Sep 19 2004
Zombie Survival Manual - Part II (Bunkering)
You’ve decided to sit tight and wait out this “biblical” event. Good, now there are a few things you need to get on RIGHT NOW! before the undead hordes come knocking at your door (or if they’re already knocking, before they get some friends with them).
What do you need?
That’s what this section is for. Providing you with some basic information on the gathering of supplies, stock piling of food and water and equiping yourself with some weapons (either advanced or very, VERY basic). You don’t have alot of time, we recommend you read fast and ransack even quicker.
bun·ker ( P ) Pronunciation Key (bngkr)
For our purposes we would seek to transform a naturally secure position into one that prevents or obstructs a direct assault by the undead. Emphasis must be placed on naturally secure positions that require a minimum of effort to transform, as both time and materials are assumed to be in short supply.
Key Elements are;
Access: A position “above ground” is prefered, as it limits direct contact to the perimeter by the undead, reducing the number of points that must be fortified and/or guarded.
Hardening: Any point that can be directly accessed by the undead must be “built up”, while in the short term boarding up windows and doors may prove effective, these temporary measures can be overcome by a protracted zombie assault.
Improvising: Destroying or modifying existing features so as to prevent or make difficult access by the undead. Examples would be the destruction of bridges, stairs, ladders and so forth, or their modification to make them inaccessible to those possessing limited dexterity (ie the undead).
Case Study 1:
Joseph Blough lives in an urban setting, in a ground floor apartment of a 6 story building. His apartment faces a major street, and the windows (3 sets) are set 3 feet above ground level (4 feet above the interior floor).
Joseph has become concerned with the news reports of civil unrest, but does not want to abandon his possessions, and decides to protect his home from looters and vandals. Having stocked up on some food supplies from the convenience store (water and canned goods) and arming himself with a baseball bat, Joseph locks his windows and doors and prepares to wait out the storm.
Waking to the sound of smashing glass and a distant moaning noise, Joseph peers out his windows trying to assess the situation. What he sees makes little sense, as there appear to be a number of stunned or intoxicated people stumbling around outside his home.
He shouts out a warning and grabs his phone to call 911, Joseph is suprised when he finds no dial tone. The individuals outside now beat clumbsily against his windows, and shortly the windows give in to the pressure and first crack, then break.
Joseph shouts warnings at the intruders, and is shocked to see them climb past jagged shards of glass without concern for their safety. He strikes at them with the bat, but without effect.
As they enter the apartment Joseph flees into the hallway calling for help, only to find more of the creatures outside. Joseph screams as they clutch and pull at him.
Our unfortunate friend Joseph failed to take more than basic precautions to protect himself, and as a result he now marches with the living dead. Had Joseph moved even to the second floor of his building, he would have had only one access point to harden (the door, a naturally strong feature) as the windows are out of reach.
This may not have guaranteed his safety, but certainly would have gone far to protect him from such an early demise.
Of course in the event of a zombie incident you do not have to fortify your home, you can make use of existing protected facilities (Army Bases, Police Stations and so forth). These are likely to have a large number of people flooding them during an incident, and those occupying them are unlikely to want to allow a mob access to their limited supplies. It is for these reasons that I feel these locations are best given a wide berth.
Improvised settings are also usefull, Strip Bars, hydro substations and the like are excellent choices as they are normally brick structures that feature no windows, and are unlikely to be thought of as shelter by the majority of the public. Supplies will likely have to be brought to these facilites, and forced entry will likely be required.
8 Responses to “Zombie Survival Manual - Part II (Bunkering)”
i have a 2 story house. my plans are to put plywood boards on my windows upstairs with about 6-8 inches to stick my arm/barrel out of, yet not enough for zombies to see or notice. then put heavy, 2×4’s on my downstairs windows. then i would get everything i would need from downstairs, then break up my stairs ( there are 12 stairs, so no1 could get up there! ). then gather up most of the supplies i have, which is alot and put them into 4 seperate piles- medical/hygene, sleeping, guns/weapons/ammo, and at last food/water/ other inportant items. 4 piles because i have 4 rooms upstairs. then i have bathroom.
My apartement is a little too close to the ground floor for comfort. I’m gonna head up to the third floor and find an empty or vacant apartment and camp out there while I plan my next move. I figure a boat could be good. Especially if you can stock it up with food before you go. I don’t have a boat, but I’ll steal one the first look I get at a zombie.
Oh, also I think it might be worth having a section on how to choose who to take and who to leave behind. I’ve seen too many suckers bring their grandmas and looser friends with them, only to have them die and slow down the team.
Tristan, the drawback to a boat is the limited storage capacity, in contrast to, say, your average loft in a converted warehouse. Not only is there volume to consider, but issues of weight and displacement. Unless you are planning to steal a freighter or even a medium size trawler (in either case there is the issue of a crew)you are going to find yourself limited not only in terms of food and weapons, but more importantly, potable water (this is especially crucial if you plan any sort of sea voyage. Furthermore, there is also the issue of navigation. Have you ever sailed? Can you read charts? We must assume that GPS technology may fail in the event of zombie breakout- do you have a back up plan? You are going to have to come ashore somewhere. It would be useful to decide when and where that will be, particularly if zombies are roaming the countryside. A car or truck has similar issues around capacity and operating range, but most people can read a road map and there is the assumption that you will have a destination in mind, ideally somewhere with the necessary supplies and resources.
One thing you want to do to secure your windows and doors is..
1. Go around your house and measure length and width of the inside fram of your windows and doors.
2. Add the legnths of all together and the widths all together and buy a chain mail of that lenght. if you cannot find a chain mail that big (make out of chains) itll take a while but itll save your life.
3. Now buy some 2×4s and cut them into the length of your doors also width. Youll be stacking them by counts of 3. but on the middle of them put the middle board so its in half of the 2×4s and the other half sticking out like this
= = this is a top picture of what
===they should look like the mid
=== =’s are the middle
===
=
Now in the little trench that it makes put the edge of the chain mail in it and use the bigest staple gun ever to secure it in there sort of like your making a straining pan on its chains
this is good because they wont have direct access to the wood holding it in place and there is no chance of them biting through.
There for you also have a pretty good offense side to this too. if you make the chain loops wide enough like a soccor net then you could have easy access to cutting of there limbs when they reach in.
ATTN: Zombie Movie Fans
Moral Flexibility has an index of zombie movie reviews, plus a zombie survival manual (part 1, part 2, and part 3). This reminds me that I need to rent Shaun of the Dead. I’ve heard good things, and Moral Flexibility likes it. Via James Rummel. I link…
Even though I would suggest against staying in one location, I suggest if you do so that you ensure a means of exit. Ideal routs would be fire escapes, or makeshift ladders. Also a bridge to adjacent buildings is a good plan. The reason is that circumstances may make your current location unihabitable. Fire, lack of supplies, or a breach are the most likly events. As for weapons, most houses contain many weapons of oppertunity. Blunt weapons are preferable to cutting one as blades can become lodged in bone and wrenched out of your grasp. One handed weapons are advised. Light durable and multipurpose, tools provide the greatest resource most homes have available.
Jesse has an excellent point: make sure that you can get OUT of wherever you fort up. Remember the lesson of the guy in the gun store in Dawn ‘04: if you can’t get out and can’t be rescued or resupplied… eventually, you’re meat.
Ideally, your bunker should have at least two exits (so rescuers/escapees can use whichever one is less risky)and SAFE roof access to allow for observation and for signaling/assistance of rescue attempts.
I would respectfully disagree with Jesse on the subject of physical weapons: Zombies don’t feel pain or shock and function just fine with broken bones, so just hitting them with a bat won’t help unless you shatter their cranium with the blow; and melee-weapon-range is just too close to be to something that can kill you with one bite (remember, if you’re infected you’re dead). If you have no firearms, you’re generally better off just running.
Unfortunately, the house I live in is beyond fortification. It is one story with lots of windows,doors, and open space. My plan is to go mobile and find adequate shelter in the rural(away from the bigger city and suburbs) parts of the area. I stock a back pack filled with rations, first aid supplies, ammo, and various supplies like batteries, and ESSENTIAL tools only. I don’t need to be weighed down. Denim and leather clothes to wear and I hop on my trusty mountain bike and go. The bike, I believe is a great mode of transportation. It doesn’t need fuel, just muscle, simple to operate, and can pretty much go anywhere. I would rather be on my bike then stuck in some SUV that has run out of gas, or blocked in by abandon vehicles. People stuck in cars are just food in a can for the undead.