Dundee City Council has been asked what its plans are for dealing with an invasion by zombies and vampires.
The request has come from a member of the public, who used freedom of information laws to quiz the authority on how its officials will react if and when an army of the undead arrives to unleash its unholy terror on defenceless citizens.
But the good news is that the council seems to think an attack is unlikely although it has indicated its willingness to update its emergency plans should such a threat arise.
The (hopefully) tongue-in-cheek request came from a Lee McAulay and has been published on a website that keeps track of freedom of information inquiries to public bodies.
In his email to the council Mr McAulay asked, “Could you please share with me the provisions you have in place in the event of a zombie invasion?
“Could you please share with me the provisions you have in place in the event of vampires over-running the city, bringing humanity to the brink of extinction?
“Having watched several films, it has become clear to me that preparation for such events is poor and one that councils throughout the country must prepare for. Being prepared for such events is key to our future survival.”
Having taken a few days to process the request and probably recover from the surprise of having received it in the first place the council has just responded.
It suggested Mr McAulay take a look at its emergency plan and explained that it takes a risk-based approach to planning for the impacts of potential hazards.
It added, “The risk assessments have been made on credible worst-case scenarios applied to identified hazards or threats that are present within the Tayside area.
“Additional specific plans are required to deal with specific hazards that are assessed as high risk.
“Based on current assessments, I can assure you that the threat of a zombie invasion or vampires over-running the city of Dundee have not been identified as threats or hazards that are present within the Tayside area and therefore do not require specific emergency plans.
“I would like to further reassure you that should evidence become available to suggest that these could be potential threats, then we will consider augmenting our generic arrangements with specific plans.”
Rumours that supplies of stakes and holy water are being stockpiled at City Chambers are, presumably, untrue.
Image used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Abode of Chaos.