While in nearby Waynesville visiting my friends at Carolina Readiness Supply, I picked up a copy of the book The Borrowed World by Franklin Horton. Started reading it this evening and had trouble putting it down. Its now past midnight and I thought I’d give a quick initial review.
Excellent read. In this first of the series, our nation suffers simultaneous attacks on its infrastructure including oil refineries, dams, power stations, bridges, etc. via a coordinated effort by Islamists who had been hiding in plain sight. Within hours, the country plummets into chaos. This is the story of Jim Powell, a mid-level government employee on a business trip with several colleagues suddenly stranded 500 miles from home and how he attempts to get home to his family. Think it can’t happen? Think again.
I’ve written several times about the Achilles heal of America: its weak power grid. On April 16, 2013, a handful of masked gunmen cut communications lines to the Metcalf sub-station of PG&E in northern California, then systematically shot out 17 critical transformers at one sub-station, nearly plunging Silicon Valley into darkness. They disappeared and are still at large. Had it been coordinated with attacks on a couple other stations, its likely all of California would have been in the dark, possibly for days or weeks due to the domino affect. Quick reaction by engineers allowed them to reroute power, however, it took them 27 days to repair the damage and bring the station back on line. Folks, this isn’t make believe. This really happened. Read the NPR story here.
Mark Johnson, former Vice President of Transmissions for PG&E said “These were not amateurs taking pot shots. My personal opinion is that this was a dress rehearsal for future attacks.” Such a coordinated attack is very feasible with minimal effort, minimal cost, minimal notice, and if successful could throw our “just in time delivery” society into turmoil within days. That means fuel stops flowing, food stops being delivered to the grocery store, communications go dark, electronic banking collapses, etc. Don’t be like those in “The Borrowed World“, caught unprepared. Take steps now to have at least thirty days of food and water along with medical supplies on hand, and a plan of what to do. Then go beyond the minimums. It may not be a terrorist strike. If you live on the coast, it could be a hurricane. Although a fictional narrative, the book does an excellent job of educating the reader on steps that should be taken now in the calm before the storm.
One of those steps is to have a bug out property location. I spent the past couple of days with an individual coming to the area specifically to distance himself from major population centers. We located a very suitable property that should serve him well into the future. The western North Carolina mountains offer many survival property options and Retreat Realty is here to assist you in locating the right property for you and your family. Call or email us today to get started. When the power grid goes down, it will be too late (and we won’t be taking your calls).
