Our Annual Halloween Edition

Halloween is but a few days away, leading us once again to consider strange and unusual disasters that could befall us. No matter how far-fetched these incidents may seem, they do spur us to consider what we would do in such situations. Can you imagine how you would respond to these unimaginable events? How your crisis team would respond? Perhaps you need to put them to the test and encourage them to think about your BC plan and what adjustments they might make respond to some of the situations below.

Even the CDC is getting in on the fun... here's their guide to staying safe in a zombie attack.
(Item #1)   If you think zombies aren't real, perhaps you should read about these zombie outbreaks in the US. (Item #2)   The University of Florida's disaster exercise featuring a zombie attack could a good test for your team. (Item #3)  

Is Halloween unlucky? This awful disaster on Halloween night 1963 in Indianapolis might make you think so. (Item #4)   In 1918, Halloween occurred in the midst of the Spanish flu pandemic; many cities had no Halloween. (Item #5)   A sinkhole in Guatemala swallowed a 3-story building... what could you possibly do to prepare for such a disaster? (Item #6)  

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments & insights regarding business continuity. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp

1. Zombie Attack? Nine ways to stay safe

The CDC has put together a tongue-in-cheek guide for surviving a zombie apocalypse. Assistant Surgeon General Dr. Ali S. Khan said it's a good idea to keep an emergency kit in the house to "get you through the first couple of days before you can locate a zombie-free refugee camp." Of course, he says, the emergency kit would also come in handy in the event of disasters that don't involve the walking undead - things like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes.
http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-204_162-10007826.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

2. The Top Three Zombie Outbreaks in U.S. History

Like vampires, zombies are great opportunists. So it comes as no surprise that zombie outbreaks often happen in the wake of natural disasters. Combine disasters with warm climates and you truly have a recipe for a major outbreak, as the following stories from the Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency prove.
http://www.fvza.org/topthree.html

3. Zombie Attack Simulation Exercise

The University of Florida has put together a disaster preparedness exercise to prepare folks for a zombie attack. Perhaps you can adapt this for your own use... it could encouraging outside the box.
http://www.astro.ufl.edu/~jybarra/zombieplan.pdf

4. Disasters: The Ice Show's Finale (It happened on Halloween)

It was the finale of the Holiday on Ice show's first night in Indianapolis-and it was Halloween night. Before it ended, an explosion thundered through the auditorium. A 30-ft. wall of flame shot over a section of box seats and rinkside folding chairs. In an instant, the rink was littered with enormous chunks of concrete, shredded programs, crumpled popcorn boxes, splintered seats, twisted steel-and dozens of limp or painfully writhing bodies that lay in puddles of blood spreading over the ice.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896998,00.html

5. Halloween, 1918 - the original pandemic?

Halloween was definitely unlucky in 1918, when most places in the US had to cancel activities due to the outbreak of Spanish influenza. What if a similar flu outbreak occurred this year? How prepared would you be if a pandemic struck?
http://open.salon.com/blog/procopius/2008/10/31/halloween_1918

6. Sinkhole in Guatemala: Giant Could Get Even Bigger

A huge sinkhole in Guatemala City (map), Guatemala, crashed into being on Sunday, reportedly swallowing a three-story building-and echoing a similar, 2007 sinkhole in Guatemala. The sinkhole has likely been weeks or even years in the making-floodwaters from tropical storm Agatha caused the sinkhole to finally collapse, scientists say. How could you prepare for such a disaster?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100601-sinkhole-in-guatemala-2010-world-science/#