DH wants to build a bunker/shelter in the basement

[DHmad]

I wish I was kidding!

DH has decided it would be sensible to create a bunker/fall out shelter in the basement in case of nuclear war/war. I feel like he’s gone mad!

I think the Gov alerts have been done elsewhere for some time. We got one in Florida in 2016 that warned of a hurricane I think and told us all to shelter in the bathroom!

@crispmidnightpeace

If nuclear war is a possibility why do you think preparing as best you can is a bad idea? Genuine question.

I saw 'Threads' when I was 13. I spent most of my teenage years thinking I was going to die in a nuclear strike before I hit adulthood. I couldn't imagine a future without a nuclear winter in it. Dancing with tears in my eyes, 99 red balloons, Sting and his children loving Russians...

Then I do grow up and discover that having feared Russian aggression, it all nearly ended in a whoopsie butterfingers wrong rods, my bad, incident at Chernobyl. Or the close fuck up which was Able Archer. Or any of the other mishaps which have happened with nuclear warheads over the years (one of which apparently was retrieved from a crash with 5 of its 6 safeguards having failed).

I'm just not going to spend any more of my life being afraid. I packed innumerable bunkers in my head throughout the 80s - I'm not doing that again.

Climate change. That's an existential threat we have a chance to do something about. No point being afraid of the Russians ending it all and then ignoring the other threat in front of us.

@mumwon

they did carpet bombing of "normal" bombs of Tokyo just before Hiroshima - the death rate mostly caused by fires (wooden buildings) caused a direct death rate in the 10's of thousands.

100,000 plus in the firebomb raid of March 9/10 1945..in one night, plus maybe a 1,000,000 made homeless.

I suspect the reason they chose Hiroshima & Nagasaki, I suspect, is that they had NOT had that much bombing before &the US wanted to know how much damage a single bomb could caused to a city.

No reason to suspect it, it’s established historical fact that the US put certain Japanese cities (including but not exclusively Hiroshima and Nagasaki,) on a formal do not bomb list several months before A bomb strikes the exactly the reason you mention.

Probably the most authoritative source on this is Richard Rhodes,’s Pulitzer price winning book, “The Making of the Atomic Bomb”, but it’s probably not one many would fancy reading at the moment.

@Akire

I grew up in 1980s every house had one those leaflets to survive nuclear attacks. Lay on side road and cover your face with your coat (sure that done loads) Or take all doors off and prop them up around your dinning room table and make your family lay under it to see if you would all fit.

I'm sure it ws just to keep us busy because in reality it wouldn't help. It would prevent us getting in the way though.

The people in power have them. Are they crazy?

The people in power have actual bomb shelters. Not a lean to made out of a clothes horse and some sheets

Seriously watch where the wind blows

@Mumofsend

How on earth does doors propped up on a dining room table do anything? I'm really confused by the leaflet.

I think I'm in the rather just die group

Stops you panicking.

It would be easier to move to Switzerland where there are already bunkers under apartment buildings, schools etc by law. I stayed in one once - very weird experience but they are equipped with decontamination showers, storage, even fake pot plants!

I want some of these 😂
Watermelon Aluminum Foil Heat Resistant Fireproof Clothing 1000 Degree Centigrade Fireproof Suit Inflaming Retarding Suit Full Set For Firefighters www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KY4F7R2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_3CW359ZWMKWKKDQFX0YR?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I know of someone who was stuck in Kuwait when it was invaded. When they built a house he insisted it has a basement

Apparently it flooded lots

In the 70s a friend of my mum's decided to build a bunker in the garden for his family. The build became a talking point, featuring in local papers, at which point lots of unexpected issues came to light.

First, other people will want in so he would have to be prepared to fight them off.
He would need a huge amount of supplies, water and clean air because he wouldn't be able to leave for a long time, possibly years.
What sort of world would he and his family finally emerge into and what sort of reception would they have?

Long story but the build didn't go well.

Your DH is frightened and unsurprisingly wants to take action but I think this is unlikely to be a good idea. It's hard though being so powerless. I think we're all feeling it to some degree or another.

@mumwon - it's like you read my entire post and yet the point totally alluded you......

@Dottdoo news.sky.com/story/ukraine-invasion-what-nuclear-weapons-does-russia-possess-and-what-might-it-use-them-for-12554087

Get your husband to watch the only fools and horses bomb shelter episode. Although funny, it does cover how much water/supplies you would need and how mad the idea is.
Ok in WW2 for conventional bombs of that era... of no use now.

@mumwon - did you actually read what I wrote fully? Or did you pick out a sentence out of context and just decie to make up an argument on it? You're literally arguing with yourself as you clearly can't see the overall point I was making.

I would rather die quick than live out my final days in a bunker with my husband and his nervous farts. Genuinely.

@Stillfunny

Not too long ago , the Irish government issued every household with iodine tablets in case of emergency. I eventually threw them out , wish I hadn't now bit they were probably out of date if there is such a thing.

Can you imagine on AIBU: 'My iodine tablets are 48 hours out of date - would you take them? DH says defiantly not as they were left on the worktop overnight and I caught the cat licking the packet 🤮 Plz advise thank X'

People would probably still want to wash their towels every day.

Was looking up courses with the women's national emergency preparedness organisation in my country and came across these pamphlets - in case anyone is building their bunkers here's some advice on what you might need (and for everyone else, wise preparations for any kind of life disturbance that means you can't just pop to the shop)
naistenvalmiusliitto.fi/omatoiminen-varautuminen/
Middle of the page you can see the links to the English language pdfs

Of course, the real question to answer is will it be a shoes-on or shoes-off bunker?

Shoes-off of course. When you're all huddled together under blankets to keep warm, shoes will just be uncomfortable.

Plus its not like you'll be going in and out of the bunker all day long. Or at all.

.... adds comfortable slippers to preppers list...

Agree shoes off! Although would probably opt for slippers!

@deadlanguage

It would be easier to move to Switzerland where there are already bunkers under apartment buildings, schools etc by law. I stayed in one once - very weird experience but they are equipped with decontamination showers, storage, even fake pot plants!

I've been in a Swiss one (in a block of apartments in a ski resort) and I wasn't too impressed. But apparently the concrete was built to withstand a certain amount of blast and the blast doors were impressive. There was emergency lighting and that was about it!

Apparently there are also spaces within some of the road tunnels which Swiss people can use, but new homes no longer have to be built with nuclear shelters.