What’s The Closest Natural Nuclear Bunker to Your Home? - Ask a Prepper (2024)

Only a handful of preppers can afford a $ 70k nuclear bunker.

But if you think about it, there are a lot of natural nuclear shelters in the US that are absolutely free.

All you need to do is to identify the closest one to your home and maybe include it into your bug out plan in case a nuclear war is looming (or an asteroid impact).

Keep in mind that these bunkers are allnaturally EMP hardened. But they will protect you only from the nuclear blast and theinitial radiation burst.

Sometimes the shelter is so close that is right below yourfeet. It’s the case in Detroit, where just 1200 Feet below there is a salt mine that can easily shelter the entire population of Detroit! Actually, it can shelter over 5 million people.

What’s The Closest Natural Nuclear Bunker to Your Home? - Ask a Prepper (2)

The salt mine was used to mine table salt, but with the decline in salt prices the mine is now used to mine road salt for winter. The Michigan basin and the great lakes area (since there are also huge salt mines in Canada), used to be part of a sea which sank into the earth. The salt was left behind and formed the massive deposits that we mine today.

Detroit isn’t the only city with a salt mine below it. Other cities like Houston and Cleveland (1400 feet below) are also situatedover salt mines.

So I’mgoing to start with…

…The Underground Salt Mines:

What’s The Closest Natural Nuclear Bunker to Your Home? - Ask a Prepper (3)

Salt mines are your best option because they are very spacious with large rooms rather than narrow, dark, high humidity tunnels like you see in mines!

Caves

From 1964-1973 the USA and CIA conducted a secret war to support the Royal Laos Government and to stop the communist incursion by dropping bombs on then communist Lagos and northern Vietnam.

Unbelievably in these years the USA dropped more bombs than any other time in the history of war. 270Million cluster bombs, 210 million more than Iraq in 1991, 1998 and 2006 COMBINED! 7 million tons of bombs, more than twice the amount dropped in Europe and Asia in WWII. This is equal to a laneload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24 hrs. a day for 9 years.

Kaysone Phomvihane who was the leader of the communist movement led his people to limestone caves in the craggy mountains at the Vietnam boarder. The shelter has become known as the ‘City of Victory’ and is a tourist attraction.

There is an extensive network of caves all across the USA. I have made a list of the largest ones, state by state for your reference.

What’s The Closest Natural Nuclear Bunker to Your Home? - Ask a Prepper (4)

There are many advantages to cave living even in an emergency situation. They tend to retain heat in the winter and are cool in the summer as well as an excellent natural hide away from natural disasters.

There was even a reference to living in limestone caves of Missouri the film “Deep Impact” when comet was to hit the earth and flood a greater part of the world.

The reality is that nature provides most things that we need to survive, so why not a cave as a refuge for war or nuclear bombs?

Underground Mines:

What’s The Closest Natural Nuclear Bunker to Your Home? - Ask a Prepper (5)

You might find it hard to believe, but Kansas City has a “nuclear shelter” which houses 10 percent of city’s commercial real estate.

Subtropolis – as it is called – is an ex limestone mine with an excavated size of 140 football fields, which was turned into an underground industrial park. The limestone deposits are six times stronger than concrete.

UPDATE:

Find The Closest Mine to Your Home:

Unfortunately, there isn’t a reliable map with all US underground mines. I tried to use Google Maps but it has a lot of other facilities with the name “mines” and also surface mines. You can see it here.

But you can use a website to find the closest mine to your home. Justenter your location and make sure you’ve checked “underground” anda 50 miles radius. The results is your closest “nuclear shelter”.

If you don’t have any mines near your home, scroll down and you’ll find “mines by state”, select your state and see whatmines are close to you.

A Final Word

Of course, a specially made nuclear bunker has food, water and oxygen reserves. These natural shelters will protect you only from the nuclear blast and the initial radiation burst.

Chances are that you won’t be warned about a nuclear blast, but (just in case) here are 3 signs that you need to take “nuclear” cover:

1 – When your electronics stop working (most of them)

Most experts agree that the next nuclear war will start with at least an EMP.If one of the nuclear powers blasts a nuclear weapon 275 miles above the US it will produce an EMP that will basically send us, the Canadian and the Mexicans back to the Dark Ages. This is exactly what our enemy wants: to disrupt our communication and our ability to retaliate at full capacity.I have something you need to watch. It’s much better than I am at explaining the threat.Watch itand learn what you should fear most(Video), what an EMP effects and how you can protect your electronics, car, mobile phones, etc.(Source)

2 – When you hear on the news that anuclear bomb has just detonated somewhere

It doesn’t matter if it’s in the US, Russia or China… I’m thinking that when a nuclear bomb explodes we face 3 possibilities: a nuclear war which may involve the US, nuclear terrorism which means that the first explosion may be followed by another four, or human error like in 1956 when theUS Air Force accidentally dropped two atomic bombs on North Carolina. If it’s the last case… then yes you’ve probably evacuated in vain. But the risk worth the effort!(Source)

3 – When a Nuclear Bomb explodes a few miles away, but does not kill you.

If you’re not killed in the first few minutes, you can live a lifetime or die of cancer in the next few days. The longer you expose yourself to radiation (in the radioactive area) the lowest the chances to survive. Take your family and leave as fast as you can! (Source)

Because an article is way too short to include info on all mines in the U.S. I suggest you use it as a starting point to find the closest location and then find more info about it.

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Tags: doomsdaynuclear warprotect your familyteotwawki

What’s The Closest Natural Nuclear Bunker to Your Home? - Ask a Prepper (2024)

FAQs

How do I seal my house from radiation? ›

To seal a room:
  1. Seal all windows, rooms and air vents in one room with 2-4 mil. thick plastic sheeting and duct tape. ...
  2. Cut the plastic sheeting at least six inches wider than the openings and label each sheet.
  3. Duct tape plastic at corners first and then tape down all edges.

How much does a prepper bunker cost? ›

The average shelter that Hubbard sells “on a daily basis” — consisting of a prefab modular steel bunker — is in the $200,000 to $400,000 range (“It's like buying a Ferrari,” he says) and 50 percent of Atlas Survival Shelters clients are women.

How deep would a bunker have to be to survive a nuke? ›

BUILD UNDERGROUND

A fallout shelter needs to protect you from radioactive particles and blast impact: compacted dirt is great at both. Building down to a depth of about ten feet will provide ample protection, but any deeper makes it hard to dig out in the event of a collapse.

How can you protect your house from nuclear radiation? ›

Close and lock all windows and doors, and close fireplace dampers. When you move to your shelter, use duct tape and plastic sheeting to seal any doors, windows, or vents for a short period of time in case a radiation plume is passing over (listen to your radio for instructions).

What household materials block radiation? ›

Shielding: Barriers of lead, concrete, or water provide protection from penetrating gamma rays. Gamma rays can pass completely through the human body; as they pass through, they can cause damage to tissue and DNA.

What is the cheapest bunker to buy? ›

$1,165,000 (Free With Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack)

The Paleto Forest Bunker is the cheapest, costing approximately $1,165,000. The reason that this bunker is the cheapest is due to its location, as it is certainly far away from every other location. It's around Paleto Bay, which is the utmost part of the map.

How long can you survive in a bunker? ›

Underground fall-out shelters can be designed to maintain acceptable thermal conditions for isolation periods of about 2 weeks, with minimal artificial heating or cooling and ventilation. Mechanical cooling is essential in desert regions and hot-humid areas.

How long does an underground bunker last? ›

Atlas Survival Shelters has premade bunkers, just pick a site to install them. They are made out of 12-foot diameter galvanized corrugated pipe. They are 11 times stronger than a square design and they can last for 200 years underground. They can even be buried up to 42 feet below the Earth's surface.

How long after a nuke is it safe to go outside? ›

Unless you're told to go outside, it's best to stay put until the risk of contamination has gone down. The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends staying indoors for at least 24 hours after a nuclear explosion.

How far away do I have to be from a nuke to survive? ›

The resulting inferno, and the blast wave that follows, instantly kill people directly in their path. But a new study finds that some people two to seven miles away could survive—if they're lucky enough to find just the right kind of shelter.

Where to buy a house to survive a nuclear war? ›

'The elevation of the Rocky Mountains means that fallout would be dispersed more quickly and assisted by higher winds, which could help to minimize any radioactive material reaching the area. He also recommends areas in the Midwest and southeast - particularly rural ones with access to fresh water and farmland.

How long would it take for radiation to clear after a nuclear war? ›

Although the dangerous radiation levels will subside rapidly over the first few days, residual radiation from the long half-life fission products (such as 90Sr, 106Ru, 137Cs, 147Pm, and 155Eu) will become the main contributions to exposure (after about 10 years).

How many iodine pills protect against radiation? ›

How to Take KI
Predicted Thyroid ExposureNumber or fraction of 65 mg tablets
Children over 3 years through 12 years≥ 51
Adolescents, 12 through 18 years (adolescents that weigh over 150 pounds should take adult dose)≥ 51
Adults over 18 through 40 years≥ 102
Pregnant or Lactating Women≥ 52
3 more rows

How to get rid of radioactive dust or sand? ›

For example, applying pressurized water to contaminated surfaces may effectively remove radioactive contamination.

How can I protect my walls from radiation? ›

Lead is often used to line walls as it's an incredibly dense metallic that radiation struggles to penetrate. Concrete and steel also provide suitable X-ray room wall materials but should be thicker than lead if they aim to offer the same radiation protection.

What removes radiation from the body? ›

Prussian blue (Radiogardase).

This type of dye binds to particles of radioactive elements known as cesium and thallium. The radioactive particles then pass out of the body in feces. This treatment speeds up the elimination of the radioactive particles and reduces the amount of radiation cells may absorb.

How do you insulate a room from radiation? ›

Try not to die from radiation burns and/or poisoning. To make your bedroom as nuclear-proof as possible, start by insulating your windows and doors with aluminum foil. Bricks and mattresses can also provide added protection against heat and radiation.

Can radiation leak through walls? ›

The walls of a building can block much of the harmful radiation. Once inside, go to the basem*nt or the middle of the building. Radioactive material settles on the outside of buildings, so the best thing to do is stay as far away from the walls and roof of the building as you can.

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