It's a 400-gallon tank, so in a typical winter here it will last about 80 days (the below-zero weather is usually broken by "warm" spells where it's only in the mid-twenties). We also use the boiler for heating our domestic hot water, and in a survival scenario I would probably turn off the valve to the hot water tank heating coils, which could extend the heating time significantly. The system has zones, so we can close off the upstairs heat, for example, and heat a smaller area longer. As I said, none of it works without electricity, so I will need a generator to get power to the circulating pump. The amount of fuel I have for the generator and its efficiency will be the big limiting factor. After the genny gives out, we huddle around the old fireplace (note to self: cut and split more wood).

Back to the PSAs: the World Health Organization is sponsoring them, with the assistance/approval of CDC. I should've just asked my wife, who is the health and safety coordinator for our local school district. The public schools have been advised to develop pandemic flu emergency plans, and she knew all about the PSAs. She also told me some "experts" say to expect the flu to come in waves, and that quarantines of affected areas, while intermittent, may total 6 weeks or more. Gory detail: the WHO and CDC suggest that school buildings may be adaptable as temporary morgues.

She was also told that in the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic, it was the young healthy people, by and large, who died. The elderly did not, because (they theorize) the latter were less likely to get out and about and be exposed.

Sorry about the length of this post. I sincerely hope the "experts" are wrong about all this, but when it gets cloudy you can either hope it doesn't rain or get an umbrella. I opt for the umbrella.