Is Georgetown and Texas Ready for an EMP Event?

EMPs are bursts of energy that can be caused by a nuclear detonation or a major solar storm directed toward earth.

The WSJ details the threat to America's infrastructure, especially the electrical grid. They chronicle the history of the threat and the abject response of the U.S. government.

"But in April the Government Accountability Office released an alarming account of the bureaucratic dysfunction obstructing EMP mitigation. The GAO determined that although divisions within Homeland Security have been assigned specific tasks, departmental leaders have failed to ensure that this work is carried out. The two departments have not even identified the elements of the electrical infrastructure that most need protecting. Nor have the agencies coordinated strategies to address risks associated with EMPs, including research and development of equipment designed to mitigate damage."

The question for Georgetown is: Does the city have a Emergency Response Plan for the possibility that the City has no electricity for days, weeks or even several months and that the state of Texas has no electricity also?

"The consequences of inaction could be tremendous. In a 2012 article in Space Weather, Pete Riley of Predictive Science put the chances of a major solar storm in the next 10 years as high as 12%."

The City Council needs to task the city staff to develop a Emergency Response Plan to address the possibility of an EMP event.