Editor’s Note – I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, “You don’t need to be a prepper to be able and protect your home and your family!”. It all comes down to common sense, and people should learn to read the signs and become proactive. Rather than blaming it on others, we should all become proactive and responsible for our future since there will be times when help won’t come.

By now, some of you may have read the news or seen the TV reports regarding the North Carolina power substation attacks. Tens of thousands of people were left without power following the incident. And not only homes went dark, but schools were closed as well, and a curfew was imposed following this act of vandalism.

What’s really going on, and why isn’t this criminal act getting more coverage?

Is this an isolated incident, or is this a new threat we should all be aware of and prepare for?

Let’s look at the facts and figure out what we can do when something similar occurs in our neighborhood. 

What Happened?

On Saturday evening, it was reported that gunfire damaged two electrical substations in Moore County, North Carolina. As a result, 100,000 residents were left without electricity, and authorities have announced a mandatory curfew.

It was established the outage began after 7 p.m. Saturday night in an area near Carthage, North Carolina, and soon after, it spread, affecting the majority of the county.

There were two separate attacks, and the scene was the same at both sites. In addition, the local authorities have found evidence that indicates the person or persons who attacked the electrical substations knew exactly what they were doing. The damage was caused by intentional gunfire, but the authorities have not yet released any other information since the investigation is far from being over.

At a Monday press conference, Gov. Roy Cooper said that this was an intentional criminal act and that “federal, state, and local law enforcement are actively working to bring those responsible to justice.” The local authorities, with the assistance of the FBI, are currently investigating the incident, and even though the intentional destruction of utility infrastructure is a serious crime, they are currently not classifying it as “domestic terrorism.”

The damage is estimated to be in the millions of dollars, but the impact on the community cannot be quantified. This selfish and cruel act left many people hurting, and those with health issues were the most affected. Such an incident can have a critical outcome for people needing medical assistance, as reported in Moore County.

In fact, authorities have urged people with medical needs and everyone dependent on electricity to seek shelter at facilities equipped with power generators. They advised even leaving the county until power can be restored.

Who is responsible?

This is currently the million-dollar question, and it seems that theories are running wild on the internet and social media. While any information about who carried it out is still to be provided, according to various sources, there was more than one person involved, and the attacks were coordinated. 

One theory spreading is that foreign agents from the Russian Federation are responsible for the attack as a test to establish the vulnerability of the United States power grid. It was reported in the past that our outdated power grid and our dependence on other countries (like China) for electrical systems parts make us vulnerable. So you can imagine that a large-scale coordinated attack on our power grid, similar to the one in North Carolina, will endanger millions of Americans.

However, another theory that is getting a lot of traction is the one involving a drag show. According to various sources, the attacks were meant to cause an intentional outage to shut down the “Downtown Divas” drag performance in Southern Pines.

The organizers said that they had been the target of protests and harassment for weeks. Far-right activists came to protest the event, and it is believed they are responsible for the attack. The police have yet to find a connection between the drag show and the attacks on the substations.

When will power be restored?

Tuesday, a spokesperson for Duke Energy said at a news conference that power would be restored by late Wednesday. However, the spokesperson said, “That will not happen all at once,” and customers will get their power back on a few thousand at a time.

The power will be restored gradually since the new equipment which was installed following the attack needs to be calibrated and tested. It needs to work in sync with the grid to prevent any issues from prolonging the power outage. 

Since there is no guarantee that all customers will have their lights back on by the end of the week, authorities recommend looking for help from neighbors and relatives or relocating to facilities that have their power restored or use electrical generators.

Is there a precedent, or is this an isolated incident?

While theories spread after the incident, the facts still remain the same. We have an old and vulnerable power grid, and there’s really no telling how and when it will lead to our demise. Even scarier is the fact that this incident is not isolated, and people fail to see a pattern developing inside our borders.

On April 16, 2013, in Coyote, California, a similar attack was carried out on the PG&E Metcalf substation. During the attack, several gunmen opened fire on 17 electrical transformers. Even if the attack had little impact on the power supplies and customers were not affected, it was reported that more than 15 million worth of equipment was damaged.

These kinds of attacks are raising a new level of threat, and many Americans are unaware of the vulnerabilities of our power grid since the media doesn’t provide enough coverage. Whether it is a natural event like the temperature drop that crippled the Texas power grid or a man-made act like the ones in California and North Carolina, one thing is certain; we should not be completely dependent on the power grid.

If we think about it, this new threat is something we should all consider, regardless of whether we are preppers. The power grid can be crippled by a rather simplistic action, like gunfire, and that’s one scary fact. Almost anyone has access to firearms in our country; unfortunately, not all those who do are “responsible” gun owners.

And to top it all, the national power grid can be exposed to more complex attacks, like detonating electromagnetic pulse (EMP) devices, and we won’t even know about it until the lights turn off. There are EMP generators that fit inside a suitcase, and if these get into the wrong hands, millions of Americans will be in danger once used. 

What can we do to protect our homes?

We’ve all seen how people react during a crisis. For example, when a hurricane warning is issued, folks rush to the hardware stores to buy any type of generator they can get their hands on, but this is only one small step we can take. In fact, most people are reactive rather than proactive, and this shows every time a natural or man-made disaster occurs.

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, “You don’t need to be a prepper to be able and protect your home and your family!”. It all comes down to common sense, and people should learn to read the signs and become proactive. Rather than blaming it on others, we should all become proactive and responsible for our future since there will be times when help won’t come.

You should indeed get a generator and stockpile all the batteries you think will be needed, but you should also understand that this may not be enough. Assume it will get worse before it gets better because no one will be able to guarantee your safety. 

Ideally, you should be able to produce your own electricity and store it. This is critical preparation for people who are dependent on electricity, like people with medical issues or those with mobility problems.

I won’t go into the details on how you should cover your power needs and what you need to do to make sure the lights stay on forever. We’ve covered this topic on Survivopedia before, and there are various options available to harvest renewable energy and all sorts of DYI projects you can rely on if you work with a limited budget.

The thing I want to stress the most is that during a power outage, people with medical issues will become the most vulnerable, requiring special preparations. If they live alone, they will not be able to call for help if their condition deteriorates. If they use mobility aids, an unexpected power outage can cause various problems, and the risk of injury increases with every passing hour.

In some cases, you will need to get to them as fast as possible, and this may become a problem when a curfew is imposed. To provide them with the best care, you should delegate someone to transfer them to facilities that operate with the help of power generators. Moving them in with friends and relatives in another county would be even better until things return to normal since it will make the situation more bearable for them.

Having medicine stockpiled and other items that make life easier for those with health issues is critical. Sometimes even a simple thing like a hot meal or comfort snack can make all the difference and improve the morale of those suffering. Ask someone to look out for seniors and those in need and provide basic care if needed.

Concluding

These recent attacks show us, once again, how vulnerable our power grid is and how little prepared we are to handle such scenarios. The authorities are somehow helpless when it comes to handling and managing the aftermath of these events. Even if they manage to catch the culprits and bring them to justice, that still won’t bring the power back to families for days or weeks to come. In the end, we are the ones responsible for our future, and we need to be prepared for whatever it may throw at us.

I have been writing to preppers for almost 10 years now. Never before have we been so close to a genuine collapse of our society. Never before have we had such a level of surveillance and technological tyranny upon us. It makes many just wanna head for the hills.

Vanishing with a family of four is a tall order. It requires some serious planning and execution. I should also add that the timing of an operation like this could make or break the entire things So, with all that said I will tell you how I plan to vanish in the next crisis and how you might want to vanish, too.

We are going to assume that I will not be a specific target of any one person with excessive resources so that my vanishing will simply be a means of waiting till people forget about me.

I’ll Leave Fake Leads

As I prepare to get out of dodge, I will be very intentional about my communications with neighbors, friends, and family.

Online communications and messaging will be another important place to leave these fake leads. This is just a matter of leaving a handful of options so that if anyone comes looking, they will have a few places to check first. Of course, none of the leads you leave are going to be remotely close to where you are actually going.

In this short VIDEO, I will unearth A lost super-food will bulletproof you against any food shortage or famine. It’s a food that vanished with the Incas over 6 centuries ago

In the next crisis these lost skills will be more valuable than gold, food supplies and survival equipment combined. These skills have been tested and proven to work for centuries.

Here is just a small glimpse of what you’ll find in this massive 300-page sequel (in color) to The Lost Ways:

• A lost super-food will bulletproof you against any food shortage or famine. It’s a food that vanished with the Incas over 6 centuries ago. This mysterious dish was just recently rediscovered by NASA who has been giving away rations of it to our brave men and women in their month-long space missions. The Incas stored it in pit holes for up to 10 years, ate it year-round, and actually used it to survive a 4 year long super-drought that wiped out their southern neighbors. So, if it managed to save the Incas centuries ago and it still works for our astronauts today, you can bet your last dollar it will keep you and your family well fed in any crisis. And the best part is that you probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen right now.

Sell Everything and Pay Off Debt

You cannot take everything with you. The less you can take the better!

Those expensive things hanging on walls, hidden in boxes or on shelves, all should be sold. Sell them sooner rather than later because things like entertainment could lose value depending on the nature of the next crisis.

If rising food costs and food shortages grip the nation, then people are not gonna wanna spend money on a PlayStation 5 or a massive flat screen television. Use all of that money to pay off any debt that is clinging to you.

Creditors have lots of resources, so you want them off your back. They are likely the people that will come looking for you the hardest.

I Will Smash or Move Electronics

An important and even satisfying step will be the destruction of all your electronics that ever held any information about you or could follow you around. I know that my footprints on the internet are well documented.

Still, destroying electronics will keep people like google from tracking your GPS locations.

If you want to get really tricky, you could tape your cellphone to the top of a freight train or trolly and let it ride around the country a bit, while you make your break for it.

You could use a panel from Powerfilm Solar and hide the phone up on a roof somewhere. It would give a great false position and the solar film would likely keep it on for weeks if not months on low power settings. Put it in a Ziploc bag so the rain doesn’t ruin it.

I’ll Change My Appearance

This might be a simple one for you or it might be one that evokes some real emotions in you. Prepare for that. The good thing is that simple changes to your appearance can radically affect how the world perceives you.

For men it can be as simple as shaving that beard you have always worn and getting a new haircut. For women things like changing hairstyle, hair color and even changing the makeup style can make a big difference.

How you dress can be changed and unique accessories like glasses and hats can be used to give yourself a completely different look.

I use my family as a metric. How would my family do at recognizing me? That is the question you should ask yourself while planning to vanish in the next crisis.

I Will Maintain Constant Movement

The only way that a person can truly vanish in this modern age is to be consistently moving during a crisis.

This is why one of the first things we will do is buy a used camper with cash. This will allow me to move from one place to another or even spend days at a time on the move.

Settling down for long periods of time should be avoided. You can settle for a bit and make some money, but it will take a lot if you are going to lay a serious foundation and rebuild your life as someone else. Instead, remain transient in your new life.

Choose a Cash Business for Income (Or an SHTF Career)

It’s important to have an emergency fund. I think people really struggle with this prep. Saving in general is something of a struggle for many Americans. No matter how big that emergency fund is though, eventually, you are gonna run out of money.

If you go back to work with your same name and social security number, then you will be back on the map. The whole vanishing act will go up in smoke.

The better option would be to consider a kind of cash business or what I call the SHTF career. If you are choosing to vanish than I assume the world has taken an even worse turn. I have trigger points for this, and you should develop some of your own trigger points for when it’s time to get out of dodge.

Some Great SHTF Careers For Making Money After You Vanish:

• Firewood Splitter and Delivery
• Blacksmith
• Craftsman
• Handyman
• Security or Bodyguard
• Potter
• Butcher
• Farmer
• Delivery Man
• Apothecary Healer

Weather the Storm

For the person who is vanishing during a crisis the early days are going to be the hardest. There may be people who truly want to find you and those people are going to use most of their resources to do that in the early days.

Not to mention you will likely be migrating in a collapsing world. You will be trying to reestablish yourself in a world that is coming apart at the seams.

You are going to have to weather some kind of storm. It might be a good time to just stay boarded up in whatever it is you call home.

Park the camper at a state park with good views for a week or two.

The heightened surveillance state, the collapsing world, and the rise in crime all over this nation is enough to make anyone want to VANISH tomorrow. Things are getting wild out there.

While disappearing yourself in this modern age is a lot harder than it used to be, well, it’s still possible.

It’s gonna take a little extra planning but you can pull it off. There is nothing easy about this and you will likely have deep regrets at times, but it could also be your path to safety and prosperity as the world goes fallow around you.

I highly recommend this book: The Home Doctor – Practical Medicine for Every Household – is a 304 page doctor written and approved guide on how to manage most health situations when help is not on the way.

If you want to see what happens when things go south, all you have to do is look at Venezuela: no electricity, no running water, no law, no antibiotics, no painkillers, no anesthetics, no insulin or other important things.

But if you want to find out how you can still manage in a situation like this, you must also look to Venezuela and learn the ingenious ways they developed to cope.

This book is a unique guide for the layman that you can use when help is not on the way or to manage common ailments that don’t require seeing a doctor.

Let me show you just some of the things you’ll find inside the Home Doctor:

Learn More…