Students may be used to fire drills or shelter-in-placed drills, but students at the University of Michigan are preparing for a different kind of danger: the zombie apocalypse.
The University of Michigan's School of Public Health will be leading a zombie apocalypse-themed public safety drill this Saturday, March 25, reported MLive.com. The school has previously partnered with Washtenaw County Public Health to run similar drills, but this one has been expanded to involve the university's schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Social Work.
While few people think that a true zombie apocalypse in the style of The Walking Dead or World War Z is likely to happen any time soon, the drill is meant to simulate any large-scale public-safety crisis like a major disease outbreak, terrorism or a natural disaster.
Evacuation drills are not uncommon events at Penn. But their frequency could actually be dangerous — after a real evacuation was issued following a smoky kitchen fire in Riepe College House earlier this year, some students did not evacuate, assuming that the alarm was just another drill.
Laura Johnson, research assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, called the zombie drill "fun and engaging," in a news release, according to MLive.com, while also noting that it provided valuable experience in carrying out emergency response plans.
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