You are the visitor to this page since November 12, 1997

Really now.....Why a Fallout Shelter???

Interesting graphic, no? Did you know that during the 1950's during the height of the cold war that over 100,000 AMERICANS built their own BOMB SHELTERS? Many people THESE DAYS are concerned about terrorist threats and the availability of nuclear material on the black market,  or maybe the still-viable threat of first strike by Russia or China, or a third world attempt to start Armageddon.   Any student of prophecy or terrorist activity will tell you that the threat of nuclear detonation within the boundaries of the United States is a very real possibility in the next few years.  While the watchdogs of public safety work their tails off trying to stay ahead of all threats- real or imaginary- someone, somewhere is going to actually accomplish their goal of terrorizing the populace with a nuke in the future.  What can YOU do to prepare your family for this fearful action?

IMPORTANT THOUGHT #1: A fallout shelter can also be used as a STORM SHELTER, for protection from tornadoes and hurricanes, and any other natural phenomena that as a habit tosses large, heavy, and dangerous objects thru the air in your general vicinity.

BUILD A FALLOUT SHELTER!

 That's right...the old staple of the fifties and sixties Cold War era...the time has come to bring back the basement or backyard shelter, right to your neighborhood. Even now, FEMA has many plans available to you, just for the cost of a stamp.  Some plans have even been digitized and can be downloaded over the interent.. Go to THIS PAGE to DOWNLOAD several ADOBE ACROBAT  digitized FEMA plans of Build Your Own FALLOUT SHELTERS plans.  The actual cost of building the shelter, using those inexpensive plans, will be a little more then it used to cost in the sixties.....inflation sucks, right? There are many things to be remembered, however, if you REALLY want to build a fallout shelter. Details to consider like actual radiation exposure, claustraphobia, amount of damage, blast waves, food and water, sanitation, and fresh air ALL must be considered in the ACTUAL USE of a fallout shelter.

Where to build one in or around your home is fairly simple, once you understand a few basics of what makes nuclear explosions and nuclear war "a bad thing".  

IMPORTANT THOUGHT #2: The term "fallout shelter" may be treated to mean the same thing as a "blast shelter", a "bomb shelter", a "nuclear bunker",  or even a "hidey-hole" (if you're from the south, that is!)

WHERE TO PUT A FALLOUT SHELTER

First, you need to figure out if you are near a likely target of a massive first strike.  Most targets of this nature are going to be sources of threat to the attacker, such as military bases, missile silos, large population areas, shipyards, large civil airports, hi-tech industrial regions (such as Silicon Valley), energy areas (electricity producing dams, fuel tank farms, oil refineries), large regional transportation hubs (large airports, train switching yards, truck depots,  shipyards and loading docks, cargo storage facilities), and anything that  might be associated with these.  Terrorist threats would almost certainly be in extremely populated areas like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles.  If your home is located near any of these possible targets, consider moving farther into the suburbs, or into rural areas within commuting distance of your workplace. Also, consider a small rural property for a small vacation cottage or mobile home, if you still want to stay close to the city for employment reasons. A few acres in a rural area can also act as a retreat or stronghold in case of such an attack. This property would be best used for possible gardening,  a small home or trailer to rent for income purposes for your family, or maybe just a place to take the kids camping on weekends.

Once you have an idea of possible targets in your area, get a map (preferably a topographic map from the US Geological Survey) and calculate your general bearing from the selected target area.  The idea is to figure out exactly where in your yard or home basement to put your planned fallout shelter.  If your home is north of a military base, then you want to use the southern wall of your basment or the yard by the north facing side of your house to put your fallout shelter.  The idea is to get as much mass, such as soil piled against the outside basement wall of your home, as possible between you and the possible detonation and its aftereffects.

IMPORTANT THOUGHT #3:   CLICK on any picture on this page to view an enlarged version of the same image.....

WHAT IS FALLOUT?

Any gives off radiation  during the explosion, as well as severe destructive power by the blast wave (causing winds up to 1000 mph nearest ground zero).  A ground burst detonation is one in which any part of the fireball touches the ground, and these are the most problematic. A ground burst will raise soil, building materials, and anything in the area up into the mushroom cloud, as the heat from the explosion rises and cool air rushes in from around the base of the cloud to fill the void, therefore bringing in even more material to be rained downwind all over the area as highly radioactive fallout.The more mass you have between you and the detonation, the less of a problem you will have with direct radioactivity. There are three main radioactive particles you need to be concerned about. Alpha particles can be stopped by one inch of air or a sheet of paper. Beta particles are halted by 10 feet of air or heavy clothing.  The bad particles, Gamma, are slowed down by a half mile of air or 2 1/2 feet of earth. Gamma particles are responsible for the great majority of illness associated with nuclear explosions.  During the explosion, radioactive particles are caused by the great quantities of earth and other debris that are sucked up into the nuclear cloud. These particles  are condensed from the gases caused by the explosion, and settle into the dust and dirt that falls back to earth as "fallout".  On the way down, and after they reach the ground, the radioactive particles exude invisible Gamma rays, like x-rays, into the surrounding area.  Too much direct contact with Gamma rays can kill or injure, and cause lifelong health problems like cancer.  Gamma particles give off most of their radiation quickly and during the first few hours and days after an attack, they should be avoided as much as possible.

As mentioned above, mass makes a difference as to how much sheilding you may get from gamma rays. Most fallout shelters have a masonry area covered at least by some earth to help slow down the path of gamma rays.  Whether your fallout shelter is in your basment, or buried in the back yard, consider the following before you build.

"Concrete, bricks, earth and sand are some of the materials that are dense or heavy enough to provide fallout protection.  For comparitive purposes, 4 inches of concrete would provide the same shielding density as:

• 5 to 6 inches of bricks
• 6 inches or sand or gravel or 7 inches or earth (may be packed into bags, boxes, cartons for easier handling)
• 8 inches of hollow concrete blocks (six inches if filled with sand)
• 10 inches of water
• 14 inches of books or magazines
• 18 inches of wood

  -source FEMA book H-14, "In Time Of Emergency", page 20.
  

Other kinds of shelters could be custom made pre-fabricated shelters from any of a number of companies(more info below), custom built in place shelters buried several feet underground somewhere in your yard, with either tunnel access from your basement or a double entry area thru hatches in your yard (somehow hidden from common view), or if you would like to get the most band for your buck a custom  built earthsheltered, off-grid powered, well shielded, concrete-lined underground home, available from several companies. More info on pre-fab shelters, construction plans, and custom earthsheltered home builders can be found on my links page at http://members.aol.com/rafleet/blast-links.htm.

WHY WOULD YOU NEED A FALLOUT SHELTER?

Most people who would hear the words "fallout shelter" these days, would think they were in the vicinity of the neighborhood kook, or maybe a member of a wierd religous cult.  Most of these people are more concerned with whether or not their new car needs another coat of wax, or if they need to pick up their laundry or have their fingernails refinished at the local mall on the way home.  These people would consider the possibility of terrorist nukes, first strike, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, or any other earth changes v-e-r-y unlikely in their town ANY time in the near future.   IF you are  reading this, then you obviously suspect that current  economic, socio-political, and natural sciences  situations are more serious than they have been in a long time.  The book shelves at your local bookstore add new books on prophecy, earth changes, terrorist activity (and reviews of their handywork), and new age "we can save the world if we all work together to heal it" crowd, at an alarming rate.  Talk radio hosts like Art Bell, Chuck Harder, Bo Gritz on AM or FM stations, and a multitude of shortwave boardcasters at all times of the day and night make a regular habit of spotlighting the growing rumble of "end-times" activity. Almost weekly reports of North Korea's famine situation, China's threats to the US about "which is more important to you-Taiwan or YOUR west coast?", and middle eastern suicide bombers, as well as recent events within our borders like the bombings of Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center,  ALL bring us closer to the eventual possibility of someone/some group upgrading the stakes to a nuke threat. If YOU think that somewhere, sometime soon there will be another bombing, possible larger, than you should consider making a shelter for you and your loved ones in or near your home. As the new millenium approaches, the low growl of millenium madness will rise to a crescendo, grabbing everyone's attention in subtle ,or more likely, highly visible and very disturbing ways.  This added factor alone may be the nudge that pushs that particular terrorist group over the edge, to the nuclear brink......

IMPORTANT THOUGHT #4:  Sources for actual designs of fallout shelters: FEMA, Association of Civil Defense, books, online plans, etc.

DIFFERENT DESIGNS OF SHELTERS-

community, personal, permanent, expediant, multipurpose, hidden from all, above ground, remote retreat

IDEAS FOR LOCATIONS OF YOUR SHELTER-

basement, backyard, rural land

HOW MUCH TIME WILL I HAVE TO BUILD A SHELTER?

planned, emergency, after detonation, local community shelters

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR A FALLOUT SHELTER-

bricks, morter, sand, wood, air filter, air pump, rebar, cement

ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION-

do it yourself, contractors, prefab,

WATERPROOFING YOUR SHELTER-

before, during, after construction

AFTER CONSTRUCTION ,WHAT CAN I DO WITH IT IF THERE AREN'T ANY NUKES?

store food storage, extra tools, camping equipment, water supply,  a quiet reading room, playhouse for the kids, photo darkroom, etc

SUPPLIES TO KEEP IN THE SHELTER

food, water, cots, reading material, communication hardware, cleaning supplies, extra clothing, medical supplies, bottled air, oxygen in tanks, alternative energy sources, self-protection gear

FOOD AND WATER STORAGE-

sources for food storage information, and purchase

OTHER ITEMS TO STORE

for all possible events that might happen

SUMMARY

should you still have questions, just look at the evening news.....

Site Design by and

The phrase SurvivalRing, the various SurvivalRing graphics, and the associated SurvivalRing LOGOS on this website are all COPYRIGHTED by Richard Fleetwood ©1997-99, All Rights Reserved.

Unauthorized use, reproduction, or reposting is strictly prohibited.