Zombie Research Society
Max Brooks has certainly been making the rounds lately! Hot off the heals of his speaking engagement at Ohio State University, the zombie expert joined the U.S. Army North (Fifth Army) for a Hurricane Rehearsal of Concept Drill. The event brought together a number of the military and government agencies that would be tasked with responding to a modern hurricane disaster.
Brooks was happy to credit the current fascination with zombies for bringing new attention to disaster preparedness and survival. Speaking to the crowd at Fort Sam Houston this week, he explained that his job was not only to entertain but to educate as well.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen the federal government actually do something cool,” he said, in speaking of the process used by all levels of government in responding to emergencies and disasters. And while he got more than a few laughs from that, he truly meant what he said.
“For the first time, you have young people being interested in being prepared, being ‘tricked into’ taking care of themselves, really, because even if the zombie apocalypse does not happen, they will be ready for the next hurricane or next disaster,” Brooks said.
With this year projected to be above-average in terms of hurricane activity, events like the Hurricane Rehearsal of Concept Drill provide a valuable resource for developing new strategies to deal with such disasters. And whether it’s hurricanes, earthquakes or the zombie apocalypse… it appears that Max Brooks is always ready to lend his knowledge and support to our first responders and disaster response agencies!