Disasters and emergencies may present you with a need to deal with the dead, human and otherwise, for some time before appropriate authorities and responders are available.

How do you prepare? What is appropriate? Does this have implications for your bugging-in or bugging-out gear or supplies?

Toe-Tags/Sharpie?

In the CERT class this is kind of covered in the triage section. Basically you should have a section removed from the wounded (duh), and wrap the body in whatever is available like a sheet. Also write down all available data (time of death, name, etc. etc.) and have someone guard the bodies 24/7 to protect them from looters. Thats assuming a natural disaster type situation where order would be restored rather quickly. I have no clue on something longterm. Would baking soda help keep the flies/smell down?

Do you mean freshly dead (like a triage situation) or coming across bloated corpses?

For the former, probably like LED said. After a day or so... well, then we cross into the second category. Burn or bury, just like they have for centuries. No, it doesn't really affect me much in my plans. I have a shovel already. I have a lighter already. The challenge becomes where (ie, not near my darned water supply!) and how (fuel for burning, how deep for burying).

Or, you know, keep moving. Preferably upwind.

We use a little Vick's Vapo-rub on the upper lip under the nose, or inside the face mask, to deal with the smell of the not so freshly dead.

If it's a long term situation, or you cannot preserve the remains, then you inter them. Down hill /stream. Min of 10 meters/30' from running water.
With as much respect as the situation permits.

When I went through CERT training we spent a lot of time on triage and first aid. While we didn't talk about it in training, the large number of shovels in our equipment trailer speaks eloquently about what we can be expected to do. If we don't have Vick VapoRub in there, well, I'm now on the equipment committee and we will soon.

We aren't a DMORT or a DMAT, but I think we'd do a credible job of helping the experts with unskilled and semi-skilled labor.

PDF booklet put out by International Red Cross: Management of Dead Bodies After Disasters
It's a very worthwhile read.

-Blast

Sobering but just what the doctor ordered. Good job and thanks, Blast.

Thanks, Blast.

Cody Lundin deals with this topic in pp. 274-284 of "When All Hell Breaks Loose."