It’s an age-old debate amongst fans of shows like The Walking Dead, but now scientists have worked just where you need to head to in the event of the reanimation of corpses.
Scientists have figured out just how a zombie outbreak would spread across the US [via IFL Science] and yeah, it’s not pretty.
Naturally, you want to stay away from the big cities in favour of less-populated areas like the mountains or outskirts of town. At a meeting of the American Physical Society in 2015, research presented showed that you’re really going to struggle to get out of a big city safely, with isolated areas being much less likely to get you infected.
So where in the US is best to head to? The Rocky Mountains, of course.
A group of research colleagues also used real-life disease models to estimate how long it really would take for the US to succumb to the zombie virus. For this, they used the age-old assumption that a bite is the only way to transfer infection. They also assumed that zombies could only walk (sorry, 28 Days Later) and would need to be killed as opposed to wearing themselves out.
Speaking of 28 Days Later, what’s really interesting is the findings showed that although big cities are incredibly dangerous, it’ll take around TWENTY-EIGHT DAYS for that dynamic to change. In that time, areas like the Rocky Mountains become more dangerous as the cities get safer.
But, when the outbreak does happen, if everyone heads for the Rocky Mountains thanks to the research, it’s going to be just as dangerous as the city. So maybe this information shouldn’t be public knowledge…
The problem with leaving the city of course, is that you leave behind an abundance of supplies, from weapons and food to life-saving medicines, matches, blankets and tents.
The research might seem like a waste of time, but it’s actually a useful thing to consider when looking into real diseases and potential contagions.
If you weren’t aware, the CDC (yes, that CDC) has its own Zombie Preparedness page which is definitely worth a read.