It is midnight on 22 September 2012 and the skies above Manhattan are filled with a flickering curtain of colourful light. Few New Yorkers have seen the aurora this far south but their fascination is short-lived. Within a few seconds, electric bulbs dim and flicker, then become unusually bright for a fleeting moment. Then all the lights in the state go out. Within 90 seconds, the entire eastern half of the US is without power.

A year later and millions of Americans are dead and the nation’s infrastructure lies in tatters. The World Bank declares America a developing nation. Europe, Scandinavia, China and Japan are also struggling to recover from the same fateful event – a violent storm, 150 million kilometres away on the surface of the sun.

Rather catastrophic stuff for a New Scientist article! However the reason they are reporting it is because the threat is very real indeed. They are referring to the same NASA report I mentioned in early March, that highlights the current scenario – overloaded, out-dated power grids, and a sun that from time to time sends storms our way. Put the two together, and add in our extreme dependence on electricity, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Although it could happen at any time, the peak of the solar cycle offers up more opportunity, hence the 2012 date in the scenario quoted above.

Fortunately on a personal level, this is one disaster that you can survive by having a backup power supply, and plenty of food and water available. Folks in the countryside will have it easier, if they are prepared.

To me it is extraordinary that the USA isn’t doing everything in their power to upgrade their power grid today. Could they get caught out, due to lack of sensible preparation and precaution, like with Katrina??