One of the zombies for which the CDC provides a emergency preparedness plan. by jestevens

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.

That's how Ali S. Khan's post began on a Centers for Disease Control blog, which crashed yesterday because of so much traffic, according to Reuters. By yesterday afternoon "Zombie Apocalypse" was a trending topic on Twitter.

The CDC moved his post to their main site, where there's a link to some fabulous widgets and badges for downloading.

The author of the Zombie Apocalypse campaign blog post is Dr. Ali S. Khan, a physician and epidemiologist who is an assistant surgeon general with a sense of humor and a sense of how social media can be used to get people's attention about how to prepare for hurricanes. (Yes, hurricane season starts June 1, but those storms may pale in comparison to an invasion of zombies.) He's also head of the CDC's Public Health and Preparedness Center.

It turns out, quite conveniently, that the emergency supplies you need for a zombie invasion are the same for hurricanes, pandemics, tornadoes, earthquakes, and any number of other disasters. A short list from the website includes:

• Water (1 gallon per person per day)
• Food (stock up on non-perishable items that you eat regularly)
• Medications (this includes prescription and non-prescription meds)
• Tools and supplies (utility knife, duct tape, battery powered radio, etc.)
• Sanitation and hygiene (household bleach, soap, towels, etc.)
• Clothing and bedding (a change of clothes for each family member and blankets)
• Important documents (copies of your driver’s license, passport, and birth certificate to name a few)
• First Aid supplies (although you’re a goner if a zombie bites you, you can use these supplies to treat basic cuts and lacerations that you might get during a tornado or hurricane)

The post has much more useful information (besides a lot of clever advice about zombies), so I highly advise taking a look at it. The last part talks about the CDCs role in emergency preparedness, and begins with:

If zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak. CDC would provide technical assistance to cities, states, or international partners dealing with a zombie infestation.