Waiting for the end: the bunkering business is booming worldwide

The explosive growth of interest is being observed by owners of the private bunker business in the United States, where this market is most in demand. Many of them argue that there are few orders from those preparing for Judgment Day or the return of the Cold War. More are non-paranoid but willing to pay roughly $ 25,000 to get livable underground housing that will save in an emergency. According to The New York Times , buyers of these kind of shelters say they just want to protect their families from an increasingly turbulent world. Many decided to build a bunker even before the coronavirus emerged and now feel ready for the next crisis. This desire for security encompasses all sectors of society - socially, politically, racially, religiously.

In the 1950s and 1960s, when the US first saw demand for bunkers driven by the threat of nuclear war and the Cold War, they were made from rot-resistant plywood panels and concrete blocks buried and covered with sand or gravel. Most shelters today are made of steel or concrete. For example, the basic model of the American company Northeast Bunkers is a cylindrical vessel with a diameter of 2.5 meters and a length of 4-6 meters, welded from sheet steel 6 millimeters thick and equipped with an access hatch on top. Standard model includes corrosion resistant exterior paint, cedar wood flooring, zero VOC (volatile organic compound) interior trim, two vents, floor hatches for storage and an emergency exit hatch. Additional features - power connection, drinking water system, septic tank, bathroom, kitchen, bunks and explosion-proof door. These bunkers cost from $ 25,000 to $ 35,000.

Ron Hubbard, owner of Atlas Survival Shelters, a shelter construction company who made about $ 2 million in sales in August this year, claims in an interview with Business Insider that his business has revived since the new president came to power: Our clients tend to be Trump supporters, gun supporters, educated upper-class Christians. They mention their political views when explaining why they want to buy the bunker. They would rather build a shelter they may never need than risk being left without it. Everyone from CEOs to billionaires to celebrities buys our bunkers. Do you know who doesn't buy them? Democrats - at least they don't buy doomsday bunkers. They can buy tornado or fallout shelters or wine cellars, but that's about it. Since Biden took office, more and more clients have turned to bunkers to prepare for a potential disaster. Every time Biden appears on the news, it prompts some Republican to call me and say, “This country is going downhill. I need a bunker! " Our sales are up because Biden is unknowingly contributing to the bunker boom. ”

Atlas Survival Shelters offers a range of bunker models, from the very small, 10 square meters, priced around $ 50,000, to the impressive 1,000 square meters, for $ 5,000,000. As the owner of the company admits, they are snapping up everything from standard models, which are always in stock, to custom-made ones. Atlas Survival Shelters bunkers feature military-grade nuclear, biological and chemical air filtration systems, a mud room and decontamination shower, airtight and gastight watertight doors, and self-contained power supplies. In addition, clients can customize and decorate their home the way they like to make it feel like a real home. For customers looking for something special, there is a series of silos with built-in water tanks, spacious bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and showers, weapons rooms.

There are also bunkers in the world for the richest. For example, the Kansas Survival Condominium is probably the most luxurious of them all. It is an Atlas ICBM silo converted into a 15-story underground bunker - a veritable residential area with spacious apartments, a swimming pool, dog park, theater and shop, according to TimesNow . All these structures are underground and surrounded by walls from 80 centimeters to 3 meters thick.

Another bunker for billionaires is Oppidum in the Czech Republic. The two-level underground spaces include a swimming pool, spa, wine cellar, natural-light garden and hospital facilities. Oppidum was built in 1984 at the height of the Cold War. It is assumed that you can spend 10 years in it without communication with the outside world.

In Germany there is Vivos Europa - "modern Noah's ark". This over 300,000 square meter overhead and underground fortified structure is capable of withstanding a nuclear explosion, direct airliner crash, biological and chemical attacks, earthquakes, electromagnetic pulses, floods and virtually any armed attack. Private apartments here cost more than 2 million euros, and semi-private apartments cost 35,000 euros.

Incidentally, the company Vivos, which built this shelter, plans to create a global community of many of these bunkers. When the coronavirus pandemic broke out in the world, it was rumored that many senior executives from Silicon Valley fled to a 300-person bunker built by Vivos in Christchurch, New Zealand.