You can’t make this stuff up: a new report has found that the city of Birmingham only faces a fair chance of protecting itself from a zombie apocalypse.
A “study” released by CareerBuilder ranked major U.S. cities by their ability to escape a zombie attack. Out of the 53 analyzed, the Magic City ranked 25th. Results hinge on whether or not a zombie apocalypse results from “a standard, flesh-eating virus transmitted via biting or contact with infected blood.”
The index used to determine rankings considered eight factors in four different categories: “ability to defend against the virus, ability to contain the virus, ability to find a cure and ability to outlast the epidemic with an ample food supply.” It draws from data that aggregates information on state and local employment resources.
Here are Birmingham’s specific scores:
- Defense score: 9.84
Containment score: 6.73
Food score: 5.51
Total score: 27.37
Cities that topped the list for zombie preparedness included Boston, Mass., Kansas City, Mo., Salt Lake City, Utah, Baltimore, Md., and San Diego, Calif. Those that reportedly face steep survival odds include neighboring Atlanta, Ga., Miami, Fla., Riverside, Cali., Los Angeles, Cali., Tampa, Fla., and New York, N.Y.
One final, discomforting finding within the report showed that 36 percent of workers say that if they were a zombie, they would eat their co-workers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains online resources for anyone who might actually be concerned about how to respond in the event of a national zombie crisis. Among their suggestions: keep an emergency kit at your home that includes food, water, a first aid kit, bedding, and medications. The CDC also says that they are prepared to work with state and federal teams to analyze and respond to such an emergency.
