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The
six month study; which entailed detailed examinations of various
cities' demographics, geography, climate, medical facilities,
infrastructure, pubic awareness of standard disaster preparedness,
past history of dealing with natural disasters, and the size,
training, and resources available to police and other public safety
departments, placed Philadelphia 'dead' last on its list of American
cities with and overall preparedness rating of 22%. Rounding out the
bottom five where Boston (24%), New Orleans (29%), Detroit (31%), and
Washington D.C. (34%).
Even
the highest rated cities did not fare well in the survey.
Pittsburgh rated number one with a preparedness rating of 63%, closely
followed by St. Louis (61%), Columbus, Ohio (58%), Provo, Utah (56%),
and Miami (53%). "Anything over 50% is pretty good," said
C.U.P.
President Marty Flesher. "Considering the fact there have been
no
outbreaks of the 'Necro-Mortosis" virus in the United States, the
high
ratings of these cities shows they are making a serious attempt to be
proactive and stay ahead of any situation in the future. In the event
of on outbreak, these cities should do very well in its containment
with a minimum loss of life or spread of the virus."
Flirting
with disaster:
However, cities below 30% "are flirting with disaster," stated
Mr.
Flesher. "At preparedness levels that low, it is highly unlikely
these cities could adequately contain the virus without significant
spread of the infection, even if they had adequate advanced warning
of the disease's approach." |
Bad
timing:
The news could not have come at a worse time for beleaguered
Philadelphia, where zombie hysteria reached epidemic proportions earlier
this week. False reports of undead sightings reached such high numbers
that
citizens were complaining many of their calls were going unanswered.
The Mayor's Office admits some "low validity"
investigations had been
placed on hold temporarily to help better allocate police resources.
Mayor Chuck Rhodes said, "I don't know a single cop who had a day
off, or worked less than 12 hours a day in the last week. We're
stretching them too thin, and all the overtime is going to bankrupt
the City."
Police and Fire Department payroll expenses soared so
rapidly the
City cancelled its orders to replenish its supply of road salt for the
rest of the winter, and many City employs in non-public safety
departments fear cutbacks and possible layoffs.
However, the impact on City finances is small compared
to the Panic's
blow to local businesses. The normally teaming nightlife around the
Historic District, South Street, and Delaware Avenue has completely
vanished. "People have been scared. The whole town was going insane
and the last thing you want to do is drive into the middle of it for
dinner," said Bud Haler, owner of "The Spirits of Franklin,"
one of Philadelphia's most popular nightspots.
Suburbs gain:
The City's loss is the suburbs gain, as residents flee to spend their
money in its perceived safety. King of Prussia, Willow Grove, and
Oxford Valley malls all report double digit sales increases, and
suburban home improvement outlets report being almost completely sold
out of many popular items. "Monday, we got four semi-trailers of
plywood and wrought iron fencing in, and we were literally selling it
off the truck, it never made it into the store," said the manager
of
one store.
Marty Flesher of C.U.P. says these are all symptoms
of poor preparedness. "Philadelphia's leaders were running around
with no sense of direction, and no idea whatsoever of what they were
doing or going to do. Their lack of leadership and planning only fed
the City's panic. What is amazing to me is the fact that there was no
actual outbreak of the virus in Philadelphia, most of this was caused
by a hoax. Can you imagine what would happen
if the undead actually started showing up? We could be seeing another
1918 right before our eyes.*"
*NOTE: In
the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic, Philadelphia had the highest
death toll of any American city, with over 13,000 dying in just a few
weeks time.
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2007 ZombieWorldNews.com. All rights reserved.
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