Top Science News

First there was "Dawn of the Dead." Then there was "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (Quirk Books, 2009). Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are actuation on the decedent bandwagon.

Yes, that CDC. A place on the upbeat agency's journal titled "Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse" went viral this week, feat the blog's servers to temporarily crash. The journal ordinarily gets 1,000 to 3,000 hits per day, said bureau spokesperson Dave Daigle. Before the tender went down on Wednesday (May 18), the place had garnered 30,000 hits. As of weekday morning, 55,000 grouping had clicked on the post.

"We did not look this identify of reaction," Daigle told LiveScience.

Nor have Daigle and his bureau colleagues gone soured the unfathomable end. The decedent place is a tongue-in-check artefact to encourage actual disaster preparedness.

"If you're embattled for the decedent apocalypse, you're also embattled for hurricanes and flooding," Daigle said.

So what do you requirement in housing of an attack by decedent hordes, according to the bureau post? An crisis outfit stocked with 1 gallon of liquid per mortal per day, as well as non-perishable food, essential documents and first-aid supplies. You'll also poverty a plan: A locate for kinsfolk members to foregather in housing of emergencies and an evacuation route to cows you country of brain-craving zombies (or floodwaters, as the housing haw be).

Daigle said the decedent place has been a success, garnering media attention and communication for preparedness. The agency plans to do a follow-up assessment to see if the zombie-themed communication prompted grouping to verify state on real-life crisis plans. One thing the agency won't do, though, is declare the best artefact to decimate the decedent menace.

"We'll permit the accumulation enforcement folks attain recommendations about weapons and chainsaws and guns," Daigle said. "We don't have that in our plan."

You can study LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

• How To Make An Emergency Kit
• Mind Control: Gallery of Zombie Ants
• Top Ten Unexplained Phenomena

Source