I ran across this article on the Huffington Post site.

Accurate or not, I don't know, but he does mention a facet of such an incident that most people (even here at ETS) don't seem to consider, the domino effect of even a regional EMP event. I've notice that some people pooh-pooh the severity of the situation, saying that it wouldn't take long to get our power structure back up to par. Author Lawrence Joseph points out that it isn't just the massive transformer damage, but all the associated effects that such an event would cause.

"The Solar 'Katrina' Storm That Could Take Our Power Grid Out For Years"

"Electric power is modern society's cornerstone technology, the technology on which virtually all other infrastructures and services depend... Collateral effects of a longer-term outage [such as would almost certainly result from a massive space weather event] would likely include, for example, disruption of the transportation, communication, banking, and finance systems, and government services; the breakdown of the distribution of potable water owing to pump failure and the loss of perishable foods and medications because of lack of refrigeration. The resulting loss of services for a significant period of time in even one region of the country could affect the entire nation and have international impact as well," says the NAS report.

Anyway, I think it is an interesting read.

Sue