The Zombie Survival Kit

While the CDC's recommended preparedness list and FEMA's disaster supplies recommendations are a fine start for any emergency, they are rather meager in their elaboration of suggestions. It is not only possible to survive nearly any catastrophe, but to live quite well when the word around us has collapsed into anarchy - and the groundwork for such an existence is neither expensive nor complicated, requiring merely that you think carefully before taking any action. I will get around to the mental preparedness necessary for survival tactics soon enough, but the nuts and bolts you should consider having in place before they are required are simple enough to put together.

Whilst provisions of one gallon a day seems an excessive amount of water to store, you don't really need so much immediately to hand. Using water purifiers, it is entirely possible to use whatever is to hand (water from the cistern of a toilet, the hot water tank and even urine) to supplement the required amount. The planet is covered in approximately seventy per cent water - though the majority is in undrinkable forms - so with a decent purifier you should never be thirsty in an emergency situation. Alcohol, soft drinks and other bottled liquids can be stored for months (and years) in optimum conditions, so small luxuries can be maintained even if the production of these are discontinued.

Similarly, food should not be a problem. Tinned meats can be stored for a near-indefinite length of time - eating something bought now in twenty years would be perfectly fine; indeed a tin of meat from 1820 was opened and consumed in 1938, with no discernible ill-effects. Perishable foodstuffs should be eaten as soon as possible, though frozen meats can be kept frozen for up to six or so months, regardless of whatever is written on them. Refrigerated foods are much less resilient, though should at least see you through the first week without discomfort.

The importance of medical supplies cannot be overstated. Beyond water and nourishment, having the correct medicine to hand is the most important aspect of a disaster preparedness kit, and the essential elements are easy enough to put together. Aside from the standard equipment, superglue (to seal cuts against infection from the undead), and other materials should be close to hand for improvised use. It's also suggested (though not recommended) that circular saws (for amputation) and other power tools be kept in a location which is easily reachable should the worst come to pass. As always, these items should be made unreachable from the hands of small children.

Forget about cell 'phones. If the power goes down (and in a large-scale emergency, such as the one we are exploring here, it will) nothing less than a satellite 'phone will do. They are expensive, and useless unless the uptake on ownership increases to the point that most survivors of a zombie apocalypse would be carrying them, they would merely be taking up precious room which could be taken by more important equipment. There are other ways to keep in touch, and which require minimal power usage, and I'll come to those in a future post.

There are so many miscellaneous items that are often overlooked entirely in the creation of these supply kits that it is important to note them here, helpfully broken down into two distinct categories:

Basic

String, rope and wire (in different thicknesses)
Fire extinguisher (water and foam, preferably)
Duct tape (black) and electrical tape (silver)
Black permanent marker pens
Spray paint (red and green specifically)
Swiss army knife - literally 101 uses
Needle and several reels of thread (for wardrobe malfunctions and impromptu surgery alike)
Crowbar, screwdrivers, pliers, and essential
Notepad and pen; wristwatch and compass

Advanced

Night-vision goggles (in lieu of flashlights)
Multichannel radio monitoring scanner
Digital binoculars (the more powerful the better)
GPS receiver