# SHTF threats: EMP, blackouts, collapse, unrest · Dark Grid Prep > Source: https://darkgridprep.cc/threats ## Threats and scenarios EMP, solar storms, long blackouts, economic collapse and unrest: what each one breaks, and how fast. ### Latest in Threats and scenarios [ ](/threats/emp-vs-solar-flare) #### [EMP vs solar storm: what each would do to your house ](/threats/emp-vs-solar-flare) A solar storm wrecks grid transformers but spares an unplugged phone or car. A nuclear EMP can hit the grid and your home electronics at once. How to prepare for each. 9 Nov 2026 Other sections * [ Grid-down living](/grid-down) * [ Stockpiling](/stockpiling) * [ Home defense and security](/home-defense) * [ Bug-out and evacuation](/bug-out) * [ Communications](/communications) * [ Medical when help is delayed](/medical) * [ Family emergency plans](/family-plan) [See all eight on one page](/topics) ### Start with what breaks, then plan for it Most preparedness writing starts with the scary headline. We start with the chain of failures behind it. A high-altitude EMP, a severe solar storm, a cyberattack on a utility and an ice storm that drops transmission lines are very different events, but inside a house they arrive as the same short list: no power, then no water pressure, no fuel pumps, no card payments, no refills at the pharmacy and, after a few days, nervous neighbors. That is why this section sorts every threat by what it takes away and for how long. A three-day outage after a storm and a months-long regional failure call for the same first steps. They differ in how deep the stockpile goes and how seriously you take security. ### The threats we cover #### EMP and solar storms The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency treats a high-altitude EMP as the case of most concern because it could disable large sections of the national grid at once ([CISA on electromagnetic pulse](https://www.cisa.gov/topics/risk-management/electromagnetic-pulse)). The USGS warns that strong geomagnetic storms can push currents into the grid that damage or destroy large transformers ([USGS on space weather](https://www.usgs.gov/news/preparing-nation-intense-space-weather)). People often treat the two as one event. Our guide to [what an EMP and a solar storm would each do to your house](/threats/emp-vs-solar-flare) sorts out which one can reach your electronics and your car. Neither agency publishes a household EMP checklist, so our articles say clearly which advice is official and which is reasoning from it. #### Long blackouts Heat waves, ice storms, hurricanes, wildfire shutoffs and grid emergencies all end in the same dark house. These are the events most families will actually face. #### Economic collapse and empty shelves Bank holidays, runaway prices and fuel shortages, and what a household can do with cash, a deep pantry and skills when money stops working the way it used to. #### Civil unrest What happens to a neighborhood when services stop, how to read the warning signs early, and when staying put stops being the safe choice. #### Pandemics and natural disasters The long-tail events that close stores, schools and roads for weeks at a time. ### How to use this section Pick the two scenarios most likely where you live and the one that scares you most, and read those first. Then go to [stockpiling](/stockpiling) and [the family plan](/family-plan), because the same supplies and the same written plan cover nearly everything here. ### Common questions about Threats and scenarios Which SHTF threat should a family prepare for first? The one most likely where you live, which for most Americans is a multi-day power outage from weather. Preparations for that carry over to rarer events like an EMP. Is there an official government EMP checklist for households? No. CISA and DHS publish EMP guidance for utilities and infrastructure operators. Household advice is built from that guidance plus general outage preparedness. How long should a family plan to be on its own? Ready.gov's baseline is several days of food and water. Most preppers build toward two weeks first, then a month or more once the basics are covered. --- [ ](/) Dark Grid Prep is a survival magazine for American families who want to be ready when the grid, the economy or the supply chain fails: the threats (EMP, long blackouts, collapse, civil unrest), and how a household plans, stockpiles, communicates and secures its home through them. 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