Underground Bunkers

When you're assessing the threats that you wish to protect your family from, you'll find that underground bunkers will give you optimal protection. You may use your shelter for severe weather now as in the case of natural disasters, and it will be used in the eventuality of nuclear, chemical or biological attacks.

Underground Bunker

The ideal shelter needs to offer two separate elements. It should guard you against any initial disaster, whether that is man-made or natural. It also must protect you and your family for a number of days after the first disaster.

Your shelter needs to deflect any initial blast, and explosions, or you may suffer internal injuries. This is essential, or the underground bunker will not have fully served its purpose.

The blast door is an important part of your underground bunker design. In the case of nuclear attack, the doors should seal so that your shelter is airtight. Initially, the door should be formed so that it will not be curled back in the stress of the second wave. The door must also be made with strong materials that will guard your shelter against radiation.

Underground bunkers are preferable to other types of shelters since they provide immediate protection for you during the time of the initial disaster, and in the second wave, which is called underpressure. Above ground shelters will not adequately protect you from radiation. Be sure to include proper ventilation in your bunker, using a filter for nuclear and bio-chemical filtration. These are known as NBC filters.

Soil is a good insulator, and radiation gives off heat, so if your bunker is not properly vented and below grade, it will become too hot for you to remain in it. The oxygen levels will also dip dangerously low. The money you spend is an investment in the future of your family, and you can't put a price tag on feeling safe in the case of a disaster.

Protection Connection ...

Concrete bunkers protect you against many types of threats. Adding a reinforced bathroom that is also below ground level will be a plus, as well. Reinforcing the bunker will offer protection from explosions, home intrusion and radiation. Any serious explosion will damage or destroy your above-ground home. Bunkers will withstand a level of several hundred psi, so this will be protective for your family after a bomb explosion.

Some people have a safe room in their home, to use in the case of a disaster. If you're only worried about intruders, hidden rooms can suffice. But if your concern extends to protecting your family from military-type assault and radiation, a concrete bunker will be much safer. Well-designed bunkers work at deflecting a blast wave. You should select a professional with experience in constructing bunkers, to give your family the ultimate in safety.

A few inches of soil will usually address any concerns you have about radiation. Soil helps in shielding underground shelters. In addition, the bunker should be placed so that water will drain away from it. A trap door can be an adequate entrance, since it will minimize your exposure to the outdoors. A door at ground level, and sunk into the door frame will keep from a blast lifting the door up. Dual doors will offer even greater protection for you and your family, when disaster strikes.

Fall Out, Soldier!

Some people who construct underground homes do so in such a way that they serve as fallout bunkers as well. Others who live in underground homes will have a different fallout shelter constructed nearby on the same land as the home.

And, there is another type of underground house that is very safe in the case of weapons of mass destruction being dropped nearby and that is repurposing abandoned missile silos into homes as a handful of people across the U. S. have already done.

The choice is up to you, however, in how you want to stay safe, live green, and not worry so much about the future.