why the aurora concentrates at the poles, how the high-energy particles light up the sky (it's a lot like a neon light), and how the atmosphere shields us from any danger despite the spectacular show.
Disconnect your telegraph batteries and run on aurora power only
For a really bad event that managed to blow a lot of transformers (presumably due to grid operators not seeing it coming) ... well, take up farming.
Buy a bit of extra food and water.
And toilet paper! Rolls and rolls of toilet paper!
Keep a couple days water and food on hand, go up to the pub, have a pint, and wait for this all to blow over.
With how much modern cars rely on electronics, I would not try to drive during such an event.
It’s ok - The Winchester is within walking distance.
1 reply →
Solar flares are only dangerous to very long conductors.
1 reply →
That's a safety feature. It prevents you from drinking and driving if you go to a pub during a solar flare. :)
No one would drive to the pub anyway. Better walking back home…
1 reply →
First rule of fight club...