Background Guide
Responding to an EMP in Rural America
John Ford
UMICS President and Crisis Coordinator
Maryland Model United Nations
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Setting:
Welcome to Maple Brook, Maryland. Maple Brook is a fictional town northwest of
Baltimore. It is moderately rural, with a population of approximately 20,000, many of
whom live in the farmland flanking the town to the north. To the south lies an 8-lane
highway that leads directly to the Baltimore area. There is an exit off the highway leading
into the town center.
The center of town features a main street area with small businesses, a grocer, a gas
station convenience store, and a hardware and building materials store. There are also two
churches (Catholic and Methodist), a police station and armory housing the town police,
and a town hall, where your honorable council is housed.
Toward the outskirts in the north is a large residential area with a small community pond
and park. This residential area is suburban in nature and houses approximately 10,000 of
the town residents, in about 4,000 households. The people are typically middle class and
ideologically split, about 20% Methodist, 30% Catholic, and 50% other, 40% Democratic,
43% Republican, and 17% other and independent. The community is slightly older than the
Maryland average, with 20% of the population under 15 years of age, 10% of the
population between 15 and 25, 53% between 25 and 60, and 17% over the age of 60. This
leaves a working age population of approximately 12,600, caring for a population of the
young and old of approximately 7,400. About 6,000 of the working age population are
male.
South of town center is a more commercial area, with very few residents but many larger
businesses. A Wal-Mart Supercenter is located next to the highway, along with a strip
shopping center and a factory that has provided many of the local jobs. On the East side of
this area are two schools, a private Catholic K-12 school of about 200 students and a
public middle school that has about 800 children, most but not all of whom are residents
of Maple Brook. This middle school is the local emergency evacuation center.
Further away from the town center is hilly farmland. A lake and stream run through the
area just north of town, surrounded by a wooded buffer zone that is typically home to a lot
of deer and other game. Feed corn and soy beans are the most common type of crop, but
planting has not yet yielded fully grown crops, and will not for several months. The
proprietary families of these farms tend to be prominent members of the community. A
kennel, a greenhouse, a stable, and a power transformer are also to be found north of
town.
The Crisis:
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Description of EMPs:
Electromagnetic pulses are very brief and powerful electrical surges that flow through the
atmosphere too quickly to affect living organisms, but that disable the vast majority of
sensitive electronic equipment in the same way as a massive power surge. Some old
computers, radios, and equipment would survive, particularly ones utilizing vacuum tubes,
as larger electronics provide more space for the electrical surge to dissipate.
The implications for modern life are innumerable. Not only would cell phones, laptops, and
cars cease to work for the vast majority of the country, but everything that relies on them
ceases to work as well. Factories stop working. Water pumps no longer pump drinking or
sanitation water to the upper floors of buildings, up hills, or into populated areas or fields.
Farms cease to work at anywhere near current capacity, causing food shortages. And,
perhaps most critically, communication infrastructure (on which the government and
military largely rely) would be almost completely put into the dark. This lack of
communication would prevent the government from knowing what issues are being faced
where, and would prevent them from coordinating a recovery. Very little of the
government’s own communication lines are protected against EMPs; only critical lines
from the President to various command posts in the military are. In the worst case, a
small EMP burst only large enough to cover a 500-mile radius (as opposed to one that
could cover the entire United States) around the DC/Baltimore area would cripple 7% of
the nation’s GDP, reduce production in the affected area by 75%, and take 2 years and 9
months to fully repair. An EMP of the size described in this simulation will cause a
complete collapse of the economic system of the country and will take a decade to fully
recover from.
There are many types of EMPs, the kind described here seems to be a high altitude
electromagnetic pulse, a very imprecise but devastating type that covers enormous
swathes of land. Possible causes include a nuclear-sized explosion in the upper
atmosphere or a massive direct hit from a solar storm. As residents on the ground in small
town America, you have no way of knowing the specifics of what caused this pulse in
particular.
For more information on EMP blasts and their effects, refer to the sources at the end of
this background guide, or watch the National Geographic episode “Electronic Armageddon”
here: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/national-geographic-channel/fullepisodes/explorer/ngc-electronic-armageddon-1/.
Events So Far:
Yesterday, the majority of all electronic equipment simultaneously died in town; almost
everything with a microchip or wiring ceased to work. Upon inspection, the electronic
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equipment was seen to be overloaded, similar to a power surge in a lightning storm. Some
sharper members of the community were quick to observe that these were the symptoms
of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP).
Within a day, an emergency leadership council was formed from prominent members of
the community and city government, picked by nomination from the people who had
flocked to the police station after their cars would not start, or their power went out. After
an airplane was seen crashing to the ground not 10 miles from the town, almost every
resident of the town and surrounding area had crowded into the city center. The
emergency council currently has the full support of these crowds, with the exception of
some small bands that slipped away and out of town.
Nothing has been heard from Baltimore or Washington, and there has been radio silence
since the blast. Any communication outside of face-to-face interaction and written word
has all but ceased.
After the nomination of the council, the crowd was dismissed for the evening. Many of the
residents have returned to their homes, but many more have remained in the town center
to be close to their primary source of information and of any pooled resources. Those who
are staying have so far remained calm. There is still a strong sense of community, but the
implications of the damage are dampening the optimism of the residents. Once word
begins to spread about how permanent and serious the damage could be, panic could
quickly set in. Also, as night sets in, people will return to their individual homes if not
offered communal shelter.
Assigned Purpose of the Council:
The council has been tasked with the general task of making decisions on the part of the
community. This is not only regarding issues directly related to the crisis, but in all
governmental matters until communication with the Maryland and Federal Governments
are resumed.
In addition, the council is charged with protecting the security and rule of law of the
community, and making sure the provision of necessary supplies to the population is
maintained. The absolute top priority of the council is keeping as many of the town’s
residents alive as possible, preferably while keeping the town societal structure in place.
The council must achieve these ends, and both the council as a body and council members
as individuals are permitted to take whatever actions they deem necessary to do so, so
long as those actions remain within the realm of reality.
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Secondary goals include maintaining law and order consistent with modern standards for
human rights in the United States, managing refugees from surrounding areas, and
establishing contact with higher authorities.
One feature of crisis committees like those in UMICS is the presence of portfolio powers,
the ability of individuals to use written notes to take secret unilateral action without going
through a council vote. Further descriptions of council members’ portfolio powers will be in
their individual character bios.
Assets Available to the Council:
Health Related:
Approximately one week of food supplies remain in the town for the full population of the
town. This is including the convenience store, household supplies, and the councilcontrolled town grocer.
Luckily, none of the town lives at a high altitude. This means water already in storage could
survive on gravity-fed systems for as long as the town water tower lasts. The pond in town
provides enough water for several thousand people, but is exhaustible without functioning
water pumps. The lake and stream outside town are in all practicality inexhaustible, but
too much crowding will contaminate the water. In addition, none of the water spoken of
above has been cleaned sufficiently for consumption. The process for purifying water is not
fully understood by all residents of the town, and may not be properly implemented by
many without sufficient education.
Security:
Police forces:
53 TOWN police officers, housed in the town police department
12 COUNTY sheriff deputies, stranded here, but housed elsewhere
10 STATE troopers, stranded here, but housed elsewhere
5 FEDERAL law enforcement officers of varying departments, who are
residents of the town
Only the town police owe the council direct loyalty, the rest may or may not follow your
chain of command. Since they are cut off from their command by lack of communication,
their loyalty will come down to personal choice.
An armory exists in the town police station, with enough of riot gear for 20 police officers,
several thousand rounds of ammunition, 10 assault rifles, and an armored car (unable to
start due to EMP). In addition, each officer carries a pistol and baton, with a shotgun in
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each squad car. Also, many of the surrounding area’s homes contain hunting or personal
defense weapons, which are out of the control or reach of the council as of this time. The
extent of these personal defense weapons is unknown, especially without access to
electronic records.
Transportation:
Most cars do not work because modern computerized ignitions and other systems in the
vehicle will be disabled by an EMP. However, some residents outside of town are in private
possession of older vehicles with primitive electronic equipment less vulnerable to EMPs.
While it could be valuable to obtain these vehicles for utility work, transportation, or
defense; keep in mind that the roads are mostly clogged with broken down vehicles and
gas supplies are extremely limited without electronic pumps.
Other Supplies:
Any other supplies that can be seized by the council in the town are useable. This includes
private property, if the owners are complacent or if the council is otherwise able to obtain
it. There are no rules about what supplies or actions the council can take, so long as it is
within the realm of physical reality, and considering that fact that consequences will come
of any actions in a realistic manner.
Delegates/Governing Structure:
Mayor:
Town Manager:
Town Councilmen:
Town Committee Chairs:
Board of Health:
School:
Water & Sanitation:
Emergency Planning:
Local Experts:
Electrical Engineer:
Military:
Natural Resources:
Prominent Citizens:
Police Chief:
Small Business:
Your Chair
Jacob Ryan
Ted Burkhart
Ron Neil
Emile Read
Patricia Boutwell
Dr. George Chavez
Jasmine Moore
Laura Casey
Juliana Armstrong
David Marshall
Col. James Hardy (Ret.)
Heather Cook
Louis Foster
Rose Whitney
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Farmers:
Michael Burton
Conclusion:
In 2010, New York’s Association of Towns unanimously passed a resolution to investigate
the threat of EMPs and reestablish the EMP Commission for Congress. 1 This subject is to
be taken very seriously. According to a Congressional report on the EMP threat, an EMP
commissioner for the Department of Defense (DOD) is quoted as saying that in the last 40
years, DOD has not conducted simulations, game scenarios, or tabletop exercises on EMP
attacks “because it tends to end the game, and that is not a good sign.” EMP attacks are
an incredible threat that our government is not prepared for, and have not conducted
simulations regarding. Welcome to an EMP attack simulation. Good luck.
1
Found on http://www.empactamerica.org, here: http://www.empactamerica.org/08%20Resolution%20%20Assoc%20of%20Towns%20State%20of%20NY%20-%20EMP%20-%2002-17-%202010%20-%20statewide%20%20passed%20unanimous.pdf.
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Works Cited/Recommended Readings
H.R. Rep. No. 110th-RL32544 at 1 (2008). Print.
United States. Congress. Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack. EMPcommission.org. By John S. Foster, Earle
Gjelde, William R. Graham, Robert J. Hermann, Hank M. Kluepfel, Richard L. Lawson,
Gordon K. Soper, and Joan B. Woodard. The Commission to Assess the Threat to the
United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack, 2004. Web. 4 Mar. 2012.
<http://empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf>.
United States. Congress. Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack. EMPcommission.org. By John S. Foster, Earle
Gjelde, William R. Graham, Robert J. Hermann, Henry M. Kluepfel, Richard L. Lawson,
Gordon K. Soper, Lowell L. Wood, and Joan B. Woodard. The Commission to Assess the
Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack, Apr. 2008. Web. 4 Mar.
2012. <http://empcommission.org/docs/A2473-EMP_Commission-7MB.pdf>.
U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1, Matrices P1, P3, P4, P8, P9, P12, P13, P,17,
P18, P19, P20, P23, P27, P28, P33, PCT5, PCT8, PCT11, PCT15, H1, H3, H4, H5, H11,
and H12.