Zombie Scenario: Is Your Home Ready?
Let’s face it. Nobody knows where or when the attack will come. All we know is that one day we will all have to face off against the undead. The best way to prepare is to consider as many scenarios as possible. This month’s scenario is simple: your home.
This scenario involves your home and those in it. For this discussion, you find yourself asleep in bed. It is the middle of the night. Odd sounds can be heard from outside the house. Sounds you immediately recognize as the moans of the undead. As you get out of bed, your mind is racing as to what to do. Sirens can be heard in the distance. You look out of the nearest window and can see several of the undead, but are not sure as to how large the threat is. Do you go mobile? Is your home ready for a long-term stand-off? Are there others you need to worry about inside your home? Are you in an upstairs apartment or ranch style home surrounded by woods? This scenario should really help get the wheels turning in regards to how prepared your home is in addition to how quickly you could put your plan into action, especially in the middle of the night.
What do you do next?
“Zombie Scenario” is meant as a learning and discussion exercise used as a tool for getting your mind thinking about the outbreak. It should prove helpful to think about a specific scenario and have others review your potential plan. If you have a scenario you would like to see discussed, contact us.
Stay safe. Stay informed. Stay alive.
Comments (48)
3ID on 28 Mar 2009 at 11:51 am #
my home is not ideal for zombies it flat out sucks way to many windows and entrances to get me it has advantages like many exits my ammo for my weapons is in my room ready to throw in to my kit also my personal hygiene is ready to go i always sleep with my load sig p220 (.45) next to my bed with for mags that can last me till i get my weapons in order. first i would be on my phone to friends so i can get them going and we can make a stand probably at kains place his is a lot more defensible than my is or it would just be a meeting place
i have practiced getting my gear together i can do it pretty quick i can always come back for other things if need like my xbox or lapto that kind of stuff creature comforts besides zombies don’t loot and the people that do aren’t going to last long any way so it does not matter to me
if the zombies are already in i can at least handle them trap them up stairs and seek out the basement like i said lots of exits hell i could just turn on the radio real load and make my escape in the chaos that ensues but no my house is not the best place for a zombie hold out
immanentized5 on 28 Mar 2009 at 12:39 pm #
I think it’s apparent that unless you already live in a bunker, on a military base, or in some other specially fortified area then most houses or apartment complexes are extremely poor choices for sustained zombie defense. The exception seems to be isolated houses in the countryside with independent sources of water and plenty of room to store food that survivors would have ample time to rig an increasingly hardened series of fortifications and defense mechanisms.
So if you’re in the same boat as the rest of us, living in a city or suburb, it seems that your best chance of survival in the above scenario (surprised by the outbreak with little time to prepare beyond your preexisting measures) is a quick, immediate plan that allows you and your loved ones to become mobile and get the hell out of dodge.
I’ll skip the debate on weapons other than mentioning that if you’re limited to the amount of firepower and ammunition one person can carry, you’re already talking about a mobile defense where you rely on looting to sustain your offensive capabilities. The same applies for food, water, and fuel. In that case, a clear plan of exiting your home, gaining access to a vehicle, and knowing several routes to exit the area of outbreak as quickly as possible provides the best chance of avoiding attack or surviving detection. I’d go one further and suggest that the vehicle be stocked ahead of time, minimizing the time spent searching for that trusty bag of tricks in the dark while fighting off the undead.
The major failing of that plan, of course, is the vulnerability of the vehicle, but I’d argue that if the vehicle and your method of escape are compromised you’re verging on truly screwed anyway, in which case your wits, area knowledge, and ability to scavenge quickly and effectively will be more use than stores of supplies or how many boards you can slap onto windows during a full fledged outbreak.
I think a garage with a relatively secure or protected exit would be optimal.
DeadFrontier(zombie killaz) on 28 Mar 2009 at 8:05 pm #
Well lets just say this
In about 9 months i will be living in my car soo lets just say i will be sleeping with a pistol next to me at nite soo that if i hear the moaning of the undead that i can just wake up shoot and then run the b*%! over with my car lol…anyways
Angryvikingman on 28 Mar 2009 at 11:05 pm #
First thing I would do would be arm myself. Probably the shotgun. Dont want rounds penetrating the walls and harming my family or people in the next apartment if zombies are inside the house. Exterminate any zombies with extreme prejudice. Then, I’d get my knife and go cut the carpet and padding away from in front of the front door, and affix a piece of 2×4 to the floor far enough away so that the door could fully open. Then I’d lay a few of my closet shelves (trimmed to fit) between the door and the block of wood, essentially blocking the door. I would also fasion a horizontal door bar to place about a foot down from the top of the door about where the top hinge is. It has a deadbolt and door chain too, but thats not really going to keep out anyone who’s smart enouch to carry steel 12 gauge breeching rounds. Just removing the deadbolt and handle wont get them inside. And with the door blocked in that manner they’d have to take out the entire door jam or blow the hinges to gain entrance. I live on the second floor, so I dont have to really worry about window breaches from zombies. I have only four windows, and three of them can be covered from the end of my main hallway. The fourth can be covered by my wife, son, or roommate. Seeing as I have a good deal of tools and the knowledge to use them, I would remove closet doors and use them to cover the windows. Take off the door knobs first, of course. Now that my house is sealed, I’d wash out, then fill up both of my bath tubs, the back tanks on the toilets, and every bottle or container I can find. I store a few gallons of distilled water in my closet, so I’ll have more fillable containers when I drink that water. If you want to, you can buy an air dehumidfier, and as long as you have power you will have clean water. So, on to food. I keep a decent supply of dry goods. Boxed meals, canned food, powdered drinks(buy the large gatorade cans at walmart they have electrolytes and other good stuff in them.) and other stuff. You can buy MREs or cabelas has stuff from mountain house(I think thats what its called) but it has a 10 year shelf life and isnt really that expensive. Powdered eggs, potatoes, milk, rice, beans, and other things also have really long expiration dates. I dont have a lot of this stuff on hand at that moment (the powdered/dried things) but I do have a lot of canned stuff. Now that you’ve taken stock of all of your food and filled your containers with water, look outside, carefully, and try to judge whether or not you can make it anywhere. A good idea is to research on the net what kind of calorie and liquid intake you need for a day and ration your food to make it last as long as possible. Before you start to panic, remember, you can go three weeks without food and three days without water or sleep. I’ve tried the no sleep thing, and after the first 24 hours awake, its not so bad, just stay busy. If you need to go to sleep and you are alone, then find a place that no one will probably look for you. Attics, crawl spaces, hell even in your closets. At least you’ll know that no one will sneak up on you from behind in there. If you can, try and wait it out. Maybe the army or civil authorities will sort out the problem, unless they make it worse. Before all of your food runs out and if you cant really see anyone/thing outside, then maybe you should try to scavenge. Get essentials. Things that are easy to prepare, or canned goods. odds are that all of the fresh produce and meats have gone bad. If the power is still on to where ever you find food, then maybe get some frozen foods. If you need to make a fire to cook, then steal a neighbors grill, or line a cardboard box with several layers of aluminum foil and make a small fire inside of it. Water soaked sticks make decent racks to hold pans or food. It works, we used to do it in boyscouts all the time. If you can, use a fire pit. the box is a last resort. Another boyscout/army survival trick is hunting. If you have no water, or cant find any, then animal blood is an alternative. It has vitamins and minerals. ALL of the internal organs can be eaten with the exception of the Gall bladder. Wash out any intestines and use them as water skins. Or you can eat them, just wash them out very well. Expose your self to the sun and the eyes of others as little as possible. They both can kill you. If you are inside during the summer with no A/C, then cover the windows with foil and a dark blanket or sheet. It eliminates radiant heat energy. Now, if you want a fan or something, you can try to rig something up or you can by small solar panels(before z-day of course). Some solar kits come with AC/DC power inverter/converters and power strips so that you can plug things in. You cant run an A/C unit, but a fan or battery charger is definately do-able. There are also commercially available person powered battery chargers. Look for old mil-surp crank chargers and the like. Or you can try to make some Baghdad batteries, watch mythbusters for that one. IF you are a handy bastard, then maybe you can make that hand crank charger into a wind powered charger using geared reductions and an old box fan. Also, water can be gathered with plastic sheets, garbage bags, or even an old poncho. Just collect dew, or rain water. BTW, don’t eat snow. Melt it first. If you think that the water may be contaminated, then boil it first, or use iodine, about 1-2 tbsp a gallon ought to do it. Iodine can also be taken to stave off radiation sickness. Sip it over a few hours. If you dont begin to vomit profusely after an hour or two, then you just might live. As far as food, water, power and survival, I think that I’ve got you covered. The rest is just old fashioned brains and luck. Try not to get eaten. I know this wasnt too on topic, but it is some stuff to think about.
McLuvin on 29 Mar 2009 at 12:36 am #
Second Floor apartment with steel door, large balcony, and in a semi rural area.
Always keep several cases of bottled water and ramen on hand.
Enough guns and ammo inside to make even a maggot infested zombie brain think twice about knocking on my door.
Ryan on 29 Mar 2009 at 6:51 am #
I would probably be fucked… unless it was actually in the middle of the night when I am usually awake. I stay in the upstars part of my house most of the time and its just 2 rooms a bathroom and a narrow hallway just barely wide enough for me to walk in (stairs are easy to throw stuff down though be it zombie or shoe due to the location). There are only 2 windows up here and I am rarely downstairs, it is also hard to hear much outside so I most likely wouldn’t know until the zed was already inside which only leaves me a handfull of options. My first and most likely reaction would be to run downstairs and make sure everyone else was still capable of thought then get them awake, subdue the zed and then get them to take all the doors down and put them over windows vertically (we dont have the lip thing on most of the windows, horizontal on the ones that do). Then I would have them barricade only the front door as we would need supplies fron just outside the back (which is an easily defended area of the house as it is a door with about 5 feet of space before it opens into the kitchen) which I would immediately begin carrying into the house so that we could block off the back as well, from there wing it. This of course is assuming the house wasnt completely overrun to the point where window jumping was involved. IF that were to happen I would try to keep the zeds away from me until its reasonably safe to get the truck keys or we caught a ride with someone. Of course in order to choose the best option I would need about 10 seconds of advanced warning which I would easily have if it were a window jumping situation, and if it weren’t it would take me about 10 seconds to arm myself and get to where the zed is. Though if I were fully asleep I would probably die because I would only have about 3 seconds of warning before something burst through my bedroom door (squeaky floorboards are your best friend) and attempted to, and most likely suceed, kill me.
So where does this leave me? Most likely in a pool of blood waiting to sink into death only to become a zombie as I fail at any form of combat due to lack of practice for years. Then again just my horrible luck I would wind up immune to zombification or my body would wind up coexisting with it while I still retain my conciousness… which would really suck as one can only imagine what kind of pain it would cause both mentally and physically. Any of you who have ever found yourself on the brink of insanity know exactly what I mean by mental pain, and I don’t mean the I think I am going insane thought that everyone gets from time to time, I mean the kind where people are threatening to throw you in the nut house.
I Just read over this whole thing and found out that not even I care about my own opinion due to the ammount of rambling I do so feel free to have the same thought.
Etienne on 29 Mar 2009 at 10:36 am #
The only time that i’d take notice of the zeds is when i go out to school, mostly because i have a 6 feet tall wall up front and another 12 feet wall behind and at the sides of my house.
First thing i would do is probably run back inside and try to clear my mind, then gather all the food and water in 1 room and place noise-making booby traps outside and keep my dog indoors.
Then i would fill every single container with water and (if power is cut off) consume all of the things that will probably rot.
then i would call my dad and ask him how he’s doing (he lives in a different house).
As for looting and gathering supplies, it would probably be difficult because most (if not all) houses nearby have tall fences.
also,windows wouldn’t pose much of a threat as they have something like a steel grill.
Whatever.. on 29 Mar 2009 at 1:25 pm #
I would put my cloths fast.
Check the situation of the town from the home-roof using binoculars.
Sneak to the car and drive fast.
I have an access to the closest Military base, so I would Drive there with my car (Special recognize Military Badge on car) If the way to the gates is clear then everything seems safe for me for that time.
I know how to use guns and I’am trained as I used to be an ex-sergeant.
all that plan’s working assuming the outbreak’s on early stage.
And as the city is small , the chances I will come up with a really bad outbreak situation with hunderds of zombies destroying the city is almost none
since I will learn it via my military friends that guard the city and always watch the latest city news. That means my phone would ring on deep night.
To end with, the defense of my house is only its height from the ground (high floor) and a really strong security door. Windows are safe. I would grab my survival-stuff-bag I got in my room and right on my plan.
Sevandor on 29 Mar 2009 at 5:45 pm #
First off, my house id impnitrabe exxept through two windows in the front of my house. I would baricade them, one id6 feet off the ground, do i worlkd flip over a table and put wight behind the table, and the other is fright beside 2 heave bookcades trhast is would use to block the window. then i would add wight behind those. I also have alot of food stockpiled. I would then get my survival kit, knives, axes, spears (yes I hava all of these), i would load tem in my car, and see how many of my nightbours I can find/save. i would then get them to the rcmp (canada’s national police force/a paramilitary organization) head quarters, as i have family that workd there, and i would get lots of guns….then i would hold out there as it is a large fortified military complex with baricades and everything
Sharpshooter on 29 Mar 2009 at 8:34 pm #
Well i have Insomnia so i guess i have that going for me. I always watch the news anyways and it’s all local so I would know when possible infection starts showing up. I’ve got lots of bottled water as i live in an area where i get stuck inside a lot and can’t leave due to weather and other such things. My dad also gave me a few cases of MRE’s when i left home to set out on my own just incase of blizzards or floods. I’m set ration, food, and weapon but it’s a horrible location for defence. 2 exits. One is the front door and the other is a balcony but im on the second floor and living by myself. Could hold out for a while but without a few more people i’m totaly screwed
death31313 on 29 Mar 2009 at 10:30 pm #
honestly my house is the ideal place to start becaus that is where all my tactical gear is but due to the lack of large amounts of suplys such as food and water in my house it would not be ideal for a long term defence. as luck would have it though there is a conviniance store right across the street and i have more bullets than there are people in my town (which is about 500 people) so even if they all where infected i would be able to handle myself long enough to get across the street.
Sharpshooter on 30 Mar 2009 at 10:41 am #
@ death31313
sounds like we are two peas in a pod mate. youve got easily defendable location. ive got food, water, and weapons :D also go a huge Ford F-150 long bed truck to haul shit around with.
But yeah seriously weapons are easy to come across youd be surprised. maybe not like finding guns and shit like that but a shovel or bat is the next best thing mate make due with what you got. water and food though…. those are going to be a pain in the ass to come across afterwords unless you go raider-status and go kill other people for their stuff. If you live in an area that has strong possiblities of natural disasters then stock up in the off-season of whatever your natural disaster is. it wont look strange because the easy excuse of “well i dont want to be stuck without supplies” maybe go to a wal-mart or something? just an idea. although dont wait till the begining reports of infection to go out and stock up.
ZimTzu on 30 Mar 2009 at 11:40 am #
I would be in a problematic situation. Between 9pm and 1am I’m usually sleeping, so the only alarm would be my mother panicking. Between 7am and 14pm I’m also sleeping, but at that time I’m alone, so the only alarm would be the pain from zed teeth sinking into my meat.
Between 1am and 7am would be a different game. I’m awake at that time, so I’d hear the moans. I live in a relatively safe apartment, so the only entry point would be the front door, which is steel reinforced. The window to the south is three floors up, so it’s pretty safe. To the north, it’s street level, but there’s a moat like thing between the buildings door and the street, and the balcony would make a good place to shoot some zedheads from.
Supplies and weaponry would be a problem. We don’t have much food, and we only stockpile enough water for a week or so. Firearms are illegal in this country, so all we have is a machete and homemade explosives.
We have no vehicles, and the surrounding area is woods and hills as for some miles. To go mobile I would have to leave my mother to the zombies. And then my options would still be limited. This town would be crap for scavenging, as most people would be zombified in an instant and the current economic situation means there’s not much to loot anyway. The surrounding countryside is poor in animal life, and the vegetation is not edible, just pine trees. I could steal a car, but I don’t know how to drive, so really, my biggest hope would be to find a group of survivors that considered my skills worthy enough to let me tag along.
Cross on 01 Apr 2009 at 12:25 am #
Well, I’m usually awake at that hour anyways so chances are it wouldn’t be too much of a rude awakening. I would probably be in my room and my dogs that stay inside the house at night usually can hear people/things outside long before I do. They would bark and at that point I would have my lovely 12 gauge at hand (spas-12 military shotgun) and my Colt .45 at my side. My brother, who’s room is down the hall, would more than likely be prepared before I would and would be armed with his various firearms. Also my girlfriend is usually over and she knows how to shoot as well. At this point, it would be a smart thing to notice that my house is a wide open flat and the only advantage we would have right off would be the fact that there is a 8 foot vine covered fence all around the property.
This would hopefully give us the time to make our way to the garage. The garage is by far the best part of the house for this type of thing. It is sunken about 7 feet below and has very small window which are near impossible to get through. Also it only has one door and that is the one that connect it to the house, it is a heavy steel door that could be easily rigged to not open. Also, one of the biggest advantage of the garage is the gun safes that are kept out there and the shelves which are filled with lots and lots of ammunition. Also there are about 3 months worth of M.R.E.’s and barrels of fresh water so resources wouldn’t be too much of an issue (at least for three months). Out there are are extra cell phones and short wave radios (batteries and crank) also some CB radios so we would at least attempt to try and contact that outside world. Also roof access through a very heavy steal hatch on the roof makes it possible to get up top and look around and/or try and gain attention for help.
Now, of course no plan is perfect (I like it so far), without an escape plan. I have several, of course both are fairly dangerous but hey it’s the apocalypse right. My first escape plan has to do with my truck. This 1996 ford f-350 was built for the department of power as a heavy-duty service truck, this means it has many heavy duty parts (transmission, suspension, oil pump). This beast of a truck has a 7.3 liter diesel and a five speed manual transmission so it will run strong and long and little maintenance is required plus I could siphon fuel out of almost any big rig that is either abandoned or the driver would be nice enough to share (if if not I could “convince” them some).
Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that but it’s nice to know that there is a backup plan in case it’s needed. I feel confident in the people I would be with (brother and girlfriend) because my brother is a national guard so he has some idea of what he’s doing and my girlfriend is a very good shot and is great under pressure. The only people I would have to watch out for would be my dogs and they mind very well. But on top of this all even though I would be prepared I would hate to see my house go to shambles like that.
-Cross
Suzuki St. Pierre on 01 Apr 2009 at 6:25 am #
I’d just hope into my my double decker safe-room… its pretty pimp.. before I moved into this place the previous owners said that they had this put into the house… the safe room is 2 levels about 600 sq feet. so we can store alot of things.. it also has 2 sinks and a toilet.. plus it has a 30 litre supply of water that replenishes itself every 1 month.. also it has multiple commuication devices.. the best thing about this safe room is that it has a very small deck w/ glass made of lexan so your not very claustrphobic in it.. i’ve spend some time in it w/ my wife in it and was a very satisfactory experience…
Angryvikingman on 01 Apr 2009 at 7:13 am #
Why would you have barrels of water? Hope you change it out every once in a while. Water does tend to get stagnate and go bad. Unless its distilled water, but you’d have to sanitize and dry the containers before putting the water into them, or the whole distilling process was for naught. A large tank with an agitator would we a good idea. as long as the water stays moving, then it doesnt get stagnate, but if the power goes out…. Well, there’s always solar power. If I can ever afford to buy some land , and if it has a small creek/stream I’m going to set up a gravity driven hydroelectric system, and maybe even use some solar power. I’d love to live completely off the grid if at all possible. I’d only have to work to pay for the house, satellite, and phone bill. Hopefully my cell would work out in the middle of nowhere. Put up a nice double wall around the house and put up signs that say “If you can read this, you are in range.”
Marius on 02 Apr 2009 at 8:04 am #
Well it would depend on when things go off. I work afternoon/night shift at work (17:00- 01:00) so if it happened then I’d be at work, other than that I’m at home and I usually sleep during the day, when my folks are up (I support them and since one house is cheaper than two, they live with me), then I’d prolly be woken up by them freaking out. Other wise, I’d prolly be up and find out the hard way. Thankfully I’m a bit of a paranoid bugger, as I grew up in Cali, so I tend to sleep with a knife near my bed. I’d prolly be a little boned as I’ve got 4 exposed windows around the house, and 3 slim windows but thankfully those are mostly covered by a hedge. First thing I’d do is try to clear out around my house, thankfully my Dad’s licensed as a gunsmith, so we’ve got some firearms around, and well I’ve got some blades in the house and garage. After clearing the house area, I’d prolly pop up to the attic, and hide out up there, until I was able to get ahold of one of my friends. She’s got access to an upgraded hummer. After that, definately go mobile until we could get someplace fairly safe.
Jason on 06 Apr 2009 at 8:48 pm #
I would jump out of bed and grab the .45 from from closet and check all the doors and windows down stairs. I live with my cousin in a 2 story house. I would check outside to see if there were any of the infected close by or in my back yard. I would then go into my garage that is connected to my house and get ply wood and 2x4s and board up all windows and doors except for 2 (with my cousin’s help of course) I would then gather all weapons and supplies and put them in a room. I would try to wait out the worst part of the attack. After about a week, we would go into town looking for supplies and survivors (provided there aren’t too many infected) and find a new stronghold.
EvAngel on 07 Apr 2009 at 3:49 pm #
It would be best for the outbreak to occur when I’m at home. To me, it’s the safest place I could be. I live with my cousin in a two story farm house at least 10 miles away from a highway that’s 15 minutes away from the majority of civilization. There is a big forest and swamp behind us and to the front are large, open fields. So spotting the undead that are coming from the highway wouldn’t be an issue.
If undead actually made it to the house while I was asleep, I’d be okay myself as long as they weren’t inside my bedroom. Being the paranoid person I am, I have three knives and two guns in my room by itself. First, I would eliminate the immediate threat and go wake up my cousin if she hadn’t had gotten up already. After that, we’d arm ourselves. We have guns all over the house, being that we both love to hunt. There’s a gun safe with a shotgun, a rifle, and two pistols in it. The kitchen has plenty of sharp knives and the shed had a lot of useful tools and a shotgun. I also have a collectors katana in the billiards room.
Or first priority would be to board up the front door and demolish the stairs that lead up to the back porch (if the stairs to the porch are gone, there would be no other way up to it unless the zombies could climb)
The windows would be pretty secure for now being that they are at least eight feet off the ground so that leaves us to barricading the garage door and hauling supplies upstairs. Even though the windows are high off the ground, I would still board them up to keep light out.
I guess that’s my survival plan o.o
another mike on 07 Apr 2009 at 11:49 pm #
I just had the opportunity to test part of my defense plan. My apartment was cased.
I heard a diesel idling in the alley, suspicious enough on its own. But when I went to look, there was someone’s (human, thankfully) head and hands up over the wall, kilroy-style, looking into my yard. He dropped down and he, and another individual that came around from the front of the building, got into the truck and drove off.
At this point I’m thinking, “OK, this is not a drill.” I called in the vehicle to the police, rearranged the backyard furniture, and turned on the back porch light. Then I spent the rest of the night in the alcove at the head of the stairs with a bow and a quiver of broadheads and my favorite melee tool tucked into my belt.
My boss was very understanding when I dragged in the next morning looking like I hadn’t gotten any sleep. He even recommended investing in firearms. I prefer my bows, those don’t wake the neighbors.
/be prepared
Angryvikingman on 08 Apr 2009 at 7:05 am #
Buy a supressor. LOL! One of my best and favorite investments.
frustrated boy on 08 Apr 2009 at 2:42 pm #
this scenario is one i play in my head a lot. what is different for me is that im 14 and therefore cant get access to guns or any quality swords. i am hopeless at archery, so that is out. my scenario involves simply, if zombies are already at my door, breaking through the ceiling with my medium-sized crowbar i keep by my bed and yelling for my family to follow me. i would unfortunately have to explain the situation to them,as they are all uneducated on the subject of zombies. then i would make my way to the bathroom ceiling and break through that and drop in, as the bathroom is the only room we have with only one small window that is only barely within arms reach, and one sturdy door. there i could fill the bathtub and sink for water, but i would have to break through the kitchen ceiling for food. that would be the most difficult part. then, with sufficient food and water in my familie’s backpacking backpacks, we could scavenge from house to house until we made it to the city limits, but i would not know what to do from there. perhaps we could find a defensible structure somewhere in a less-populated or high-crime zone, where there would be more razor wire and tall fences than my middle-class neighborhood has.
vampedkitty on 12 Apr 2009 at 5:31 pm #
My home is a starter home, a back door and front door, no basement, and windows that require a crank, that neither of us have access to.
With that in mind, are these the fast new age DotD zombies or old school NotLD or — the mutated L4D/ Resident Evil zombies. Anything other than the slow ones and we’d probably be screwed. My only true mortal hope, other than a group of survivors saving us and taking us to their well developed fort, would be that the out break started in California. I live in Indiana, so that would give me a day or two to fully prepare.
Sharpshooter on 29 Apr 2009 at 12:55 pm #
ok so what about chemical warfare? easy enough to make some chlorine gas (no im ot going to say how simply for national security. those of you who already know how youll know what im talking about) or maybe make some mustard gas? knock the zombies out with the chlorine gas, then release the mustard gas and have it eat away and burn their skin.
Angryvikingman on 03 May 2009 at 10:18 am #
Like no one who’s ever pee’d in a toilet after their mom cleaned it wouldn’t know how to make it if they though about it. LOL!
As for chemical warfare of a type, white phosphorous grenades would destroy the hell out of zombies. There are lots of other caustic chemicals that could be applied to stop the zombies. However, I do love a good mine field. I’m pretty sure that zombies won’t retain many if any of their cognitive abilities. Just lay out a mine field with a zig zag path through it and fence the inside perimeter. Set up a few gun towers and shoot the undead that make it to the fence. If you can collect enough supplies and have a decent chemist (or a chemistry book) you can make all the supplies you need for black powder mines and detonators. If you’re really brave, then you can make real military grade explosives, BUT they are chemically complex and highly volitile. Also, Nitro Glycerin can be made from things you can purchase at any corner drug store. Anyway, before I get in trouble. Chemical warfare is probably a bad idea because the ways of containing caustic chemicals and their processing would be too complicated for most people and they would wind up killing themselves and possibly more survivors if they screwed up. Gas mask filters only last about 2-4 hours and are only meant to get you out of the danger zone. As for mustard gas, it would take too long in my opinion to cause the destruction of a zombie to be practical based on shifting winds and the methods of dispersal. However, if you could trap them in a building and seal them up and pump the gas in, then maybe it could work. Also, you can build detonators out of childrens walkie talkies, but they have limited range. Get some better ones from any department store’s electronics or automotive section that have a range of a few miles. Multiple channel types will allow you to detonate at your discretion or in sequence to protect your perimeter.
I’m also not describing any of the ways to actually do this so I can keep my backside out of trouble. The fact that I know any of this is purely coincidental and based on randomly gleaned information from readily available military manuals….
Carl on 04 May 2009 at 4:28 am #
People what if they wasent your avarage zed? Like have any of you seen I am legend? what if they were like dark seekers…..I think personly we would all be fucked
Carl on 04 May 2009 at 4:52 am #
There has been a small outbreak of “zombism” in London due to mutation of the H1N1 virus into new strain: H1Z1.
Similar to a scare originally found in Cambodia back in 2005, victims of a new strain of the swine flu virus H1N1 have been reported in London.
After death, this virus is able to restart the heart of it’s victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believe to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during “resurrection.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alert to phase six, its highest level, and advised governments to activate pandemic contingency plans.
In Mexico, the epicentre of the outbreak, President Felipe Calderon urged people to stay at home over the next five days.
CONFIRMED CASES
Mexico: 168 suspected deaths – eight confirmed – 12 zombies
US: one death, at least 91 confirmed cases
New Zealand: 13 confirmed cases
Canada: 19 confirmed cases
UK: 5 confirmed cases
Spain: 10 confirmed cases
Germany: 3 confirmed cases
Israel, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases each
The Netherland, Switzerland, Austria, Peru: 1 confirmed case each
Mapping the outbreak
Mexican economy squeezed by flu
Mexico: First swine flu cases
Africa awaits two swine flu tests
There are many cases elsewhere – including the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Israel, and New Zealand.
BBC health correspondent Mark McGrith says the raising of the WHO alert on Wednesday suggests a global epidemic, or pandemic, is imminent.
In the latest developments:
The Netherlands confirms its first case of zombie swine flu, in a three-year-old boy recently returned from Mexico. After passing away early this morning, he rose from the dead and lunged at his mother.
Ghana has become the latest country to ban pork imports as a precaution against swine flu, though no cases have been found in the West African country
China’s health minister says that the country’s scientists have developed a “sensitive and fast” test for spotting swine flu in conjunction with US scientists and the WHO. The country has recorded no incidence of the flu yet. There methods, however, have been uneffective in spotting the H1Z1 strain.
At the meeting of health ministers in Luxembourg, a French proposal for a continent-wide travel advisory for Mexico will be discussed.
SYMPTOMS – WHAT TO DO
Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu – fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue
If you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical advice
If you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection
If you feel yourself passing away, then notice your strength and vigor returning at an alarming rate, please attempt to restrain yourself to prevent infection and harm to others.
Q&A: What is swine flu?
Swine flu: How serious a threat?
Can masks help spread?
The quest for a swine flu vaccine
It is unclear whether the EU executive has the power to impose a travel ban.
Several countries have restricted travel to Mexico and many tour operators have cancelled holidays.
Other members are resisting calls to implement travel bans or close borders, on the grounds – backed by the WHO – that there is little evidence of their efficacy.
The EU ministers will also try to agree on how to refer to the new virus.
The European Commission has been calling it “novel flu”, replacing the word “swine” to avoid prompting a fall in demand for pork and bacon.
On Wednesday, Egypt began a mass slaughter of its pigs – even though the WHO says the virus was now being transmitted from human to human.
——————————————————————————–
Have you been affected by the zombie strain of swine flu? You can send your experiences using the form below. You can also send your questions about the decision to raise the alert and we will send it to our health experts.
A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box
Angryvikingman on 04 May 2009 at 2:44 pm #
Carl, you’d be suprised at the human’s ability to survive. Dark seekers may be stronger, but their movement would be limited to after dark. Winter would be a bitch for sure, but summer would make a great hunting time. IF you couldnt find a cure, then leveling the buildings containing the dark seekers during the day would more than serve to defeat the threat. It would also allow more space for long range shooting of the dark seekers. A barrier built of rubble would slow their advance, and UV lights would weaken or kill them. Just hook up a shit-ton of tanning beds on your perimeter, LOL! There are any one of hundreds of ways of shaping the landscape to your advantage, and if you know anything about military tactics, then you know that choosing the proper area to fight your enemy can more than make up for overwhelming numbers.
Gameoverlord74 on 08 May 2009 at 9:18 pm #
me and my friends have talked over several plans but here is mine i would run over to my neighbors house immediatley ( they have about 100 hunting rifles and shotguns) we would then pack up with my family in their truck (it can fit 5 and a very very big trunk for more people i would say about 6) we would pick up my near by friends and our girlfriends (need some thing to do while we r stranded lol) we would get to a nearby shoprite and get the big rigs they have there (they will probably have lots of food and we will have three people in each truck and one with four but two in front one driving one shooting and one in back to make sure the food doesn’t fall out) next we head to a near by loading dock that loads very heavy things so we can drive the entire trucks up onto the boat (we will take the biggest boat there) we would have enough food for a year or two we would get to alaska and live in a small town (since it is low populated and once the zombies get there they will most likely freeze and me and all my buds have great fishing skills) but depending on what kind of infection it is (such as dawn of the dead style or I am legend ones) we will have different plans the onei just told you about is for dawn of the dead ones. For Iam legend infection we will do just about the same thing except we will stop at tanning salons near by (there are about 4 by me) and load them in the trucks and instead of alaska we will go to africa and find some more food and load back up then head to ……. AUSTRALIA (since there is much sun day and our UV lights on the tanning bed will guard us at night (we are very good construction workers) because we will make a wall with the lights going outward around a town those are our plans and we are going to survive doing them. good luck to you guys :)
Gameoverlord74 on 08 May 2009 at 9:25 pm #
plus i now how to make napalm just like many of u probably do as seen on youtube so napaml tanks to set up around any short forts we might take up (overnight stops) this way we can set up a wall of fire. and i hope the government doesn’t come crashing into my house cause i know how to make napalm.
fred on 30 May 2009 at 3:36 pm #
im pretty sure im good. in my room ive got my gun cabinet which holds assorted guns
like 4 shot guns, 4 .22 rifles, 4 larger rifles(.223, .30-30,.32 special, and .30-06), a
.22 LR revolver, and plenty of ammo. ive also got 2 compound bows, a recurve bow,
a long bow a crossbow and like 10 knives. theres a window in my room that overlooks
the garage so i could easily escape. its only a 10 foot drop and my pools right beside it
if i need the soft landing. from thier i can get in my car or my boat( i live on the lake).
Trail on 08 Jun 2009 at 10:12 pm #
Like most places my house wouldn’t hold at all. Sleeping with my bedroom door locked seems to be the best answer so nothing sneaks up on me. Everything I need( minus food) is upstairs and one of the windows can be used to get to the roof. This would provide ample resistance as long as help arrives otherwise we could drop off into my car and make a run for a better location(hope I have gas)
P.S. I wish I lived on a lake.
Clammy on 24 Jun 2009 at 3:37 pm #
I live in a townhouse that spans 3 stories. The garage on the bottom, the kitchen, dining room, living room, patio, and front door in the middle, and the bedrooms upstairs. The ONLY ground floor accessible window has metal bars on it. The patio, though on the middle floor which has the front door, is actually one floor above the garage level which is lower on that side of the house. (Built kinda on a hill).
The weak points and points of entry are the garage itself, which can be barricaded for awhile and has another door to the inside of the house, the front door, which can also be barricaded, and the patio only because it’s a sliding glass door and is connected to the neighbors patio. Because of this, I would be dependent on my neighbor being prepared as well. That’s why the patio would have to be destroyed. It’s wood so it wouldn’t be too difficult. A few well chosen spots to saw with a circular saw or reciprocating saw and we’re done.
The front door could be barricaded by any number of ridiculously heavy things that we have. Right next to the front door is a very VERY heavy LARGE all wood desk that took 4 guys to move safely. It weighs nearly a metric ton but my roommate and I could slide it the necessary 5 feet to cover the door if we had to or to tilt it up so that it completely covers the door top to bottom.
The garage could be barricaded for awhile with our gym equipment that takes up half the garage or even the car in the garage. If need be, we destroy the stairs leading up to the mid level but that may be difficult.
My bedroom window on the top floor over looks the front and I could easily shoot down and the layout of our front porch wall is such that you could only fill the area immediately outside of the door with not more than 10-15 Zs so no mass pressing against the door and window. Even the walkway leading up to our front door ares is extremely narrow with a wall on the other side. Our property is higher than the next so even if the wall wasn’t there, they’d fall down another wall to a lower area.
My roommate and I keep dozens of gallons of bottled and jugged fresh water and have a year supply of brita purifiers. We have at least a 1 month supply of dry and canned food for 2 people. This has more to do with us being lazy and buying a lot of water for when we go workout and the fact that my roommate used to own a cafe and still likes to buys non-perishable food in bulk to save money. Some of the water was actually bought for emergencies though. It works out for the ZA when it comes. We also have butane and propane camping stoves and a propane bbq that could be used to cook in a pinch.
I also have several first aid kits, including one that’s coast guard approved for bigger boats. I’m trained in CPR, EFR, AED, and O2 delivery, although none of that will matter as much.
There are LED flashlights scattered throughout the house as well as a box of cyalume glowsticks and plenty of batteries.
We will also be purchasing a generator, again for different purposes but it works out for the ZA.
All the guns are mine and are kept in safes in my closet. I currently have near 500-1000 rounds of various 12 gauge shotgun, 9mm, and .45 ammo. Although not ideal, it’s enough to hold out for a bit. I will also be purchasing a .22 long rifle, an M1 Garand is on it’s way albeit not for months along with over 500 rounds for it, and will also be getting a .223 long as well as a .308 long.
My car is the bigger issue. My roommates car is in the garage but mine is out. I own the bigger more durable SUV. If we had to run, we can access the roof of our townhouse complex from the bedroom floors and could close enough to the car to be within 10 yards. From there we’d have to fight to the car. Either that or take the car in the garage to my car.
The biggest issue is fuel, since I’m not comfortable with storing gallons of gasoline. I live in Los Angeles so there will be plenty of cars to siphon gas from but how to go about getting it. That also means there may be too many cars to think about driving anywhere unless we bail out early.
There is no exit strategy yet in terms of where to go either, at least not one set in stone.
All this said though, if we are diligent and follow reports and the news, those of us in the know should be able to detect early warnings and bug out before it gets to the apocalypse stage where we are trapped in a city full of millions of zombies. That way we have more time to fortify a more secluded location.
skylar on 27 Jun 2009 at 4:58 am #
u have one chance to run or fight if ur in a apartment run to a family member an tell them get a wepons like a gun for long range and a knife 4 close up combat i know CQC close quarter’s combat an if ur stuck in a room surrounded by zombies lock the door an find a escape route if there is not one go an face 1 on 1 don’t be a fraid do the honable thing!if ur in a 2nd floor place then jump out the window!and run like HELL!Find someone to help u face off colect serviers and get wepon’s and hide out if u need trasportashen get a car but go 4 a BIG truck like a 18riger or a van!and try to find a bunker to hide in!do NOT go near a army base there will be hunder’s!!!travil by road STAY in at NIGHT!
Jesse on 10 Jul 2009 at 10:01 pm #
I would do ok. ive got like 30 litres of water downstairs in the garage, petrol, oil, saws, swords, hammers, mallets, sledgehammers, you name it down there. my room has a sword in it and a short katana. got a guass gun that fires any piece of metal smaller than 5cm wide. a month or so worth of food for 5 people. so yeah. not that safe, but would survive for a time.
Angryvikingman on 23 Aug 2009 at 10:12 pm #
In the army survival manual(FM21-76 Department of the army field manual) on pages 182-184.
“Do not eat snow in its natural state—it will cause dehydration instead of relieving thirst.”
On any survival show where they talk about surviving in snowy conditions (Survivorman, Man vs. wild) They say to melt the snow first.
You can drink a pint of blood without getting sick, and it has more nutritional value than water. It doesnt provide as much hydration as water, but it sure as hell tastes better than piss. In a cold weather environment, it can warm your core temperature if you drain it from a recently killed game animal like a deer, or other animal.
As far as a shotguns power of penetration is concerned, number 8 shot is sufficient to kill a person within 15 feet, and it will not penetrate a wall unless you hold the muzzle directly against the drywall. I never said use buckshot.
Once again, I’m reporting you to the admins.
KillerB on 30 Aug 2009 at 5:02 pm #
Angryvikingman.
Please understand that snow is just frozen water. How can that cause dehydration. It will melt in your mouth. Now as far as being able to eat enough to stay hydrated without causing hypothermia that is the big question. That being said picking up a handfull of snow for a quick “drink” is not a bad idea. Eating snow in large ammounts is a horrible thing………..agree?
I still stand by my now erased statement that blood is a food and not a beverage. Check out the SAS survival manual in the food section. It is no wrmy manual but is a well written and imformative book. I have also attended survival classes when it was stated that fodd is a food not a beverage not matter the situation. One pint of blood is not going to keep you hydrated. You can drink your own piss once and get the good effects of hydration. Bear did it on TV. ( he drank it out of a snakeskin) Does piss taste good……….HELL NO. Survival can not always be about doing what is comfortable.
I may have been banned from this site………..FINE. I wrote and apoligy to you angryviking man. Take it or leave it.
ThatScoutKid on 02 Sep 2009 at 2:11 am #
my house is just about perfect for it exept i live in a town of a bit over 8000 ppl(zombies) read my comment on the military base forum i dont feel like doing it again lol
boner_kill on 09 Dec 2009 at 9:50 pm #
i think everyone is forgetting the fact that zombies come from people and we are all people, so we will have like a 90% chance of becoming a zombie and attacking the people with the tricked out houses and getting our faces blown off.
skorn on 02 Feb 2010 at 9:48 pm #
two story homes on the edge of town or more towards the countryside are probably the best if there are no other sorts of heavily defendable positions in the town.
break down and disassemble the staircase(s) to remove any ability for zombies or unwanted visitors to get to the second story of the house. make sure YOU have some way to get up and down (ladder, rope, etc.)
also, always barricade exterior doors and windows. with sturdy doors, heavy duty locks and door bar locks are a good way to go.
dont forget to move most of what you need while you can upstairs before you take it apart.
Kasper on 05 Aug 2010 at 5:29 am #
I live on the seventh floor, and the building staircase is closed off from the floor hall by a pretty good door, so hopefully the apartments on the floor won’t be attacked directly. Even if the hall is compromised, there’s only some five feet between the apartment doors and the opposing walls, so the zombies will have a hard time getting through by force of numbers. Even if we’re dealing with fairly smart zombies, they can’t do much by way of getting a running start. I suppose I could block my main door with a bit of furniture, but I’d starve soon. Less than ideal. So, hoping the 7th floor remains unassailed.
Leatherman on 01 Dec 2010 at 10:13 am #
In my case, I live in a highly-populated neighbourhood, the majority of which are children or teenagers living with their parents. So, the likelihood of the undead population in my current area are zeds within or under the age of 16.
I live in a one-story house, three bedroom, with a roommate. The house is one street away from the neighbourhood exit and onto a road that travels along near the highway of I-4, and a pitstop for semi’s.
Our initial plan, between my roommate and myself, would be to grab our emergency kit composed of emergency rationing materials, (canned food, ten-year lasting pre-cooked bacon, bi-weekly updated water bottle supply), a flashlight, spare batteries, steel wool, matches, first-aid kit, and a loaded pistol with extra ammo (license included, of course.), and make for the living room. With our spare plywood we keep in garage, we’d seal off doors and windows with plywood, and any remaining furniture.
In the event of a breach or depletion of our food rations, we’d make a break for the garage, drive off for nearby semi-park, enter into a grocery store via crash-force, scavenge what we can, and make a break for god-knows-where.
Kenny on 28 Dec 2010 at 1:45 am #
I am in decent shape with the only true issue being the
location of my home (suburbial phoenix) I have seven shotguns five
.45 pistols five hunting rifles and two Chinese assault rifles all
within fifteen feet of my bed. (served after 9/11 became paranoid)
food wise I’ve got packaged like ramen and other canned goods and
numerous bath tubs ready go be filled with water. Wholes that is
being done I would snap off the fan blades of ceiling fans for
bracades along with internal doors such as closets. Next step would
be to call friends and search for all the batteries in my house
while someone else siphens* fuel out of our five vehicles. Once
everything is barricaded I would take the fold away ladder and put
it through the sky light to the roof in case some how the walkers
got in. As a final percaution I would grap my fireworks (now legal
in Arizona) and bring them to the roof as a way to signal survivors
or distract walkers by throwing the bombs at distant objects. I
feel confident howeverEven the cockyiest bad asses can crack and
break down in the heat of the moment saw it in Iraq/Afghanistan.
Stay frosty when that day comes boys. OOORAH.
Andy on 14 Feb 2011 at 1:14 am #
I would just live in a sewer or dig a huge hole in the ground, find something with holes in it, and cover the hole in the ground with it. Along with weapons and ammo, of course… :P
Scott on 02 Oct 2011 at 10:48 pm #
my house is fucking perfect…..for a few weeks atleast..all my family members are upstairs and i lock all my doors every night. the only way zeds can get to my house is from the front back is gated well. upstairs i have a deck looking over my driveway perfect spot to pop zeds all day. in my room i have my benelli 12 gauge and one box of buck shots 3 1/2s the rest are in ammo boxes under my bed. also under my bed is 2 bolt actions 308s and another over under 12 gauge. i say as of now (it is growing every day) i have enough ammo to last me for awhile. my town is pretty populated however where i live is pretty spread out so id guess that after about 1 week my house will be pretty calm after i spend days killing them. so my ammo will prop last me a good few months.
To start off i probably use my gun to kill the main horde at my door. but as thier numbers start to die id switch to a bat or my machete. why? because i assume that the zeds are attracted to sound and id want to keep it quiet so more zeds dont come my way. after i have killed off every zombie i can see or on my street ( yes id have to do it im probably actually definetly the only one capable of it) id quickly go home and get all my and my familys belongings that we will need in order; food, water, etc. then i make a run to safeway which is about a half mile up the road. obviously with my gun and any capable male and arm him with one of my guns. once at safeway id be ruthless, take what i need help no one i have a family to look after i cant slow down and bring in a weak family of individual that will just slow me down. ill admit it id even kill normal people if they take what i need. yes you can argue if youre that ruthless and cold what seperates you from being a zombie? my answer..its called staying alive, after i get the swing of things and orginized and all that then ill start taking people in, but until then i need to stay alive and getting side tracked helping a little liberal women who said its wrong to have guns is begging me to help her…um no thanks. after that id just start boarding shit up and making sure other family and close friends are on their way to my house. then ya just bunker down!
Munchin'OnYourBrains on 03 Jun 2012 at 9:53 pm #
I could survive a zombie apocalypse, I suppose. I have about a year of canned food in the cupboards, I have gates, my walls are made of concrete, the windows are made of bullet resistant glass and nothing beats a samurai sword to the neck when they come knocking on the door. I have a tunnel underneath my house, about a million candles when we power out, and an attic only accessible by ladder. I suppose that, in the right circumstances, I could survive the Zombie Apocalypse for about a year. Maybe 6 months if they found their way to the weakness: a plaster wall, used as the backing for a cupboard, on main street. If they recognised that there was someone inside the house and found that the wall would break, I would need to pack up all the food and go unless I could block off the hole somehow before more zombies came.
Munchin'OnYourBrains on 03 Jun 2012 at 9:57 pm #
I suppose it would also help that my town only has about 3000 people and I am in the shop district.
zombiekiller1318 on 13 Aug 2012 at 2:14 am #
First off, my German Shepheard would be barking at the sounds of “people” in the streets, so I would have to get her to quiet down which is usually as easy as telling her “no.” I would then grab my Glock 27 which is always by my bed along with the 870 and my stag AR. I would got to the front upstairs bedroom window to see what exactly is going on, master is on the second floor too but windows look into the flood canal (probably nothing worry about for now). As of now I have no way to barricade my doors and windows but I have an idea that I will buy some precut plywood that will fit over the lower level windows which I would put up with deck screws over the outside of the windows when the coast is clear. I was also thinking of getting narc bars to put over the plywood. My house is also surrounded by a six foot high concrete wall but I have no idea how I’ll secure that more. Anyway, I don’t have a huge supply of food on hand now as I am just starting to “prep” for disasters. I would try to stay put as long as possible. I’m in an outer “suburb” area of a larger city metro area which isn’t overly populated but there’s a lot of people around none the less. If staying put isn’t an option I’ll grab my Shepheard my girl and our other dog and cat and put as much food and supplies in the trailblazer as I can. And yes I would be grabbing all of my guns and ammo too. We would then proceed to GTFO and I’m thinking wel’ll heard for the mountains. That’s all I’ve got for now, and I’m tired.