Underground Shelter

There are many interesting ideas for underground shelters on the Internet.

An underground shelter is a good place to store food and munitions and to stay during emergencies and disasters. The temperature stays a relativley stable 65 degrees or so, so you don't have to worry so much about the outside elements. Also, if there is a nuclear attack or other atomic fallout, it provides better protection from fallout than a wood frame house. If you have a basement or cellar, this will have added benefit, but a true underground shelter will have a foot or more earth covering on top and provide added protection.

My underground shelter is a simple 25 foot steel ocean container that I prepared for burial by painting with asphalt. After the hole was dug with a ramp at one end, the container was slid into place. Several bales of straw were then packed around the outside to wick moisture away. On the open end a steel culvert was put in place for the ladder access. Air vents were installed with a hand operated pump installed on one. The whole unit was then covered with two feet of earth. To make it much stronger, add a 6" concrete slab over the roof before backfilling. Make the slab 2 feet wider and longer than the container and add rebar for additional strength..

Inside are shelves for food and supplies, cots for sleeping, two 55 gallon water drums and a porta potti installed in a corner with walls built for privacy. The only electrical installed is a single 12 volt circuit for one small emergency light. This is connected to a bank of batteries stored topside. Enough supplies can be stored to easily support four people for 15 days or more.

Here are links to other underground shelters on the Internet.

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Falls/1984/

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