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Its happened. Its 28 Days Later, Night of the Living Dead, and The Walking Dead. Take your pick of any one of the other countless zombie apocalypse movies as your reference point, but lets say its happened and now you need to find the safest states in a zombie apocalypse to migrate to.

There are, of course, studies on this topic, but theyre flawed. Were going to look at why theyre flawed and then Im going to go into the details of my own study on this topic and go through the results that I find.

By the time youre done reading this article, youll have an understanding of my logic and Id appreciate it if you left a comment letting me know where your state ranked in my analysis and what if any criteria you think I should have included that I left out.

Alternatively, if youd rather watch than read, see my latest YouTube video on this very subject. Other Studies

Could a zombie apocalypse really happen? Its a reasonable question, but its a question that has different meanings depending on whos posing the question. Fans of zombie fiction post the question as a make believe, hypothetical imagination of a post-collapse world. Preppers, on the other hand, they often speak of the zombie apocalypse as a means to describe any type of situation where the collapse happens and everyone is fighting each other for survival. Its a safer way to describe what might one day come.

When people talk about the safest states in a zombie apocalypse, theyre often using criteria for the former, reanimated humans. The undead. That said, what makes one state safer in a zombie apocalypse also makes a state safer in a more real world collapse situation. A zombie reading zombie fiction.

Google best states for a zombie apocalypse and youll get a few results, most of which reference each other. There are a few problems with their analyses. For starters, theyre not studies performed by real preppers, so they just throw criteria at the study without really thinking it through.

The reason that they even do these studies is because their articles are whats called link magnets. Link magnets are articles that they hope other sites will link to. When that happens, it gives Google algorithm credibility to the site, making their sites rank higher in search results. And for them, it works. Unfortunately, theyre not reliable sources on this subject at all. CableTV

One of those studies is from the website Cable TV. Think about it, do you want to get your zombie apocalypse advice from CableTV.com?

You only need to look at their results to find out why their study is so flawed. Any prepper knows, California is about the WORST state in the nation to be in if you want to survive the apocalypse. If anything, the apocalypse will probably START in California.

Among the other worst states on their list include Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Look, if youre going to call my home state of Maine out for anything, youd better know what youre talking about. California is a safer state to be in than Maine during a zombie apocalypse? Pfffft!

What exactly is their logic based on?

To find out where the best place to survive a zombie apocalypse was, we looked at the population density in each state, the gross receipts of farms per capita, and the states electricity percentage from solar. https://www.cabletv.com/horror/doomsday-usa

I can get behind using population density as a metric, but there are problems with using gross receipts of farms per capita and the states use of solar power. The problem with using gross receipts of farms per capita, and thats probably a big reason why they listed North Dakota as the safest, is because this favors massive farming states where gigantic, industrial scale farms plant single-season crops of one, maybe two types, and rely on RoundUp or other pesticides and commercial fertilizers to make the crops grow.

What happens when the seasons seeds dont get delivered? What happens when RoundUp doesnt roll out?

Give these farms one season without being resupplied with seeds and chemicals and the farms are done. No new seeds to plant. No fertilizer to spread. No fuel to run their massive farm equipment. No pesticides to kill insects. There are not nearly enough people in these states to farm those same lands by hand even if they could. They might be able to process enough food for themselves, but so will people in other states. Being in a large-scale farmland state doesnt offer you an inherent advantage over some other state OTHER THAN that you have low population density, which well account for separately.

Similarly, what does it matter if a state gets a lot of its power from solar? For a zombie apocalypse, it doesnt matter at all. The entire grid is going to go down. Replacement parts, skilled workers, that grid isnt going to come back up for a long time, it doesnt matter the source. And if energy resources did matter, better to favor states that have coal resources like Wyoming, West Virginia, or Pennsylvania. Or maybe the most-forested states, like Vermont, New Hampshire, and the most forested state of all Maine! Lawn Love

Another one of the top results is from a site called Lawn Love whose study covers the best cities in a zombie apocalypse. Because nothing screams zombie survival expertise like a lawn care business

Granted, this list is on the best cities for surviving a zombie apocalypse, but look at the results. Number one is Orlando, Florida? Seriously!? There are 2700 people per square mile in Orlando. Their criteria include the number of supermarkets per 100,000 residents note: this doesnt account for the many thousands of TOURISTS that would be trapped around all the Disney resorts. The zombie apocalypse could very well START at Disney.

The Lawn Love studys criteria includes the number of homes with basements, kitchens with plumbing, the number of hospitals, etc. If theres anything Night of the Living Dead taught is its DONT go into the basement in a zombie apocalypse! Also, hospitals will be the WORST places to be in a zombie apocalypse. Thats where people will go once infected.

As I said, these studies are FLAWED.

Miami, by the way, they rank as the 8th safest city, ahead of Boise, Idaho. I dont know about you, but if Im given a chance to survive the zombie apocalypse and I can choose between Miami and Boise it wouldnt be Miami. Safest States in a Zombie Apocalypse My Results

Given the poor logic Ive found in other studies, I set out to conduct my own analysis. Not everything the other studies used was flawed, and I salvaged some aspects of those studies while tossing other criteria aside.

So, this begs the question, what criteria should be used in determining the safest states to ride out a zombie apocalypse. My Methodology Population Density

Certainly, population density should be near the top. The fewer people there are, the fewer zombies there are. Simple. This alone isnt enough, because if we look just at that, Alaska wins by a landslide, but you want a balance. Trying to eke out post-collapse life by yourself in the Alaskan outback good luck with that. Too many people means too many zombies, but too few people means too few resources and partnerships for survival. Gun Ownership

Many studies on this topic also reference gun ownership as a determining factor. This is a good factor to consider. It doesnt account for ammunition per capita assuming that can be measured but its probably safe to assume that the more guns a state has the more ammo it has. Ammo will only last so long in a zombie apocalypse, however. Then it comes down to citizens ability to FIGHT. Residents Health

Residents health should also be considered. The more fit the citizens are, the faster they can run, and the longer they can fight. Access to Water

Food is an important factor, so we could look at the length of the growing season, and that would favor states in the south, but dont underestimate the power of winter in a zombie apocalypse. Yes, it will be cold, but have you ever seen a zombie tr to move in knee-deep snow? Winter would be the perfect time to walk the landscape in snowshoes and drive a spear tip into the head of the undead. For that reason, Im going to value longer summer and longer winter equally and discard growing season as a factor.

Whats more important than the availability of food is the availability of potable water. Nevada is the 9th least densely populated state, but what happens after the grid fails the tap water goes off, and youre left searching for fresh water to drink in Nevada. Good luck with that.

So, lets see what we get when we run these four factors: Population density Household firearm ownership rates Population health Water resources

I weigh them all equally. Results

Here I entered all 50 states and where they rank under each category. You can see the sources for my numbers here.

The lower the number the higher the rank, so if I total a states rank in each category and divide by four, I then have the states overall rank.

I sort the total score column from low to high and then we have the results!

Safest states in a zombie apocalypse: Alaska North Dakota Vermont Utah Idaho Wyoming Maine Montana South Dakota Minnesota

Alaska, despite my comments about how its remoteness can be a detriment, comes out as the safest state in a zombie apocalypse with a score of 10.5. Its health score was its worst score, but high rankings in population density, gun ownership and water availability compensated for it.

North Dakota, similar to the other study, tied with Vermont for the 2nd and 3rd spots, each with a score of 15. North Dakota was better in population density, but Vermont residents are much healthier, the healthiest in the nation.

The fourth safest state, with a score of 16.5, is Utah where the health of its residents helped push it into the top 10.

Idaho and Wyoming tie for the fifth and sixth spots with a score of 16.75. Wyoming is very rural with many gun owners. Idaho came out a bit ahead with water and health.

The seventh and eighth spots are a tie between Maine and Montana, each with a score of 17.25. Maine was rather well-balanced across all four categories. Montana did well in population density and gun ownership.

Ninth place, with a score of 19, goes to South Dakota. Again, low population density and high gun ownership rates pushed it up the safest state list.

Rounding out the top ten is Minnesota, with a score of 19.75. Average ratings in most categories except for health, where it ranks seventh in the nation. Safest StatesPopulation DensityGun OwnershipHealth RankWater ResourcesState ScoreAlaska13271110.5North Dakota410143215Vermont201612315Utah112352716.5Idaho74164016.75Wyoming22194416.75Maine1322211317.25Montana31244117.25South Dakota59253719Minnesota213471719.75Oregon1215223120Wisconsin262823921.5Hawaii38473222.5Washington293591923New Hampshire303662223.5Louisiana251349823.75Nebraska829174625Colorado1430104825.5Virginia3732151825.5Alabama248472526Massachusetts48502426Michigan333832126Mississippi197502826Kansas1019294726.25Arkansas176483526.5Oklahoma1611463627.25Connecticut474541427.5Nevada921354527.5Iowa1533204327.75Maryland464218527.75South Carolina3217422027.75New York4446111228.25North Carolina3626361528.25Rhode Island494813328.25West Virginia225454228.5California4043122129Kentucky2812433329New Jersey504981029.25Georgia3418402629.5New Mexico625375029.5Texas2727343029.5Missouri2320393930.25Arizona1824314930.5Delaware454130630.5Florida434033730.75Tennessee3114443430.75Illinois3944262433.25Ohio4139381633.5Pennsylvania4237282934Indiana3531413836.25The complete results of the study I conducted.

Sources of data: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories_of_the_United_States_by_population_density https://www.concealedcarry.com/firearms-ownership/which-states-have-the-most-gun-owners/ https://selecthealth.org/blog/2017/01/healthiest-states-report https://rlist.io/l/50-u-s-states-highest-water-to-land-ratio Worst States in a Zombie Apocalypse

The absolute worst states to survive a zombie apocalypse using this methodology goes to Indiana. Sorry, hoosiers, youre all gonna die. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, and yes, even Florida, you are all in tough shape as well.

Is the criteria I used to rank the states ideal? I dont know, but I think its better than what some other states did. There would be exceptions in every state, of course. Southern California is going to be worse off than Northern California, for example. Rural Pennsylvania will fare better than the Philadelphia area. I have years worth of experience slaying zombies. Ill survive the zombie apocalypse will you!?

Those are my thoughts. Sorry if your state didnt rank as highly as you may have liked, but hey not everyone can survive the zombie apocalypse. In fact, most wont.

Stay safe out there.

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How Prevent is tackling young extremism 20 years after the 7/7 bombings

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How Prevent is tackling young extremism 20 years after the 7/7 bombings

Radicalised nine-year-olds, teenagers mixing incel culture with extreme right ideologies and a Muslim who idolises Hitler – this is just some of the casework of those tasked with deradicalising young extremists in the UK.

Monday will mark 20 years since the 7/7 attacks on the London transport network when four suicide bombers killed 52 people and injured 770 others.

A year later the government set up its deradicalisation programme Prevent as part of its counter-terrorism strategy.

Sky News has spoken to two leading intervention providers (IPs) at Prevent who both say their work is getting ever more complex and the referrals younger.

The Metropolitan Police’s Prevent co-ordinator, Detective Superintendent Jane Corrigan, has also told Sky News it is “tragic” that when it comes to terrorism, “one in five of all our arrests is a child under 17”.

She believes parents should talk to their children about what they are reading and seeing online.

“Parents instinctively know when something doesn’t feel right when their child is becoming withdrawn or isolated – not wanting to engage,” she says.

More on Prevent

People worried that someone they know has thoughts that could lead to terrorism can refer them to Prevent.

File pic: iStock
Image:
File pic: iStock

‘A pic-n-mix of ideologies’

Home Office figures show 11-year-olds are the largest age group to get referred.

Concerning cases are passed on to IPs such as Nigel Bromage who told Sky News: “Often there will be a pic-n-mix of ideologies.

“From my own examples and experience, we are aware of people looking at the incel culture and mixing that with some far-right elements.”

Jason Farrell with Nigel Bromage
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Sky’s Jason Farrell with intervention provider Nigel Bromage, who was exposed to extremism when he was a child

Incels, meaning “involuntary celibates” are men who have been unable to have a relationship with women despite wanting one and become misogynistic and hateful as a result.

Like many IPs, Mr Bromage from Birmingham comes from an extremist background himself, having once been a regional organiser for the proscribed Neo-Nazi group Combat 18.

For him too, it began as a child.

“It all started with someone giving me a leaflet outside my school gates,” Mr Bromage says.

“It told me a horrific story about a mum getting killed by an IRA bomb explosion – and at the end of the leaflet there was a call to action which said: ‘If you think it’s wrong then do something about it’.”

He developed a hatred for Irish republican terrorism which morphed into general racism and national socialism.

“At the very end I thought I was going to go to prison, or I would end up being hurt or even killed because of my political beliefs,” he says.

Nigel Bromage
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Mr Bromage says his youngest case involved a nine-year-old

Boy, 9, groomed by his brother

Mr Bromage reveals his youngest case was a nine-year-old who had been groomed by his brother.

“He was being shown pro-Nazi video games, and his older brother was saying ‘when I go to prison or I get in trouble – they you’re the next generation – you’re the one who needs to continue the fight’,” he says.

“Really, he had no interest in the racist games – he just wanted to impress his brother and be loved by his brother.”

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Every year, nearly 300 children who are 10 or younger are referred to Prevent.

Home Office figures show that over the last six years 50% of referrals were children under the age of 18.

Eleven-year-olds alone make up a third of total referrals, averaging just over 2,000 a year, with the figure rising even higher in the most recent stats.

Another IP, Abdul Ahad, specialises in Islamic extremism.

He says the catalyst for radicalisation often comes from events aboard.

Ten years ago, it was Syria, more recently Gaza.

“It is often a misplaced desire to do something effective – to matter, to make a difference. It gives them purpose, camaraderie and belonging as well – you feel part of something bigger than you,” he says.

The wreckage of a double-decker bus after the blast at Tavistock Square. Pic: PA
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Fifty-two people were killed on 7 July 2005 when four suicide bombers blew up three London Underground trains and a bus. Pic: PA

Clients want someone to ‘hear them’

Some of his clients “don’t fit into any particular box”.

“I’m working with a guy at the minute, he’s a young Muslim but he idolises Hitler and he’s written a manifesto,” he says.

“When you break it down, some people don’t know where they fit in, but they want to fit in somewhere.”

Mr Ahad says the young individual mostly admires Hitler’s “strength” rather than his ideologies and that he was drawn to darker characters in history.

Often his clients are very isolated and just want someone to “hear them”, he adds.

Read more:
What is Prevent – and why is it controversial?
PM warns of new kind of terror threat

Abdul Ahad
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Intervention provider Abdul Ahad specialises in Islamic extremism

Mr Ahad is also an imam who preaches at the Al-Azar Mosque in South Shields, a well-regarded centre for community cohesion and outreach.

He uses his understanding of the Islamic faith in his Prevent sessions to help guide his referrals away from extreme interpretations of the Koran by offering “understanding and context”.

He says: “We quote the correct religious texts – we explain their responsibility as a Muslim living in the UK and we re-direct their energies into something more constructive.”

Common theme of mental health issues

Mental health problems are a common theme among those referred to Prevent including depression and autism.

A recent inquest into the death of autistic teenager Rhianan Rudd found she took her own life after being radicalised by two white supremacists.

Her mother was critical of Prevent, as well as the police and MI5 after she had referred her daughter to the deradicalisation programme and Rhianan was subsequently charged with terrorism offences.

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Last month a coroner found some failings in the processes around protecting Rhianan, but none of them attributable to Rhianan taking her own life.

Det Supt Corrigan says a referral doesn’t mean individuals end up being arrested or on an MI5 watchlist.

She says: “You’re not reporting a crime, but you are seeking support. I would say the earlier you can come in and talk to us about the concerns you have the better. Prevent is just that – it is a pre-criminal space.

“It’s tragic when you see the number of young people being arrested for very serious charges. Just look at terrorism – one in five of all our arrests is a child under the age of 17. We need to think about how we respond to that.”

Prevent has been criticised for failures such as when Southport killer Axel Rudakabana failed to be recognised as needing intervention despite three referrals, or when MP David Amiss’ killer Ali Harbi Ali went through the programme and killed anyway.

Axel Rudakubana. Pic: Merseyside police
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Axel Rudakubana failed to be recognised as needing intervention despite three referrals. Pic: Merseyside police

It’s harder to quantify its successes.

Mr Ahad says he understands why the failures hit the headlines, but he believes the programme is saving lives.

He says: “I think the vast majority of people get radicalised online because they are sitting in their room reading all this content without any context or scholarly input. They see one version of events and they get so far down the rabbit hole they can’t pull themselves out.

“I really wish Prevent was around when I was a young, lost 15-year-old because there was nothing around then. It’s about listening to people engaging with them and offering them a way of getting out of that extremism.”

File pic: iStock
Image:
File pic: iStock

‘Radicalisation can happen in days to weeks’

Det Supt Corrigan says: “I’ve sat with parents whose children have gone on to commit the most horrendous crimes and they all spotted something.

“Now, with hindsight, they wished they had done something or acted early. That’s why we created this programme, because radicalisation can happen in days to weeks.”

Twenty years on from 7/7 the shape of the terrorist threat has shifted, the thoughts behind it harder to categorise, but it is no less dangerous.

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Sports

Volpe toss hits Judge as sloppy Yanks fall again

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Volpe toss hits Judge as sloppy Yanks fall again

NEW YORK — A blunder that typifies the current state of the New York Yankees, who find themselves in the midst of their second six-game losing streak in three weeks, happened in front of 41,401 fans at Citi Field on Saturday, and almost nobody noticed.

The Yankees were jogging off the field after securing the third out of the fourth inning of their 12-6 loss to the Mets when shortstop Anthony Volpe, as is standard for teams across baseball at the end of innings, threw the ball to right fielder Aaron Judge as he crossed into the infield from right field.

Only Judge wasn’t looking, and the ball nailed him in the head, knocking his sunglasses off and leaving a small cut near his right eye. The wound required a bandage to stop the bleeding, but Judge stayed in the game.

“Confusion,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I didn’t know what happened initially. [It just] felt like something happened. Of course I was a little concerned.”

Avoiding an injury to the best player in baseball was on the Yankees’ very short list of positives in another sloppy, draining defeat to their crosstown rivals. With the loss, the Yankees, who held a three-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East standings entering June 30, find themselves tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for second place three games behind the Blue Jays heading into Sunday’s Subway Series finale.

The nosedive has been fueled by messy defense and a depleted pitching staff that has encountered a wall.

“It’s been a terrible week,” said Boone, who before the game announced starter Clarke Schmidt will likely undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.

For the second straight day, the Mets capitalized on mistakes and cracked timely home runs. After slugging three homers in Friday’s series opener, the Mets hit three more Saturday — a grand slam in the first inning from Brandon Nimmo to take a 4-0 lead and two home runs from Pete Alonso to widen the gap.

Nimmo’s blast — his second grand slam in four days — came after Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez misplayed a ball hit by the Mets’ leadoff hitter in the first inning. On Friday, he misread Nimmo’s line drive and watched it sail over his head for a double. On Saturday, he was slow to react to Starling Marte’s flyball in the left-center field gap and braked without catching or stopping it, allowing Marte to advance to second for a double. Yankees starter Carlos Rodon then walked two batters to load the bases for Nimmo, who yanked a mistake, a 1-2 slider over the wall.

“That slider probably needs to be down,” said Rodon, who allowed seven runs (six earned) over five innings. “A lot of misses today and they punished them.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s throwing woes at third base — a position the Yankees have asked him to play to accommodate DJ LeMahieu at second base — continued in the second inning when he fielded Tyrone Taylor’s groundball and sailed a toss over first baseman Cody Bellinger’s head. Taylor was given second base and scored moments later on Marte’s RBI single.

The Yankees were charged with their second error in the Mets’ four-run seventh inning when center fielder Trent Grisham charged Francisco Lindor’s single up the middle and had it bounce off the heel of his glove.

The mistake allowed a run to score from second base without a throw, extending the Mets lead back to three runs after the Yankees had chipped their deficit, and allowed a heads-up Lindor to advance to second base. Lindor later scored on Alonso’s second home run, a three-run blast off left-hander Jayvien Sandridge in the pitcher’s major league debut.

“Just got to play better,” Judge said. “That’s what it comes down to. It’s fundamentals. Making a routine play, routine. It’s just the little things. That’s what it kind of comes down to. But every good team goes through a couple bumps in the road.”

This six-game losing skid has looked very different from the Yankees’ first. That rough patch, consisting of losses to the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels, was propelled by offensive troubles. The Yankees scored six runs in the six games and gave up just 16. This time, run prevention is the issue; the Yankees have scored 34 runs and surrendered 54 in four games against the Blue Jays in Toronto and two in Queens.

“The offense is starting to swing the bat, put some runs on the board,” Boone said. “The pitching, which has kind of carried us a lot this season, has really, really struggled this week. We haven’t caught the ball as well as I think we should.

“So, look, when you live it and you’re going through it, it sucks, it hurts. But you got to be able to handle it. You got to be able to deal with it. You got to be able to weather it and come out of this and grow.”

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.

Jenks, 44, who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, this year, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005 to 2010 and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. The reliever finished his major league career with a 16-20 record, 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.

“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago. He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”

After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and began undergoing radiation.

In February, as Jenks was being treated for the illness, the White Sox posted “We stand with you, Bobby” on Instagram, adding in the post that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”

In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the World Series title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.

In 2006, Jenks saved 41 games, and the following year, he posted 40 saves. He also retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.

“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I [was] playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”

A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.

Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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