Community Corner

Zombie Apocalypse? Centers for Disease Control Can Help

CDC tells how to prepare for zombie takeover and offers advice on natural disaster preparedness.

This will be the last story about a possible rapture, we promise.

But we thought it worth mentioning that even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out some tips in case of an apocalypse. A zombie apocalypse, that is.

Each year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is faced with the task of getting the word out about how to prepare for natural disasters, like hurricanes and tornadoes.

Find out what's happening in Toms Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This year, CDC is getting a little help spreading the word from the undead.

In a blog post by Assistant Surgeon General Ali Khan, readers are told that if zombies did start roaming the streets – like in a scene from Night of the Living Dead – CDC would conduct an investigation like it would for any other disease outbreak.

Find out what's happening in Toms Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Not only would scientists be working to identify the cause and cure of the zombie outbreak, but CDC and other federal agencies would send medical teams and first responders to help those in affected areas (I will be volunteering the young nameless disease detectives for the field work),” Khan wrote.

The CDC communications staff came up with the idea for a zombie campaign, after a staff member noticed an upsurge in Twitter traffic when zombies were mentioned during a Twitter session on Japan and radiation, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But the real purpose of the campaign is to get people thinking about what they should do in a natural disaster.

The CDC advises that each home have an emergency kit that includes: one gallon of water per person, food, medications, tools and supplies, sanitation annd hygiene items, clothing and bedding, important documents and first aid supplies.

The CDC also suggests people consider what types of emergencies might occur where they live, pick a meeting place for your family to regroup, make a list of emergency contacts, and plan an evacuation route.

So, we know this national agency will launch into action should anything happen Saturday.

But what about local agencies?

We asked Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy if Toms River police had any specific preparations for Saturday, in case Harold Camping's prediction came true.

"We're prepared for anything, all the time," he said. "We're prepared to handle anything."

As far as evacuation routes, Toms River's Coastal Evacuation Routes are the highways of Routes 9, 571, 549 and 37.

Check out the CDC blog on zombies and natural preparedness online.


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