Several years ago, I saw a novel underground shelter. A buddy in Texas took me down into the "cellar", which was remarkably roomy and solid. I asked him what the deal was, and he chuckled and said, "Well, here's the deal. When old semi-trailers get their running gear all beat to crap, a lot of times the "box" is just fine. They'll practically GIVE you those boxes, just to get rid of them, so I got a couple to use as storage sheds on the ranch, then I thought, 'hey, why don't I put a couple of 'em underground, for cooler temps?', and I did. So here you are. Strong doors, layers of insulation, and flat floors. All you gotta do is dig a great big hole!"
I thought that was pretty cool. Of course, he left out the part about getting the stuff to your property, placing it in the hole, etc., but hey, if you're inventive enough to build a shelter, you'll find a way...
Incidentally, if you go to the FEMA website, you can get good disaster planning info at:
http://www.fema.gov/plan/index.shtm, as well as
in-depth training on radioactive emergencies at:
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is3.asp The best way to take this training course is to first download the test, and print it out. Then sign on and take the test, filling in the answers as you go. At the end of the course, you'll have the same basic education on this topic as an emergency management professional!
This Emergency Management Institute has dozens of online courses that are FREE, and are even college-accredited in some places. It's a good way to get in touch with what the government will be doing during major disasters. This can be a big help in planning escape routes, communication plans, etc.
Believe it or not, the Feds are working on plans that make sense, if everybody will "play nice". Here in rural Indiana, our local responders do a professional job, and would never make a hash of things like the leaders in New Orleans did. And you can bet none of our citizens will be huddled on a roof, waiting for government helicopters to rescue them! Unfortunately, because of a few unprepared people, who expect the feds to rescue them from every conceivable problem, the rest of us are going to have to obey a new mountain of paperwork that tries to ensure that we're all doing the right things; things that many, if not most, places were already doing.
Sorry for the rant. I'm involved in emergency management, and it frosts me when people blame everybody but themselves for a lack of preparedness....
That's why I like you guys!
