Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse
"Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse" is a
Inspiration
A week before the zombie apocalypse post, members of the CDC group responsible for preparedness of the public for
The blog post
The CDC's blog post included precautionary tips about zombies along with its usual tips for preparing an emergency kit, as well as emergency escape routes in case of an earthquake or hurricane. For example, after explaining how the public should be prepared "if zombies started appearing outside your doorstep", it continues: "You can also implement this plan if there is a flood, earthquake, or other emergency."[6]
Plan your evacuation route. When zombies are hungry they won't stop until they get food (i.e., brains), which means you need to get out of town fast! Plan where you would go and multiple routes you would take ahead of time so that the flesh eaters don't have a chance! This is also helpful when natural disasters strike and you have to take shelter fast.[6]
Some commentators noted that May 21, 2011, the date predicted by Harold Camping as the beginning of the end-times, was several days after the blog post, though there was no mention of this speculation in the post itself.[7]
CDC website crash
The blog post generated Internet traffic that eventually crashed the CDC website.[8] Usually, CDC blog posts get traffic between 1,000 and 3,000 hits per week.[9] 60,000 hits were reported by the evening of May 18.[8][9] The post, oriented at "a young, media-savvy demographic", was read by so many that "by Thursday, it was a trending topic on Twitter".[8] Initially the tweet with the tagline If you're ready for a zombie apocalypse, then you're ready for any emergency got 12,000 followers; overnight the number of followers increased to 1.2 million, or 100 times the initial number.[4] Mr. Daigle commented that the number of followers of the CDC's zombie apocalypse tweets was comparable to the number of followers of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton: "We were trending yesterday! Things like the Royal Wedding trend. Not the CDC."[4]
Robert Pestronk, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, agreed that "The 'Zombie Apocalypse' scenario [was] a great way of getting information out so people can understand the need for preparedness".[10]
Reaction
Daigle said people were visiting the CDC's blog and following CDC tweets because they were mostly interested in zombies and were asking what weapons the agency would recommend to fight zombies. Khan's response to this inquiry was, "remember, we're a public-health center, so we're not going to recommend weapons. We'll leave that to the law-enforcement folks."[11] Chris Good from The Atlantic saw the absence of weapons recommendations (albeit, tongue-in-cheek) as a "downside to the CDC's warning" and wrote: "If a zombie apocalypse does happen—and this is important—do not follow the CDC's guidelines as your only course of action. The CDC zombie plan includes no mention of shotguns, torches, hot-wiring cars, seeking high ground, traveling at night vs. day, or really any worthwhile strategy for keeping zombies out of your house. Parts of it are good, but it probably would serve the public better in the event of, for instance, a hurricane."[11]
Others were concerned about taxpayer money being used for the CDC's budget; the CDC assured the public there was no additional cost for their zombie apocalypse blog post.[12]
Bill Gentry with the
In February 2013, the government of the
Video contest
The CDC announced a contest for the most creative and effective videos covering preparedness for a zombie apocalypse or apocalypse of any kind. In this video contest, the CDC challenged contestants to upload videos to YouTube demonstrating how they are preparing for emergency situations such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and zombie attacks.[16]
Graphic novel
Author |
| |
---|---|---|
Illustrator | Bob Hobbs | |
Language | English | |
Genre | OCLC 854576760 | |
Text | Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic at CDC Stacks |
In October 2011, the CDC published a Zombie Pandemic graphic novella written and created by Maggie Silver, with help from fantasy artist Bob Hobbs (layouts, pencils and inks), Alissa Eckert (coloring) and Mark Conner (lettering, assembly).[17]
Analyzing results
This section needs to be updated.(January 2022) |
The CDC is planning to run a survey to find out how many of the blog's readers actually followed the tips and made recommended preparations for natural disasters, zombie attacks and other emergency situations.[11][12]
See also
References
- ^ Khan, Ali S. (May 16, 2011). "Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse". Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. Public Health Matters Blog. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c Miller, Joshua Rhett (October 24, 2015) [May 18, 2011]. "CDC Warns Public to Prepare for 'Zombie Apocalypse'". Fox News. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ "Difference between captures" – via the Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c d e f Bell, Melissa (May 20, 2011). "Zombie apocalypse a coup for CDC emergency team". The Washington Post. BlogPost. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ^ Derek Colanduno (October 25, 2011). "Centers for Zombie Control and Prevention". Skepticality (Podcast). Event occurs at 10:36. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Indiviglio, Daniel (May 20, 2011). "Apocalyptic Economics: Whether Zombies or Rapture, Be Prepared". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "US agency posts zombie apocalypse survival tips". ABC News (Australia). Agence France-Presse. May 20, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ a b c Marsh, Wendell (May 19, 2011). McCune, Greg (ed.). "CDC 'Zombie Apocalypse' disaster campaign crashes website". Reuters. Washington. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c "CDC's 'zombie apocalypse' advice an Internet hit". Atlanta: CBS. Associated Press. May 21, 2011. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Will Budget Cuts Leave Us Unprepared for Zombie Apocalypse?". ABC News. May 19, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ a b c Good, Chris (May 20, 2011). "Why Did the CDC Develop a Plan for a Zombie Apocalypse?". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ a b "CDC Offers Tips On How To Prepare For The 'Zombie Apocalypse'". New York: CBS. Associated Press/CBS New York. May 20, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ Banerjee, Sidhartha (February 12, 2013). "When zombies attack, Quebec will be ready". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ^ Simpson, Connor (February 13, 2013). "Canadian Parliament Prepares for Zombie Attacks After Undead War on America". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ^ "House of Commons Debates Official Record (Hansard)". Parliament of Canada. House of Commons of Canada. February 13, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ^ McKay, Betsy (May 20, 2011). "CDC's Zombie Apocalypse Juggernaut: Next Up, a Video Contest". The Wall Street Journal blog. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ^ "Zombie Preparedness Graphic Novel" (PDF). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
External links
- CDC Zombie Preparedness articles at the Wayback Machine (archived December 9, 2017)