We’ve seen it happen in hundreds of films. It’s been the setting of numerous TV shows. There are even novels, short stories, and comic books about the popular genre. But few believe it may actually happen in real life. For these non-believers, it may be too late for them if the zombie apocalypse actually came true. Preppers, meanwhile, have a better chance of surviving the rise of the undead just the fact that they have been preparing for disaster and other tragic scenarios such as a zombie apocalypse. Heck, if the Center for Disease Control (CDC) included zombie preparedness on its website, shouldn’t you be thinking about it, as well?
So the question now is of you know what to do to survive a zombie apocalypse if it happened right now? Here are some zombie outbreak survival tips I would take to heart. You should too.
Preparing for A Zombie Apocalypse
Stock Up On Supplies
Food and Water
If you’ve been watching The Walking Dead, you know that one of the main problems in a zombie apocalypse is the lack of food to eat and clean water to drink. This is entirely possible in any kind of disaster. We’ve seen or experienced it after hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other natural calamities. It’s pretty obvious then that food and water scarcity will be a huge issue once the undead start walking the earth.
In fact, it will be even more difficult during a zombie apocalypse. You have to be wary of zombies wanting to eat you every time you go out on a supply run or scavenger hunt. Then there are the people who thrive in such chaos like the Terminus cannibals and the Whisperers in the TV show. In other words, it may be more dangerous to look for food, water, and anything else you can use. That’s why should stock up as much as you could.
Make sure you have at least one gallon of water for each person per day. For food, you need to stock up on non-perishable ones such as canned goods, dried goods, grains, pasta, nuts, and a lot more.
First Aid Kit and Medicines
In the event of a zombie apocalypse, you shouldn’t expect hospitals and other medical institutions to still function. For one, the electrical grid will likely go down leaving these institutions helpless and useless.
Stock up on every kind of medicine you can think of, including prescription drugs and over-the-counter meds for pain, cold, flu, allergies, and diarrhea. You can’t afford to spend too much time in the toilet because of a bum stomach. Also, you can’t run if you’re caught with your trousers down. You need to be always on guard.
Your first aid kit should be complete with whatever you may need to treat different injuries such as wounds, broken bones, and head trauma. As for zombie bites, you can try to amputate the injured part, especially if it’s along the extremities. Rick Grimes did it to Herschel. In World War Z, Brad Pitt’s Gerry Lane did it to Segen, the female Israeli soldier. Both survived. In case it will work in a real-life zombie apocalypse, you better have the tools for amputation and a tourniquet to keep the stump from bleeding.
Hygiene Kit
Your hygiene kit is not limited to toiletries and other stuff you need to stay clean and healthy. Stock up on cleaning materials for the house such as bleach and laundry soap. Also, two words: toilet paper. Don’t waste precious water cleaning your bum.
Survival Gear and Other Supplies
This is where it gets really exciting. Anyone will surely be delighted to get new toys such as a multi-tool, pocket knives, and hatchets. Survival gear also includes items to make you comfortable in case you’re out in the open including a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad wool blanket, poncho, and a tarp, among others.
For communication, you’ll need two-way radios and a hand-crank or battery-operated radio. You should also invest in a power bank and extra charger for your phone. They may still be useful at the onset of a zombie apocalypse.
Other survival gear you should have in your kit include a paracord, duct tape, compass, emergency whistle, signal mirror, matches, lighters, fire starters, tinder, cook set, water container, and tons of other useful stuff.
Get Home Bag
You never know where you’ll be once the zombie apocalypse happens. If you’re at work or on the road, your immediate concern should be to get home to your family. A get home bag will surely come in handy in this situation. Of course, it can be dangerous to be out in the open with all the zombies around. You have to decide if you need to shelter wherever you are, to find a safer place, or to go ahead and look for your loved ones.
Devise A Plan
In dealing with any emergency situation, you should always have a plan and a backup plan. Designate a meeting place where everyone will gather or regroup in case of an emergency. This may be quite difficult in a zombie apocalypse, especially if your chosen place is compromised. You should have more than one option.
If you’re all at home, it may be best to stay put and just do some last-minute fortification and safety measures. Avoid rushing out with the rest of the terrified population. Chances are, these people will be stuck in a jam because everybody is trying to get out. They’re sitting ducks for the zombies.
Be ready in case the authorities order an evacuation. Your grab bags should be ready and your bug out vehicle filled with gas and more supplies. Determine different routes to your bug out shelter or the evacuation center. If the fastest route is filled with zombies or blocked by burning cars, you should know other ways to get to safety.
What to Do During A Zombie Outbreak
Don’t Panic
At the onset of a zombie apocalypse, everything will be chaotic. Don’t add to the confusion. Take a deep breath and clear your mind so you can make the right decisions.
Your safest move is to stay put and learn what you can about what’s happening, as mentioned above. Get updates by listening to the radio, watching TV, or going online. Wait for an official word from the government. Be ready to evacuate once the local authority instructs you to. It’s likely that power will go out in a zombie apocalypse, use a hand crank or battery-operated radio instead.
Do some last-minute prepping instead of bawling in a corner. It may be too late for panic buying unless the store is just beside you. Don’t risk going out unless it’s really needed or you’re pretty sure it’s safe.
Survey the Situation
The pen is mightier than the sword but you don’t actually go to war with just a pen or a pencil unless your name is John Wick. Never enter a situation unprepared. If a horde of zombies is approaching you, for example, don’t panic. Instead, clear your mind and assess the situation. Find a way to get out of your current predicament. The ones who survive to tell their tale are the ones who think and act fast.
Avoid Getting Infected (Obviously)
If we follow the premise of The Walking Dead, everybody is already infected by the virus or whatever it is that turns humans into flesh-eating zombies. You can only turn if you get bitten by someone who already turned or if you die from other causes, natural or otherwise. Simply put, the best way to avoid being zombified is to not get bitten and to not die.
Brain parasites could also be the cause behind a zombie apocalypse. Around half of the human population is infected with toxoplasmosa, a parasitic disease with symptoms such as muscle pain, tender lymph nodes, and flu-like illness lasting for weeks or months. It may seem simple enough but Toxoplasma gondii has the ability to take over the brain. Just ask the rats that have been mind-controlled by these evil fellas to let themselves be eaten by cats. Well, of course, you can’t ask them since they’ve already been eaten and don’t even know how to talk but you get the point. If these parasites managed to evolve into something deadly to humans, we could be looking at a zombie outbreak.
Another theory circulated by conspiracists is that the zombies in The Walking Dead were caused by drugs, particularly Blue Sky from Breaking Bad. While this is an interesting theory, there was an incident in Miami a few years back in which a drug-crazed man ate the face of a homeless person.
Other theories include radiation exposure, terrorist attack, neurogenesis, and neurotoxins. The latter actually happened in real life. In Haiti, a man who died in 1962 was discovered wandering around 18 years later. Turns out, voodoo priests injected the dead person with chemicals that allowed him to work on a sugar plantation.
It’s important to know what makes people turn into zombies so you’d know how to avoid joining their rank. Unless the true cause is determined, your best option is to stay away from them and stay alive.
Arm Yourself
You should already have a nice stash of weapons at home. You’re not trying to build an army, of course. You just need to have ways to protect your family from zombies and other evil personas. Invest in guns and ammunition. Bladed and blunt weapons will also do wonders, especially against to mindless corpses.
Have everyone in the family go through training in using the different kinds of weapons you have. They should also know self-defense tactics and martial arts.
Fortify Your Shelter
Even without the zombie apocalypse, you should be making your home zombie-proof, fireproof, flood-proof, intruder-proof, or whatever-proof you can think of. In case of a zombie outbreak, keep the walkers from wandering into your home by boarding up the windows and securing the doors with additional locks. Strengthen your fence and gate if you have them. For those in apartment buildings, block the stairways so zombies can’t get up. Of course, you should devise a way that you can still get out if the need arises.
Avoid Crowded Places
The more people gathered in a place prior to the outbreak, the more zombies there will be. It’s not safe to go to Wal-Mart and other crowded establishments. The idea is actually tempting since you’ll need as many supplies as you can gather. If you have to make a supply run, make sure you and your group are fully prepared for surprises.
Go Up
Zombies seem to have a hard time going up. In most zombie flicks, these mindless creatures can’t climb ladders, fences, and other high structures. If our home or shelter is compromised, you should go somewhere zombies can’t reach you. Build a camp on the hill or mountain. It would be better if there was a body of water nearby.
Erect fences and dig a trench around your camp to further keep the undead away. This will also keep marauders at bay.
Double Tap
We’ll borrow this one from Zombieland. Make sure the zombie is dead before going on your way. Don’t hesitate to kill the undead, even if you know them personally. They’re no longer the people you knew so kill them or be killed.
Ammunition will soon run out. Make sure your first shot is a kill shot. Better yet, conserve your bullets for when they’re really needed. If you can make do with a bladed or blunt weapon, do so.
We can go on and on talking about what to do if the zombie apocalypse actually happened. If you know something that we don’t, please share away. Every piece of information counts when zombies are out to get you. Visit The Gentleman Pirate if you wish to read more about the zombie apocalypse and other dreadful situations.
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