A 10-year-old CDC article on surviving a zombie apocalypse keeps going viral for obvious reasons

An article from ten years ago, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offering advice to teachers on how to educate pupils about a zombie pandemic, is being repeatedly reshared by major news outlets.

It follows a prediction by the sixteenth century reputed seer Nostradamus that 2021 will be the year of the zombie apocalypse - as if a global pandemic wasn’t enough.

It’s based on the following passage, that the French philosopher supposedly wrote, which says: “Few young people: half−dead to give a start. Dead through spite, he will cause the others to shine, And in an exalted place some great evils to occur: Sad concepts will come to harm each one, Temporal dignified, the Mass to succeed.”

Sounds a bit dubious right? Well, nevertheless, the CDC, who have gained more attention in the past 12 months because of the Covid-19 pandemic has a Zombie Preparedness guide, which does contain some useful information.

The CDC’s Zombie Preparedness guide will ensure you are ready to face the end of the world Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

It states: “You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy your read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency”.

It advises people to “Get A Kit. Make A Plan. Be Prepared” - which means having three days worth of emergency food, water and first aid at home.

It also suggests having backup power sources, medical records to hand and extra prescription medication.

Specifically, it suggests having the following items in your kit:

• 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)

Then, it advises that you should sit down with your family and come up with an emergency plan, including picking a meeting place for your family to regroup in case you get separated and can’t return to or stay in your home. 

You should also identify your emergency contacts.

A fourth recommendation from the CDC is to plan your evacuation route.

It states: “When zombies are hungry they won’t stop until they get food (i.e., brains), which means you need to get out of town fast! Plan where you would go and multiple routes you would take ahead of time so that the flesh eaters don’t have a chance! This is also helpful when natural disasters strike and you have to take shelter fast.”

As a bonus, much of the advice applies to nearly any type of emergency, such as a flood, hurricane, tornado, or an earthquake.

In the past few days, the article has been republished by major news outlets includingYahoo News, Newsweek, Forbes and Fox News.

Obviously, the CDC does say that its website began as a tongue-in-cheek campaign - but then Nostradamus has correctly predicted world events before...so the zombies could be on their way.

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