UPDATED May 19th : The CDC’s Zombies Go Viral
# 5557
The CDC, HHS, FEMA, and other agencies and organizations that deal with disasters suggest people adopt an `all threats’ preparedness strategy, rather than preparing for a specific type of emergency.
And if you think about it, that makes sense.
If you are generally well prepared, then you are probably well equipped to deal with a hurricane, a pandemic, an earthquake, a terrorist incident, or – as the CDC’s Ali S. Khan tells us . . . even a Zombie Apocalypse.
While you might consider such an emergency unlikely, it only has to happen once to ruin your entire day.
Convincing people to prepare for a disaster while the sun is still shining, and there are other, more pleasant things to think about, has always been difficult. And reaching younger people – who generally view themselves as pretty much impervious to disaster – even more so.
While hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods may seem a remote possibility to busy and preoccupied 20-somethings, Zombie infestations are quite another matter entirely.
After all, it would be hard to find a horror movie plot device more utilized over the past 25 years than surviving a zombie apocalypse.
As a metaphor for the unthinkable disaster, zombies are hard to beat.
Which brings us to yesterday’s Public Health Matters Blog from the CDC.
Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse
There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for. Take a zombie apocalypse for example. That’s right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency.
It’s a good read; light and fun, but informative.
And with a catchy title, it might just capture the interest of some younger folks who don’t normally read – and take to heart – the CDC’s preparedness advice.
Nicely done.
And while I’m on the subject of the CDC’s Emergency Preparedness & Response outreach, check out their new Facebook page.
