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America’s Forgotten Fallout Shelters: What Remains, What’s At Risk, and How to Survive

If a nuclear bomb went off tomorrow, where would you go?

Would you rush into the nearest public building? Head downtown to that old concrete structure with a faded Fallout Shelter sign bolted to the side? Would you run to your kids’ school, your city hall, your church?

You’d be wasting time.

Because here’s the cold truth: the fallout shelter system in the United States is dead. The signs are still there, but the doors are locked. The supplies are gone. And nobody is coming to save you.

The Great Lie of Civil Defense

In the 1960s, the U.S. government built a nationwide network of fallout shelters. Millions of barrels of water, boxes of crackers, radiation meters, and first aid kits were stockpiled in basements, schools, government buildings, and parking garages. Then they let it all rot.

By the 1980s, the program was defunded. The supplies were removed or expired. The shelters were repurposed into boiler rooms, storage closets, or forgotten entirely. The only thing left is the signage. A ghost of protection long abandoned.

Today, the federal government tells citizens to “shelter in place” in the event of a nuclear attack. In your living room? Your wood-framed suburban home? With no shielding and no supplies?

That is not a survival plan. That is a death sentence.

Fallout Doesn’t Kill Fast. It Kills Long.

Most people will not die in the blast. They will die in the hours and days that follow.

Radiation from fallout, the ash, dust, and debris that rains down after a nuclear explosion, spreads for hundreds of miles. It burns skin. It poisons lungs. It contaminates food and water. And it does not go away overnight.

You may need to stay sealed inside for up to two weeks before it is safe to emerge. But what good is a shelter without food, water, or air?

We Built the Map They Should Have Given You

That is why we created the Fallout Shelter Mapping Project. This is a nationwide resource, made up of 52 interactive maps, one for each U.S. state and territory. It shows every known, documented, or still-visible fallout shelter in the country.

We tracked down Cold War records. We located buildings that still display the black-and-yellow signs. You now have the map that should have been public all along.

But here is the hard truth. Most of these shelters are abandoned. They are empty. No food. No water. No lights. No sanitation. They might block radiation, but they will not keep you alive unless you are ready.

We tracked down Cold War records. We located buildings that still display the black-and-yellow signs.
You now have the map that should have been public all along.

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington DC
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

The First Thing You Need Is Not a Bunker. It Is Water and Food.

Even if you find a fallout shelter, even if you build one in your basement, survival depends on what you bring inside.

You need calories. You need clean water. You need the basic tools of survival, ready to go, sealed and stored. When the fallout comes, it will not wait for you to run to the store. It will not care if the power is out or the roads are jammed.

Food is not an accessory. It is your lifeline. Without it, the shelter becomes a prison. With it, it becomes a second chance.

If You Cannot Find a Shelter, You Can Still Build One

Not everyone lives near a known shelter. That does not mean you are out of options. The old advice still holds. A backyard trench, a root cellar, or even a reinforced basement can mean the difference between life and death.

Use what you have. Concrete, earth, barrels of water, even thick books or bricks. Anything that adds mass can shield you from radiation. Seal off airflow from outside. Reinforce the structure. And then, just as importantly, prepare what you will need to survive inside.

You will need more than walls. You will need food that lasts. You will need clean water or a way to purify it. You will need light. You will need a way to manage waste, stay warm, and stay informed. You will need the things no one is going to bring you once the danger begins.

This is not panic. This is preparation.

This Is the Plan Now. You Are It.

The civil defense system is gone. Most of the bunkers are sealed or repurposed. The supplies were never replaced. No one is coming to check on you. No one is coming to hand out food. No one is loading your trunk with water and flashlights.

But you are not helpless.

You now have the map. You can locate what is left of the shelters. You can assess your surroundings. You can prepare your own home if needed.

You are not alone, but you must act like you are.

Alabama 


Alaska 


Arizona 


Arkansas 


California 


Colorado 


Connecticut 


Delaware 


Florida 


Georgia 


Hawaii 


Idaho 


Illinois 


Indiana 


Iowa 


Kansas 


Kentucky 


Louisiana 


Maine 


Maryland 


Massachusetts 


Michigan 


Minnesota 


Mississippi 


Missouri 


Montana 


Nebraska 


Nevada 


New Hampshire


New Jersey


New Mexico


New York


North Carolina


North Dakota


Ohio 


Oklahoma 


Oregon 


Pennsylvania 


Puerto Rico


Rhode Island


South Carolina


South Dakota


Tennessee 


Texas 


Utah 


Vermont 


Virginia 


Washington 


Washington DC


West Virginia


Wisconsin 


Wyoming


P.S.

When Hawaii got the false missile alert in 2018, people ran to the old fallout shelters. The doors were locked. No one had the keys.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, families crowded into cold, damp bunkers. No food. No water. Just darkness. They waited, hungry and afraid.

They survived not because they were ready, but because they had no choice.

 

There is no glory in surviving. No medals. No headlines. Just life.

But if you do this right, if you plan ahead, build strong, and stay alert, your children will not remember the blast. They will remember that you were ready when it mattered most.

And in a world that forgot how to prepare, that is the legacy worth leaving.

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Comments 3

  1. Shya says:
    3 months ago

    Interesting how they put these things central to certain areas while completely ignoring other centers of population. One might wonder if they wanted more of a certain populace to have somewhere to go, while leaving others with no reasonable distance to get to one..

    Reply
    • Phi Rasmussen says:
      2 months ago

      Actually they never considered population movement when selecting locations.. Typical government ignorance and lack of understanding consequences.

      Reply
  2. John Dail says:
    3 months ago

    The maps are incomplete for as an older guy, I know of several places that were fall out shelters that are not listed. Problem is I live in the country and not willing to go into a city for one., I will depend on the knowledge I have and God.

    Reply

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