“Sandbags, bricks, containers filled with water, or any heavy materials that you can find can be used to protect against a nuclear blast,” Richardson notes. Once you’ve found the best place in your vicinity to go in the event of a bomb scare, there’s more you can do to fortify this area. Basically, “the more material you can place between yourself and the rays, the better protected you will be.” How to build a fallout shelter “The bottom center portion of a building will provide the most protection from gamma rays, since the upper floors of the building and the exterior rooms will act as a shield,” Richardson says. In addition to the type of building you shelter in, where you hunker down inside can make a huge difference. Richardson says that in case of a nuclear blast, you’re better off choosing an interior room in your home, as low down as possible. “While an underground shelter is going to provide more protection, even a concrete office building can act as an emergency fallout shelter,” Richardson says. So if your house is made of wood and your neighbor’s is sturdy concrete, you may be best off heading next door. Lead and concrete are also listed among the best options to block the gamma rays of a nuclear blast, says Robert Richardson, author of The Ultimate Situational Survival Guide. If you’re living in a home with no basement, all is not lost.

If you live in a home with an underground basement, you’re in luck-at least 3 feet of solid packed earth offers sufficient protection. The key to staying safe during a nuclear attack is to place material capable of blocking gamma rays between you and the blast. Claim your home to stay up-to-date of your home‘s value and equity.

Fallout shelter building supplies