Ohio Emergency Responders Stage Mock Zombie Invasion

destinyland writes "An Ohio Emergency Management Agency staged a mock zombie attack using more than 225 volunteers dressed as zombies at an Ohio college. 'Organizers hoped the theme would attract more volunteers than previous simulations of industrial accidents or train crashes,' the AP reports, quoting a spokesman for the agency as saying that 'People got zombie fever here in Delaware.' The exercise included decontamination procedures for hazardous materials, and was inspired by an 'emergency preparedness' post on the CDC web site citing the popular fascination with zombies. Now, 'Dozens of agencies have embraced the idea,' the AP reports, 'spreading the message that if you're prepared for a zombie attack, you're prepared for just about anything.'"

Re:Zombies in Ohio...

[RoFLKOPTr]

They do that as a safety precaution. If an actual zombie uprising happens to occur during the exercise, they need to be able to discern real zombies from fake ones, so they make the fake ones orange. It's standard emergency preparedness exercise protocol.

Re:I'd like to see the CDC freeway sign

[JustOK]

Never happen. For many families in these tough economic times, it's usually a choice between the two. The CDC knows this.

Re:What's the difference ....

[ScentCone]

Zombies don't defecate on police cars, or store propane, serve food (but not to poor people!) on property where they don't even have a permit to hold the large assemblies that any other group would be fined for holding.

Also, Zombies have a coherent, identifiable purpose beyond simply whining when the cameras show up, if they're not too busy enforcing their own "no-snitch" rules while having under-age girls and drugs in their tents.

Semi-auto carbine, not shotgun

[Anonymous Coward]

Umm, that should be a machete and a semi-automatic carbine (or rifle), not a shotgun. According to Max Brook's Zombie Survival Guide [wikipedia.org] the semi-automatic carbine is far preferable to a shotgun. Taking down a zombie requires destroying the brain, which means a carefully aimed shot to the upper head. While a shotgun might do the job, especially at point blank range, a semi-auto carbine (or rifle, if you can handle the additional weight and bulk) is the better choice. The semi-auto carbine allows more ammo to be carried for the same weight, higher rate of fire, larger magazine capacity, greater effective range for a head shot, and better chance of penetrating the skull case.

I see a glaring flaw in your logic....

[rts008]

I seriously doubt that more than a REALLY SMALL segment of the population are in good enough physical condition to wield a single machete effectively for more than a couple of minutes, nevermind dual machetes.

Try it yourself with some safe machete substitutes (bokken, perhaps) against a suitable practice dummy. (no, leave your little brother alone;-)

I used to study Kenjutsu, and then Kendo and competed in tournies when I was younger.
If your not in good shape, you don't last very long!

I would personally recommend a truck-load of hand grenades and Claymore mines....they are both easily 'field improvised'.