The secret world of doomsday shelters

After thinking about these underground shelters, I ask the question of...how cheaply can this be done?
People are spending thousands upon thousands on these shelters for their personal safety when the time comes.

But who's to say they will even do the job? No-one knows how bad it will get, and what is safe, and what's not.

A bare boned shelter can be bought for ''as little'' as $38,000 - uninstalled. That's not just loose change if you ask me.

How far would you go in an effort to have a shelter? A shelter that you don't even know will do the job successfully.

Has anyone here made an attempt to build a shelter, and how cheaply can it actually be done?

I don't think I would go as far as trying to get a shelter, because when the time comes, it comes. We all need to go some day... but I'm curious how far people will actually go on this one.

Bunker builders cite a long list of client fears, from war and terrorism to megastorms and epic earthquakes. But the customers themselves aren't talking. "Secrecy is their defense," says shelter manufacturer Walton McCarthy, of Radius Engineering in Terrell, Texas. Shelter owners don't want neighbors and strangers pounding on the entry hatch in an emergency, he explains.

realestate.msn.com...

I don't know bout all that...I plan on finding me a deep cave and moving on in it's either that or I show up at the Tewa reservation in Taos NM. They are a direct Hopi off shoot so I figure they will know what to do lol!

reply to post by Wildeagle


Better to Love some more, and turn off the negative influences. Why would you even consider suffering in
an underground metal box when you can float on down the river?

We cant live forever here on this spinning blue ball. Grab the wild horse by the hair and ride until you fall.


S&F

reply to post by Wildmanimal


I couldn't agree more! My family and I have discussed it and we all live miles apart, but decided that if/when the time comes, we will just get together in one of our homes, and go together if needs be. We are not afraid to go.

I am not saying that people who invest in these bunkers are wrong, if that's what works for them, then so be it.

But I don't want to hide and live in fear. No thanks

I will stock on food and things like that..not in a huge way, but just a bit. That's about as far as I will go. I'm trying to learn how to fast to control hunger if needed. Beneficial regardless I guess.

The cost of these bunkers are crazy, considering no-one knows if they will be safe in them or not anyway.

I'd love to live in a world like the one in Fallout 3

reply to post by Wildeagle


It cant hurt to stock up on food, tobacco,rum,spices,and bathroom items. That is acceptable.

That is common sense and survival. That is not a crime.

Facing danger and helping others is not a crime either. Do not be afraid to ride free and ride well.

Spare no expense.

I have stocked up on everything "survival" wise including a gun with plenty of ammo.

We don't know what's around the corner with all this wierd stuff going on right now so there's nothing wrong with being prepared.

My kits includes walkie talkies, HF radio, CB radio, solar power for charging and powering devices, compass, gps, knives, tent, water cleaning tablets, Iodine Tablets (nuke stuff) and all in a couple of "go" bags.

Unless some biological weapons are released or I am engulfed in a 10MT fireball, I can get by and live off the land from the remote Scottish Highlands etc.

reply to post by Wildeagle


waste of time...

OK, that's nice to have some food supplies, but what if all the nature is gone : I mean with an asteroid crashing on earth (a big one) or WMD used worldwide in a conflict, unless you have your own Cheyenne Mountain secret base with trees, vegetables, cattle and so on... do you really think you will be able to survive with you more or less 6 month of food supplies ?
I would prefer to be in the middle of the 50MT asteroid or thermonuclear bomb rather like becoming a canibal and hunting other survivors and eat them before I died from hunger ! (By the way, I'm not so sure of the "rather like" use in this sentence...)

But having a shelter, I mean a good one (Radiation proof + nuclear blast proof + chemical proof + biological proof) it's maybe not the good solution : what about living in the jungle ? where there is no important target to destroy ? (except for an asteroid...)

If you have the money why not?
We all better stock up on food as prices are jumping by leaps and bounds right now.
Everything is going up and it's not going to get any cheaper so buy what you can (no pun intended) now.

My family has the same plan Wildeagle.
My house has a basement and is on the sheltered side of a hill on the end of a dead end street.

There is much one can do to harden their house to attack.
Even growing the right bushes below your windows can make a difference.
Make sure you have a clear line of sight around your home.
Places you cannot see need to be addressed by using mirrors or placing obstructions.
Many household items can make defensive weapons including chemicals. flares, electrical lines, tripwires, broken glass, nails, etc.. Flammable materials can be rather nasty as well but you'll need to learn how to make trigger devices (mouse traps work great).
It's also easy to create flaps on your roof that you can push up to keep an eye all around.
I could go on for days but suffice it to say if you have a house you might be a target.
The best defense is to never be seen at all and avoid conflict.

Fallout 3 and fallout new vegas kind of makes me want to survive it. It would be interesting to see how people would want to restart

Originally posted by Wildeagle
reply to post by Wildmanimal

 

I couldn't agree more! My family and I have discussed it and we all live miles apart, but decided that if/when the time comes, we will just get together in one of our homes, and go together if needs be. We are not afraid to go.

I am not saying that people who invest in these bunkers are wrong, if that's what works for them, then so be it.

But I don't want to hide and live in fear. No thanks

I will stock on food and things like that..not in a huge way, but just a bit. That's about as far as I will go. I'm trying to learn how to fast to control hunger if needed. Beneficial regardless I guess.

The cost of these bunkers are crazy, considering no-one knows if they will be safe in them or not anyway.

I am always taken back by people with your opinion on this subject. You recognize that there is a threat and that being prepared is a good thing but then you go on to say you will prepare “but just a bit”. Let’s say I am your neighbor and your house burns down and you lose everything you own. Let’s also say you didn’t have insurance because you wanted to save money for things that were more important to you. Would you be offended if I didn’t offer you any help?
As far as storm shelters go, they work. Ask anyone who has used one during a tornado. It’s not about living in fear, but being prepared in the event of an emergency. A shelter can be built for a lot less than you think.

reply to post by Terviseks


I agree, if the bomb drops I want to be at Ground Zero, who needs to deal with Radiation Sickness etc?

Maybe "rather than" depending on what you meant! Hehe!

I guess I'm just shocked at the cost of these bunkers. By all means if you have 38k lying around to get one, then why not. There may be a threat, but what I am saying is even with these shelters, that is no promise that they will work.
Damn..now I feel like I am being a party pooper, when I'm not!

Preparing with food and supplies is important. But I think mental preparation - teaching yourself to be fearless to 'go' when the time comes, is also an excellent preparation to make.

I just don't know if I care to live in a destroyed/unrecognizable world after it's done.

ETA: @asktheanimals. Some really nice points there, on easy simple ways to harden your home.
See things like this, I can understand. It's simple and doesn't cost much to do. I just don't understand that people would panic and scramble to come up with thousands and thousands of pounds to buy an actual shelter.
If you have it - buy it.
If you don't...mental preparation is the way to go.

The problem with most shelters I have seen is that they are not big enough to live in long term, nor do they have the capability to support a group of people long term.

To support long term habitation.
You need a connection to a working septic tank.
You need a connection to a working well for water.


With most small shelters, they basically assume that you will have a safe place you can evacuate in a few days/weeks after the incident in question happens.

For tornados, or hurricanes, yes.
But for other stuff……. Maybe not.

A shelter should be big enough and have the capability to support your family for the long term. That will give you the ability to rebuild your above ground house while still residing in the pre-stated shelter.

Or, if landscape and conditions permit, you could make your house into a shelter by building a part of your house underground, where you don’t have to escape to your shelter, because you are already in it.

Originally posted by minkey53
I have stocked up on everything "survival" wise including a gun with plenty of ammo.

We don't know what's around the corner with all this wierd stuff going on right now so there's nothing wrong with being prepared.

My kits includes walkie talkies, HF radio, CB radio, solar power for charging and powering devices, compass, gps, knives, tent, water cleaning tablets, Iodine Tablets (nuke stuff) and all in a couple of "go" bags.

Unless some biological weapons are released or I am engulfed in a 10MT fireball, I can get by and live off the land from the remote Scottish Highlands etc.

I hope you have survival training. Living off the land is definitely not easy without extensive survivor training, and by that, I don't mean that you watch "survivorman" every week.

You need to be in incredible physical shape, with extensive survivalist knowledge, or you will be dead in less than a month.

Don't believe me? Take a month of work, take your "go" bags, and try and live in a remote area without any additional input. Bank on having no electricity, no communications of any kind, and that anything you touch in the way of natural growth or buildings would be completely radioactive. See if you survive a month. Good luck.

Originally posted by wiser3
reply to post by Terviseks

 

I agree, if the bomb drops I want to be at Ground Zero, who needs to deal with Radiation Sickness etc?

Maybe "rather than" depending on what you meant! Hehe!

Amen. I live and work less than two miles from a fairly major international airport. If the bombs drop, I won't know it, or at least, not for long.

reply to post by Wildeagle


Shelterless, but I have a few sites around me.. Like the Greenbrier Resort for example...

reply to post by Wildeagle


With all due respect I plan on taking fate as handed out. Survivalism is what the world needs to move away from. If you entire country is under water, whats your shelter going to do and if everything is burnt up or covered in ash what is your shelter going to do for you if you have no food or water, you can only stock so much. Shelters are good for hurricanes and tornados. I wonder if the people of Atlantis had shelters? Take the 38,000 and enjoy life why life is still enjoyable. Peace

reply to post by Wildeagle


Hey, I don't think you are being a party pooper at all. Listen, you are making a valid point. Let's not forget that these companies who are selling the shelters are in business.. just that. They are out to make a buck. They do not know 'for sure' that the shelters they are selling will work either, but they are catering to a fear that people who are not 'mentally' prepared fall victim to.

I'm not saying that folks that purchase these shelters are wrong..far from it! If you are able.. then go for it! Believe me when I first started looking into all of this, I looked into the shelters myself! But we all prep in our own way as we are able. Perhaps they have not taken the time to investigate and become knowledgeable in how to do a shelter on their own for less....or how to 'arm' their homes to give more protection than it currently does. Then perhaps they have not thought that if/when it all drops in the pot a shelter may just become useless because bugging out will be the only way to keep yourself and loved ones alive rendering a shelter totally useless to begin with?

Good thread though... thanks for bringing it up!!