Kansas joins 'zombie preparedness' trend

Attention, zombies: do not attack Kansas in October.

In an attempt to turn the modern fascination with zombies into a public safety lesson, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback will proclaim October "Zombie Preparedness Month."

Now, why exactly would the Sunflower State be getting in on the zombie apocalypse phenomenon?

Because, for one thing, it's more fun than planning for real disasters. A Kansas official said, "We came up with the idea of Zombie Preparedness Month because it is an engaging way to get people on board with emergency preparedness." Another added, "If you're equipped to handle the zombie apocalypse then you're prepared for tornadoes, severe storms, fire and any other natural disaster."

Not sure you can really shoot your way out of a tornado, but we get the point.

Believe it or not, using zombies as a hypothetical worst-case scenario is kind of an "in" thing for government agencies these days.

Back in 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had a zombie awareness campaign of its own. FEMA got in on the action in 2012.

And earlier this year, Foreign Policy discovered the Department of Defense actually has a full-fledged zombie apocalypse response plan, which it uses to teach military planning to trainees.

Part of the reason is that zombie attacks are America's favorite form of doomsday prepping. It's also less scary to hear that the Pentagon has a zombie plan than to hear that it has a, say, nuclear attack plan.

And for a state as tornado-prone as Kansas, it never hurts for residents to have some supplies on hand in case of the worst. If it takes zombies to get the word out, zombies it is.

The state recommends keeping enough supplies on hand to last for several days, and it will hand out disaster kits to the public at an event scheduled for October 25.

This video includes images from Scott Beale / CC BY NC ND 2.0, Chris Zielecki / CC BY NC SA 2.0, Getty Images, NOAA, Todd / CC BY 2.0 and DM / CC BY NC 2.0.