Bomb Shelter Mania?

It’s official, thanks to North Korea’s shenanigans, bomb shelter sales are soaring.  With the escalating war of words between Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump, many people are assuming the worst-case scenario will happen sooner or later, and they want to be prepared.

While this is great from an emergency preparedness perspective, the process of figuring out what kind of bomb shelter is appropriate for you and your family is complicated.  So, I figured I’d touch on some of the basics.

Bomb Shelter Prices and Options

A good bomb shelter can apparently withstand being within a quarter mile of a nuclear bomb detonation.  These protective bunkers come in a variety of sizes and price points, and like anything in life, you get what you pay for.

The most basic types will generally cost in the $30-$50k rage.  One example is an 8×12 mini bunker from Rising S company that retails for $39,500.  On the other end of the spectrum is luxury models, including one with a bowling alley, gym, gun range, pool and garage, that goes for a cool $8.3 million.

Of course, there are also mid-rage models, such as a 32×10 foot bomb shelter from a company called Underground Shelters USA that costs $70k.

Why Utilities Should Care

The foundation of emergency planning and outage restoration is safety. This is why I am always an advocate of things that are not particularly enjoyable but at the same time improve safety, like evacuation.  And bomb shelters fall right into this category.  Simply put, the greater the number of people that can protect themselves, the easier it becomes for utility crews to respond and recover.