Parents starting an air raid shelter

Ah yes that's what it was.

An Anderson shelter!, they wouldn't take a direct hit, but would be able to protect you from flying / falling rubble.

Ehm I’m not saying I’m a prepper but all over Europe governments warn you to prepare. Not because of a possible bomb. But because (and it seems quite a few posters have missed this) for over two years Russia has been trying to sabotage cables in the seas and it’s also in case they are able to hack say the energy supplies etc. There’s a real worry they’re going to try and attack a country not with arms but by hacking systems (which they already do on a regular basis) and try and create chaos that way.. So whilst I’m not sitting here in my bunker, a little preparation doesn’t quite deserve the vitriol it gets on here.

I mean are they wanting a slow painful death alone instead of a quick instant one

IKEA flat pack?

a shelter I don’t think would be any help i face of targeted strikes and nuclear ☢️ whatnot… the threat atm is combined insanity IMO btw USA, Iran and it’s Allie’s Israel and its Allie’s … the situation in the Middle East is escalating and as an ally of USA (and it seems Israel) we can’t rule out being a target.. what that may look like could stem from homegrown terrorism increasing to at most extreme actual strikes but I’d hope we are some way away from that. This is grave and i can’t believe this is happening tbh.

It is sensible to do that, I agree.

But I am amazed that OP's parents can build a shelter that will protect them from Putin's nukes.

In the 1980s my parents had a company round to quote on building a bomb shelter in our garden, in case of nuclear attack. They were advised it was pointless as we lived in a built up area and it would be covered with debris and we would never get out alive. So they stocked up on dehydrated army ration packs instead, and we had a lot of jerry cans in the cellar (not sure what was in them - water? petrol? vodka?). Nowadays we live within a stone's throw of a major US military base, so are guaranteed to be instantly incinerated in case of nuclear bombardment, which is fine with me as I don't fancy post-apocalyptic cannibalism. Also we sampled the ration packs and they were completely grim.

Spoken like a true communist 🙄😂

They're building it themselves? What are they building it out of?

Friends went to work in Switzerland for a year, the place they lived in had a nuclear bunker, and I was very jealous. (Though to be fair. I’m not sure I’d want to survive a big old nuclear bomb.)

OP, you could get them a copy of When the Wind Blows… it would put things into perspective for them, but it’s on the bleak side, which might not help their frames of mind.

I bet everyone said the same about the people who prepped for things ahead of Covid. They wernt the idiots running to supermarkets fighting over eggs and toilet roll 🤣

if you have children especially, you should always be prepared for things to go south be it a war or power outage or anything else. I mean building an air raid shelter does seem ott unless it’s built properly. You should have supplies etc.
we aren’t “preppers” but we always have 3-4 weeks stock of food and essentials in our pantry. Served us well during Covid

Could they come round and do an extension for me @PanicStations2025 ? They seem to be very speedy builders.

My granny used to have an old air raid shelter at the bottom of her garden. I never understood how it would be any use as it wasn't underground.

It was made of bricks with a tin roof so I don't know if maybe during the war it also had earth or something round it. We used to play in it as kids.

I feel this is appropriate

I wouldn't worry for a moment that Russia could strike us with bombs, however they are capable of causing chaos with our IT, energy supplies etc so maybe your parents aren't being so shortsighted

They've already built it and are filling it with duvets as we speak?.....course they have.

Given that the campaign in Ukraine was supposed to take 3 days and it's been 3 years, I don't think they have capacity to attack the UK unless it is some kind of unconventional cyber or terrorist like attack.

However I do think that with climate changing rapidly we will have to prepare to be able to get through couple of days without electricity or water, or ability to travel.

To be honest, I would really like to have access to a shelter. In my tiny terrace house there is nowhere to hide if we ever got bombed. I would be unable to even follow the advice about keeping away from a window because the rooms are pretty small.

We all need a project but unless it’s deep underground and lined with concrete, I’m not sure how useful it’ll be.

On the games front, what are they going for? Risk? Monopoly?

Huh?

Doesn't leave much time to build a shelter then.

Now if they had been nurses, or doctors, then I could understand them having a tonne of free time. With the added bonus they would be some use when the dust settles.

What are they making it out of? Have they dug up their garden to build it underground? Do they think this will protect them against ordinary shelling? Or something nuclear?

I’d let them crack on with it if I were you. If they’ve got to this stage, then nothing you say is going to convince them that they’re being bonkers. Let them feel like they’re doing something proactive if it puts their mind at rest.

I think that if we get to the stage of attacks, then it’s likely to be on our infrastructure, so it wouldn’t be the worst idea to have a regularly changed supply of bottled water, torches, batteries, a power pack, tinned food and some cash tucked away in a cupboard somewhere, and all your id in the same place. But that’s just common sense. If it gets to the stage where bombs are going off, moving into a garden shed isn’t going to help you.

A bit of prepping to have a few days worth of food, water, cash, solar powered powerbank seems sensible even if only for a cyberattack rather than a bomb.

Seems sensible.

I mean, maybe not actually a full-on shelter (are they just assembling things in the cellar, basically?), but generally almost everyone across Scandinavia and Eastern Europe has been told, and will have about a week's supplies, and know how to take shelter. Streets have signs on where the shelters are etc (tunnels, tube stations etc used for that purpose).

Mum's all set and if that gives her peace of mind, I'm pleased for her.

A UK military base is a very legit target.

We just haven't had war in Western Europe for so long that we all think it's insanity but looks at all the countries amassing artillery and generally gearing up for war, regular Russian cyber attacks, transport networks being taken down etc.

Even if they were to lose power and water for a few days, why not have that.

Everyone did this in Covid, it might be more relevant now.

If they're happy, hey, good for them.