Two years ago, I wrote an article called Zombie Emergency Kit based on the CDC‘s Zombie Preparedness page. In the article, I go on in detail about what kind of items people should keep at their disposal in order to survive a zombie apocalypse. I thought for today’s Monday Mayhem feature, I would revisit the topic and add a few more points to the already long list of items.
Let me be clear about one thing: If there ever was a zombie apocalypse, I hope I’m dead and buried way before then. I don’t know about anyone else, but if I see a zombie roaming about my property, no amount of convincing will deter me from my main course of action—and that is to run.
Right, but what if you make it through the first wave of zombie attacks? What then? You’ll need to make do with what you have on hand. That’s where this list comes in handy.
Jack Flacco’s Zombie Emergency Kit
- Water, food, clothing and any other miscellaneous items—your neighbors will have many of these items available once they’ve turned into zombies
- The only item on the CDC list left untouched: first aid kit (whistle, antibiotic ointment, bandages, face masks, gloves and reference book)
- Multipurpose supplies (Louisville Slugger baseball bat, golf club, screwdriver, hammer, butcher knife, darts, picture frame wire, shards of glass)
- Real paper map(s) of the area
Having the supplies is one thing, knowing what to do with them is another.
Finding a place to hide for a few days at a time will be the key. If a one-gallon ration of water per day per person is doable, then hiding in a basement will be comfortable. Food can be hard to find, given much of the supply chain will no longer exist. But if you can muster canned goods from your now-undead neighbor, life will be good. You can live for months in the same neighborhood going from house to house living off supplies stashed in cupboards and pantries.
Getting your hands on a first aid kit will also be critical for survival. Zombies love the smell of blood. One nick from a razor could mean death. Make sure you have plenty of bandages and lots of antiseptic. You don’t know what germs will be floating around when the undead walk the earth. My rule of thumb is never to touch your face. Germs tend to live on surfaces for a long time, up to twenty-four hours. Best keeping your hands where you can see them. You never know when touching something can lead to unintended results.
Now comes the fun part. As a means of keeping your friends and family safe, you’ll need a few things. My personal choice, as it should be in any zombie survivor’s bag of tricks is the Louisville Slugger baseball bat. It’s portable, you don’t run out of bullets, and you can make a mess of things from a fair distance. A golf club will do the same thing, but I prefer baseball to golf. Again, that’s a personal choice. A screwdriver, hammer, butcher knife will take care of things as well, however you’ll have to get close to the undead to unleash your brand of justice. Suffice it say, there is no end to the creativity a zombie slayer possesses in the throes of an apocalypse.
Last thing on the list is sporting around a real paper map. Can you still find one these days? If you don’t know where you’re going, you certainly don’t know where you are. Having a paper map will help with finding supply stores that may still hold stock. However, should a good portion of the population have survived a change into zombiehood, it would be better to hunker down in some farm, grow your own food and live the life of a nomad.
In other words, and this is my final advice—stay out of the cities.
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What is your strategy for surviving a zombie apocalypse? What supplies would you look for when scavenging for good?
Looking to God 
Fun read and good piece of info should there ACTUALLY be a zombie apocalypse. (Also watching THE WALKING DEAD is pretty educational. 😉
hello jack flacco its dennis the vizsla dog hay do zombeez like to eet dogs??? shud i be worreed that i do not hav thums to hold a bat??? ok bye
Good call on the real paper map. It made me realise that paper copies would be invaluable should our power systems fail. Super post as always.
Lol I love this. I’ll have to come back to your page when I go to write my zombie book 🙂
Thanks for the comment. Much appreciated, Karly.
Reading all this I started to think it might be preferable to be a zombie. Failing that, a survival book by Ray Mears, one of those things to start a fire (tinderstick?), and then head for the top of a very pointy mountain where there’s only room for one person to stand up. Take a rake to poke anything off the top if it approaches too close.
Still sounds better becoming a zombie though.
..and don’t forget the sharp stick…a very sharp stick.
Or something like a harpoon, or – Daryl Dixon’s favorite, the crossbow.
If you’re going for something to knock the stuffing out of the zombie, I would go with a good old bo staff – longer reach. Baseball bat seems still too close to me, but will use if needed.
How effective would a sword or machete be, do you think ?
I would want at least a katana sword – again, length and distance. Broadsword would be too heavy – especially if when facing mobs of the undead. However, neither would mean anything if you don’t keep them sharp. 🙂
Great post. It’s pretty much the same as most any emergency which is why i loved the CDC’s take on the subject.
As I once said in another post on this similar subject, some of us are not going to have the option of leaving the city because of handicapped or disabled family members, so the people in my family are going to have to hunker down in one place and fortify that.
I do prefer bludgeoning objects, not just because they’re easier to use and require no reloading in the middle of a crisis but because they are much much quieter than guns.Noise attracts zombies.(I personally love the” walking staff”, myself and am pretty good with hitting live people with it, so it works out.).)
Now would you suggest a wooden or metal bat? Personally, I would think metal is better since it’s less likely to break on a zombie’s bones. I think you brought this up once, but what about a bike? This might be better for the solitary traveler, but you never see people using a pedal bike in a zombie apocalypse.
A chain saw with a steady supply of fuel or a weed whacker ? Unless the noise could attract other undead.
The noise would be an issue. I’m not sure about a weed whacker though. After looking at one and using it, I don’t think it would do much lethal damage. Maybe tear up the face and hands, but the bones would be an issue.
Yeah, zombies seem to rely on their sense of hearing & perhaps smell, because their sense of sight would be the 1st to degrade. Noise would be an issue.
I wonder how their sense of touch would be. I’d think the nerves would be shot.
The nerves would be pretty much out of the picture since the epidermis would be necrotic / dead.
Dead tissue, dead nerves. Makes sense, Zathra.
Wooden. Metal bats make too much noise. And if a wooden bat cracks, you can use it as a very sharp object to do even more damage.
As long as it doesn’t crack too low on the bat. Never realized how noisy a metal bat is, but it definitely does a ring if it strikes something really solid. Where you stand on hockey sticks?
Hockey sticks are awkward. Can’t carry them on your back. Can’t haul them through tight spaces (i.e. a vent, etc.). Can’t fight effectively in a corridor. Awkward. But, they make great weapons in an open field. You can clear a section of eaters in minutes.
Maybe a sawed off hockey stick then? I’m starting to realize that the ultimate zombie apocalypse zombie might be Casey Jones from the Ninja Turtles.
Num – chucks. Although they might be good for close up combat, one – on – one.
Good one, Zathra!
Piano wire for a garrote ?