Believe it or not, but new research from the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Disaster Management and Public Safety (CDMPS) has shown Perth would be the worst-hit in a zombie apocalypse, with over 100,000 being infected in the first four days.
Commissioned by Xbox Australia (at least it’s not taxpayer-funded) as part of a new video game release, the researchers used a model called the SZR (Susceptible-Zombie-Removed) developed by Cornell University researchers in 2015 (yes, this actually exists!) to rank each city in Australia and New Zealand.
This ‘Zombie Survival Index’ was based on a range of criteria including the potential rate of infection, how the disease would spread, how residents said they would act, and how well each city could defend themselves against the scourge.
The science behind survival
So where’s the best place to survive?
Darwin came out on top, thanks to its remote geographical location and the fact half of residents said they’d take up arms to defend themselves – the highest rate in the country.
Sydneysiders were the most confident in their survival (40 per cent), but were still beaten out by Melbournians who were the most likely to work together to battle the hordes.
Most respondents also confessed they’d sacrifice a neighbour to the zombie plague over their family pet (we’d choose the dog every time too).
And if the worst does happen?
The Centre says we have to build a “defensive ring” around the source of any attack – otherwise the zombies will just overpower everyone. Alternatively if you have enough warning – run like hell.
Good advice.
