Additional Coverage:
As tensions escalate in the Middle East following U.S. action against Iranian nuclear facilities, the locations of Cold War-era nuclear fallout shelters across the U.S. have come back into focus. While thousands of these shelters, designed to protect against radioactive fallout, are marked on historical maps and even Google Maps, their viability today is questionable.
States like New York, Maryland, Michigan, Texas, and Wisconsin still have hundreds, if not thousands, of these underground facilities, primarily located in major cities. However, experts like Air Force veteran and survivalist Sean Gold caution that supplies stocked in these shelters decades ago have likely expired. He emphasizes that a functional fallout shelter needs shielding (concrete, steel, or several yards of dirt), proper ventilation with filters, and weeks or months’ worth of food and water.
Gold also points out that shelters should be situated away from likely blast zones and within easy reach for those planning to use them. Given that most Cold War-era shelters are no longer suitable, FEMA now advises sheltering in place, preferably in basements or interior rooms with thick walls, for at least 24 to 48 hours after a nuclear event.