You never know when you might become the victim of a natural or manmade disaster. While the thought can be unnerving, it’s important to put you and your family in the best position to survive comfortably no matter what happens.
The decision to build an underground bomb shelter isn’t one you’ll make lightly. But it’s a necessary one if you want to make sure your family is safe even when the unthinkable occurs. After you’ve put the finishing touches on your shelter, the next step involves choosing your emergency shelter supplies.
What Kinds of Underground Bomb Shelter Supplies Do I Need?
Building a nuclear bomb shelter is the first step to ensure your family’s safety in any event. But you’ll also need to outfit your shelter with supplies that will keep your family safe, comfortable and well-fed during the time you’ll spend underground.
Here are some of the survival shelter supplies you’ll need:
- Food and water — First things first: Once you and your family are safe, you’re going to need to eat and drink to stay alive. In most cases, you won’t need more than a couple days’ worth of food and water. But the more you have, the better prepared you’ll be for any situation you may encounter.
Stock up on sealed drinking water and non-perishable foods. You can also stockpile salt, pepper and other spices, as well as other things like peanut butter and granola.
- Potassium iodide and iodine solution — In a case of a nuclear attack, you can use potassium iodide and iodine solution to help protect your thyroid and body from exposure to radiation.
- Backup lights — Let’s hope your electricity stays on if you’re forced to stay underground for an extended period of time. Since you can’t be sure of what will happen, you should take extra steps to make sure you can comfortably move around your underground bomb shelter. Stock plenty of flashlights, lanterns and glow sticks in your shelter — and don’t forget backup batteries.
- First aid kit — You’ll also need to store medical supplies like Band-Aids, sterile adhesive bandages, splints and gauze, and tools like scissors and tweezers. Also consider stocking some aspirin or Tylenol and other non-prescription drugs.
- Clothing and bedding — Store a couple of changes of clothes per person, some shoes and any other clothes you might want access to during a prolonged stay in your shelter. You can also stock it with sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, air mattresses and other items.
- Miscellaneous supplies — Nature doesn’t stop if you’re living in an underground nuclear fallout shelter. Make sure you stock up on toilet paper and soap. If your shelter doesn’t have a toilet, you should stick an empty 5-gallon drum in there just to be safe.
Consider entertainment, too. Books, board games and puzzles are a good place to start.
If you’ve built your underground bomb shelter and are determining which emergency preparedness supplies you need, contact Northwest Shelter Systems to see how our team can help. (844)NBC-DOOR (844) 622-3667