The Next Catastrophe (2.1)

We are on the brink.

Could you imagine a power grid collapse that endured for weeks, or months? This catastrophe is referred to by some experts as a “Black Sky” scenario, where a long duration power outage sweeps multiple regions, causing a cascading effect as different systems of critical infrastructure begin to fail.

 

This new chapter will not only inform you of possibly the most catastrophic threat that is nearing our modern society, but most importantly, by the end of it, you will know how to properly prepare, spiritually and physically for this impending disaster.

 

But first, we need to establish a clear foundational understanding of what a power grid collapse truly entails.

 

Our ever-growing reliance on technology has become so ingrained in our daily lives, that for most of us, it is viewed as a right, rather than a privilege. Because these modern marvels shape the way we live, work, and interact with the world, we often fail to acknowledge the infrastructure that has been put in place in order to sustain it. However, the impairment of these complex systems would quickly progress from a mere disruption to an all-out crisis.

 

The standard power grid has three main components:

1. generation: large power plants use convert fossil fuels, nuclear energy, or renewable resources into electricity
2. transmission: electricity is supplied through high voltage transmission lines to the required areas
3. distribution: electricity is locally delivered to customers through substations after being converted to lower voltages

 

When complications are absent, this system is extremely effective at providing power to the necessary sectors. The three pieces of the puzzle work in tandem to accomplish the job. But when one of these elements begins to fail, the consequences can swiftly become dire. These failures could be caused by multiple different threats, but the first we will examine is the most unprejudiced of all.

Weather induced outages:

 

One of the most common threats to a power grid, especially ones that rely on outdated infrastructure, is extreme weather. Natural disasters (hurricanes, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and even blizzards) can cause widespread damage to critical infrastructure such as power lines and transformers. This can lead to widespread power outages that can last for days or even weeks depending on the severity.

 

And though weather induced outages may not be on the same scale as some of the other outages we will discuss, there's no doubt that these can be not only a major disruption, but ultimately lethal.

 

Many have already forgotten the impact of the blizzards that struck Texas in February of 2021. A large winter storm swept over the state, causing a swift decline in temperature. This resulted in an increase in demand for power, as freezing Texans cranked up their heat to stay comfortable. Some people were even turning on their ovens and leaving them wide open, just to have any additional warmth in their homes. However, this only exacerbated the deficit in available power. Not only this, but many of the power plants in the state had been taken offline due to frozen equipment.

 

Because of this combination of unfortunate circumstances, the state of Texas was on the verge of being completely depleted of all electricity. If this were to have happen, the situation would've quicky escalated into not just a national crisis, but one that made headlines globally. However, in order to prevent this from happening, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas demanded the utility companies to shut off power in multiple areas. This difficult but extremely necessary decision left more than 11 million civilians in Texas without power for three days. Due to the freezing temperatures, the three powerless days were enough time to result in an estimated 700 civilian casualties.

 

This extreme weather event should’ve been a wakeup call to many. If Texas alone saw the death of nearly 700 people from 3 days alone, imagine how many would’ve been lost from 3 days nationwide. What about 3 days globally? Or 3 weeks! This event just helped to demonstrate the extreme severity of sustained power outages.

 

This brings us to the next point; the weaponization of power outages.

 

A power outage that was strategically orchestrated could result in an even more dire situation. And according to the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC), there was over 1,700 total reports of attacks, vandalism or other suspicious activity directed at North American power grids throughout 2022 alone.

“…the recent uptick in serious physical security incidents is likely to continue into 2023 based on the number and nature of recent attacks combined with the overall current heightened threat environment." -Analyst from E-ISAC

 

The biggest issue with physical attacks is their relative simplicity to conduct. Most attacks are directed at either the transmission or distribution of electricity. For example, a few well-placed shots with a firearm at key components of an electrical substation could be enough to disable it. If these attacks were well coordinated, and were able to specifically target key grid nodes, they could effectively deny entire regions access to electricity.

 

An attack like this could be the doings of a terrorist organization, bent on causing as much chaos as possible, or even potentially as a distraction for a larger, much more devastating attack. We’ve seen this in action as well, with one of the most mysterious attacks on the U.S. infrastructure: The Metcalf Sniper attack.

 

On April 16, 2013, a coordinated assault was launched on a substation in Metcalf, California. The perpetrators cut underground fiberoptic cables, disabled security alarms, and essentially cut the substation off from all communication and monitoring. Soon after, the attackers fired over 100 shots from high powered rifles at the substation, specifically targeting 17 electrical transformers. The skilled attackers targeted the radiators on the transformers, draining them of oil, which resulted in them overheating and failing. This further highlights the skill and knowledge of the attackers.

 

But the background of these attackers will never be known. There were no known suspects, and no arrests have ever been made linked to this event. The attackers allegedly left no trails for the authorities to follow, and no fingerprints were even found on the bullet casings.

 

This attack resulted in over $15 million worth of damage, but luckily didn’t cause any losses in power. Low power usages the night before, as well as the swift rerouting of power prevented the loss of power. Most experts theorize that if the demand the night before was high, it would’ve caused a massive blackout in the region that could’ve even knocked out Silicon Valley.

 

Jon Wellinghoff, the former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) warned that if a coordinated version of this attack had been directed at just 9 key substations across the U.S, it could’ve resulted in a nationwide blackout. He suspects this blackout could’ve lasted weeks or even months.

 

Even though the damages from this attack resulted only in financial loss as a result of the damages, Metcalf still called this attack:

“The most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred.”

 

It's important to understand though that physical sabotage isn’t the only way that the power grid could be compromised. Theres another important type of disruption that could be weaponized against a nation:

 

Cyber-attacks directed at the power grid

 

The power grids of today's age are much more modern, and in turn rely heavily on digital frameworks. While this is essential for efficiency in our technologically driven world, it also opens these critical infrastructure systems up to a new threat. A specialized malware virus or cyber operation designed specifically to cause havoc to the internal systems of the power grid could be utilized.

 

This seems to be the most likely of methods that will be implemented in the near future. According to the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023 report, 93% of cybersecurity experts anticipate that a “far reaching catastrophic cyber-attack” could very well happen within the next two years. This report was launched at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in 2023.

 

This threat seems to be very high on the WEF’s watchlist. For those who’ve read Chapter 1, you should already understand why this is concerning, and how there’s almost certainly a much bigger agenda behind this (one that we will certainly discuss in the coming articles).

 

Here’s a statement that was made by the founder of the WEF, Klaus Schwab where he warned of a:

“a frightening scenario of a comprehensive cyber attack, which would bring a complete halt to the power supply, transportation, hospital services – our society as a whole”

 

The scope and scale of this attack is something that will remain unknown until it happens, if it indeed does. Regardless, we can be assured that no matter how long it lasts, if it were to impact multiple countries simultaneously, the casualties that come as a result of it would likely be unprecedented.

 

An attack like this was directed at Ukraine in 2015. A small team of Russian hackers successfully infiltrated control systems of three major Ukranian energy distribution companies. Once inside the system, the hackers manually shut of each substation one by one, resulting in a loss of power for over 230,000 Ukranian civilians. In addition to deactivating the substations, they wiped important firmware from certain devices and launched DDoS (Designated Denial of Service) attacks on call center. These efforts were implemented in order to strategically slow recovery efforts.

 

Luckily in this scenario, the blackout only lasted for between 1 to as long as six hours, however, this event highlighted the fragility of power grids to malware. If a small group of hackers were able to cause this much chaos, imagine the ability of a much larger cyber terrorist organization, or even a rival nation.

 

However, there is another, and much more effective way to disable a power grid on a mass scale:

Electromagnetic Pulse Attack

 

An Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) is a burst of electromagnetic energy that either disrupts or completely fries any electronic device or electrical system it comes into contact with. These pulses are invisible to the naked eye but have the ability to fry anything with an electrical circuit. Everything from phones, to cars, to most significantly, the power grid.

 

One of the primary and most effective ways an EMP could be employed would be through the use of nuclear weaponry. A U.S. Congressional report warned that a single high altitude nuclear EMP attack could “jam an entire continent’s power grid” and wreck electronic infrastructure.”

 

Here’s a quote from Gunnery Sergeant Joshua Owen, of the US Marine Corps:

“EMP/Cyber Warfare, what I term blackout warfare, is a relatively easy, low-risk, even benign form of warfare compared to all-out Nuclear, Biological, and/or Chemical Warfare—all of which Moscow and Beijing are prepared and willing to do if they can win.”

 

This just further highlights how this type of warfare is not just on the horizon; it is almost guaranteed to be employed in the next large scale intercontinental war front.

 

EMPs can also be used by methods other than just nuclear weaponry: Non-Nuclear EMPs (NNEMP) can also be utilized. These types of EMPs are typically much more localized, and is often used by the military, as well as terrorist organizations.

 

In addition to Nuclear as well as Non-Nuclear EMPs, there is another type of Electromagnetic Pulse that could very well result in the most catastrophic blackout of all those we have listed so far.

Solar Flare / Geomagnetic Storm

 

A solar flare is a naturally occurring phenomenon where the sun produces a powerful storm that results in the disruption of Earth’s magnetic field. In 1859, a solar flare occurred, rendering all telegraph communications useless, while simultaneously creating auroras that traveled as far as the tropics. This Event has been named The Carrington Event and was the largest recorded geomagnetic storm in history.

 

A 2013 study by insurer Lloyd’s of London estimated that a Carrington-level geomagnetic storm could damage hundreds of high-voltage transformers simultaneously, potentially causing global blackouts lasting years until equipment is replaced. This would likely be the greatest catastrophe to strike the modern age.

 

But here’s the thing, despite these daunting possibilities, the goal of this article, and ultimately this chapter as a whole, isn’t to strike fear into your heart. It’s to draw to your attention the severity of the times we live in, and the need to ensure you take the crucial steps necessary to be as best prepared for these disasters as physically, and spiritually possible.

Remember, if you fail to prepare you are preparing to fail. - H.K. Williams

 

We are living in the End, and it's important for us to be paying attention to what is going on. The Bible time and time again shows how crucial it is to be prepared for what is to come. In the book of Genesis, God gave Joseph instructions to warn the Pharoh to “Store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh to be kept for the years of famine.” (Genesis 41:35)

 

If Pharoh would’ve heard these words and not acted, it would’ve certainly resulted in the premature destruction of Egypt. This is a lesson for us. This is our time to prepare, to store up our houses, and most importantly to bring others to the truth of the Gospel. While our physical preparedness is important, it pales in comparison to the severity of our eternal lives.

 

In this chapter, we will discuss ways in which you can be prepared, and ready for what is to come. May the Lord guide us all through these times, so that we don’t just make it through, but so we accomplish our missions on this Earth, and bring more souls to the kingdom!

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. Proverbs 27:12

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