Hagen: Being prepared for solar storms, zombies

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Updated: February 21, 2012 8:40AM

OK, what should we be afraid of now? We have completed the holiday season and, hopefully, were able to indulge in some holiday cheer with our friends and families.

Despite the season being stressful, especially for families in times of joblessness and economic hardship, you now want me to be concerned about solar flares? What?

Recent years have provided all of us with an abundance of disasters to think about, both real and potential. Images of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Haiti, floods in India, earthquakes around the world and, yes, even pandemics.

After a while, we fall victim to “disaster fatigue,” becoming numb to the dangers and consequences of disasters. It’s just so tiring to worry about everything all the time.

But there really is a need to be aware of space weather and how it can affect our electronics-focused, communication-driven world.

From now until mid-year, we are at the peak of the 11-year solar storm cycle. The sun’s routine but stronger solar storms can result in all sorts of problems for us on Earth.

Solar flares release particles and radiation that disrupt communications. Clouds of plasma and associated magnetic fields are also released, messing up our own magnetic field and energy grid.

Powerful electric currents are created in long wires, potentially destroying transformers and disrupting the transfer of electricity. Complex electronics can also be affected as well as our satellites in space.

In 1972, telephone service in Illinois was shut down due to a large solar flare, and in 1989 the entire Quebec power grid went down, affecting 6 million people on a cold winter night.

In October 2003, a large solar storm swamped the sensors of dozens of satellites in space and caused astronauts to hide deep within the International Space Station.

It is not that our sun has changed. It’s just that as a planet, we have become extremely dependent on energy, electronics and global communication.

So, what can we do about all this? Although a great deal has been done, both by the military and the private sector, to “harden” our power grid and make our communications systems more resilient, there is really no way to combat something as massive as the effects of a solar storm.

Should a disaster occur, we need to be prepared as individuals and as families to help ourselves for at least 72 hours. “Sheltering in place” is often the best choice rather than trying to get out of town or to another location.

Living in an urban/suburban environment means that when everyone tries to move, no one actually does. Local emergency management personnel, firefighters and police will help you make that decision.

There are three areas in which we all must act to be prepared to respond to a disaster — get a kit, make a plan and be prepared. You can visit http://emergency.cdc.gov/preparedness/ for checklists and details. Make kits for you and your family.

In an interesting twist, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided guidelines for preparing for a zombie attack, just to get more folks interested in preparing for disasters in general! Apparently, zombies grab more attention than a real-life natural disaster or pandemic.

Whatever it takes — tornados, snowstorms, solar storms or zombies on the loose — start your preparations now. You need to be ready!

James C. Hagen is regional director, North America, for the International Emergency Management Society and a professor at the Graham School of Management at St. Xavier University in Chicago.