Budget? I'm not sure there are a lot who've actually built said bunker, but plenty have contemplated in their head.

Mine always leads back to money.

Will be following.

In the event of an emp with loved ones in a major city, there isn't really much you can do to protect yourself. How are you going to get out? All the highways will be blocked as modern vehicles are rendered useless. If you have an older motorcycle you could possibly weave through them but not feasible with a young family. If your bug out location is within 50 miles, walking is possible. I've gone down that rabbit hole and have decided it's just not feasible to prep for. Best option would be to live at the bug out location and harden the house against an EMP. Unfortunately most of us are in the burbs.

Realistically the EMP comes from a nuke, right? So if you live in the city, good chance you get fried?

Depending on where you live gathering rainwater may be banned by ordinance. Will need to look into that. As far as best ways to do it, there is a lot of info on off-grid living videos on youtube and of course more literature than you could read.

In the event of an EMP the only way I have ever seen mentioned about having functional modern things from that is to have it all stored in a Faraday cage.

Off topic, but I wonder if the events of the past ~18 months have changed anybodies ways of thinking. People
Panicked and have bought every single available round, but not sure I've heard of anyone needing them just yet.

I am not in this market. However, gun store talk... well... it's a common subject. I feel as if I've picked up a significant amount of info on this... much of it from probably more dubious sources!

There's a lot to factor in here.... are you living in town or out?

How long are you wanting to shelter in place for?

Are you only worried about EMP and it's effects or are you also concerned by nuclear fall out?

Lots more questions but those are the first to spring to mind.

Charlie Murphy said:

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Off topic, but I wonder if the events of the past ~18 months have changed anybodies ways of thinking. People
Panicked and have bought every single available round, but not sure I've heard of anyone needing them just yet.

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They have... people have been asking more about survival equipment than before. I'm about to dust off the bug out bag idea that I had right before covid hit.

K_P said:

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Realistically the EMP comes from a nuke, right? So if you live in the city, good chance you get fried?

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Depends on how they do it... a HEMP bomb detonated atmospherically wouldn't necessarily cause a lot of human damage but it could knock out significant parts of the electrical infrastructure over a large area.

Or, it could be extrasolar.

In for this

CC09LawAg said:

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Long time lurker. I am considering an underground set up for 5 currently; 3 of them are very young so if SHTF in 30 years I am at a loss; some may have grandkids, etc. I was raised as a farm boy, did scouts, etc. so I'm no stranger to roughing it. But I've become white collar and far removed from that world.

Looking for recs on the living situations for underground, monitoring it in the event of an EMP, gathering rainwater, covering and growing a garden, etc.

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Your bunker will be a target, unless you are in the Rocky Mtns. If you are accessible by wheeled vehicle on the prairie or hill country, better plan on some extensive countermeasures.

UTExan said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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Long time lurker. I am considering an underground set up for 5 currently; 3 of them are very young so if SHTF in 30 years I am at a loss; some may have grandkids, etc. I was raised as a farm boy, did scouts, etc. so I'm no stranger to roughing it. But I've become white collar and far removed from that world.

Looking for recs on the living situations for underground, monitoring it in the event of an EMP, gathering rainwater, covering and growing a garden, etc.

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Your bunker will be a target, unless you are in the Rocky Mtns. If you are accessible by wheeled vehicle on the prairie or hill country, better plan on some extensive countermeasures.

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Bingo. I've succumb to the fact the prepping and go-bags will only buy you a short amount of time, but the outcome will be the same in the end. A better prepping plan is as you say, plan extensive countermeasures, which must include large plurality of people on your side fighting along with you.

I do keep a go bag, and have plans where I will go. But reality is the planet is crazy over populated. Nobody is hiding from anybody who really wants to find you for very long. Maybe a year or two in a SHTF scenario. Eventually you will be found. At that point, you better be ready as you say.

Skillet Shot said:

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In the event of an emp with loved ones in a major city, there isn't really much you can do to protect yourself. How are you going to get out? All the highways will be blocked as modern vehicles are rendered useless. If you have an older motorcycle you could possibly weave through them but not feasible with a young family. If your bug out location is within 50 miles, walking is possible. I've gone down that rabbit hole and have decided it's just not feasible to prep for. Best option would be to live at the bug out location and harden the house against an EMP. Unfortunately most of us are in the burbs.

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so... bug in

What does EMP mean?

water turkey said:

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What does EMP mean?

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Electromagnetic pulse. No good for electronics.

You'd be better served working on your cardio and encouraging a healthy/friendly environment with your neighbors.

water turkey said:

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What does EMP mean?

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https://www.amazon.com/One-Second-After-William-Forstchen/dp/B00589CT66/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=one+second+after&qid=1629424153&sr=8-4

There goes your weekend

Like some of the others, I've done some daydreaming and basic google-searching on this topic.

A lot (relatively speaking) of folks have done buried shipping containers, but there are numerous downsides to this approach - primarily corrosion and the fact that the strength of containers is all at the corners. Walls, ceilings and floors are not strong enough to stand up to the pressure the backfill exerts without being shored up.

I would look into getting and burying large (10' diameter, say) sections of culvert.

Ideally, you would have the culvert sections delivered and then rent the heavy equipment to bury them yourself. That way, you're the only one that has to know there's a shelter buried in that spot. (This assumes the property is big enough that the activity isn't visible from the road or the neighbor's place...)

There are turnkey SHTF shelter building companies out there. Of course there goes your "secret" and buyer beware. There was one guy who had a YouTube channel that was very critical of one of his competition in this space. Not sure which is the one you'd rather do business with, perhaps neither...

A) Yes Culverts make far more sense.

B) Ideally, you'd want to be in an era which supported colonial era agriculture, and learn how to farm in that fashion, as a hobby, in a community of 30-150.

Anything else, is fantasy.

If you want to be prepared to withstand a short-term disturbance, riot, hurricane, etc that's a very different scenario.

Nealthedestroyer said:

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You'd be better served working on your cardio and encouraging a healthy/friendly environment with your neighbors.

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rule #1 for Zombieland... cardio, right?

That and nightvision Thermal won't work.they are already cold and dead

And that's why the Trijicon Acog is your go to for shtf optics. Trijicon..cause we don't need no Farging batteries!

There are some universal prepping items like food, water, ammo, shelter, etc. Some of the things that could happen seems almost impossible to prep for or at least all of them. Let's say you're all ready for an emp and a pandemic hits. Some things will crossover, others will not. Let say you're preparing for a pandemic and there is an emp strike or you stock up on seeds to plant crops and there is a large volcano erruption that limits sunlight and changes weather patterns. There are just so many variables to me to be focused on one disaster.

If you remember the doomsday prepper show it always surprised me the amount of different things people were prepping for. They would be so specific to one or two scenarios.

Ignorant here, but explain to me why you'd be a target? Does this assume that electronics go out forever and people start turning on each other (survival of the fittest in an apocalypse) ? Or is the assumption that there will be an invading army?

When everyone else has no lights or food or heat. All of the mechanical man-made noises are gone, the generator becomes quite obvious. And desperate people become very animalistic very quickly.

You can have the effects of an EMP without a nuke. Read a bit about the Carrington Event (https://www.history.com/news/a-perfect-solar-superstorm-the-1859-carrington-event). If something similar or worse happened today, the electrical grid would likely be destroyed around the globe and it would take years and trillions of dollars to put it all back together. People dependent on public utilities and water supplies or those using well pumps powered by electricity will be out of luck as well. There is mixed opinion on computer chips, but there is a good chance that most computer circuitry will be fried, so vehicles, computers, and other devices relying on them will likely be useless. In a worst case scenario, imagine going back to early 1800s level infrastructure and technology over the course of a couple of hours, with maybe a few hours warning ahead of time.

My plan is to head as fast as I can before it hits to my FIL's place out in the country with as much ammo and weaponry as I can. I will take my bikes and a backpack and cycle or walk the rest of the way carrying what I can. We recently bought a gun safe to keep out at his place and I plan to start stocking it with ammo to reduce how much I have to take with me. He has a water well driven by a windmill, two houses heated with woodstoves, 50 acres of oak trees, and plenty of deer and goats to live off of. Between freeze dried food, the water obtained from the windmill, his veggie gardens, and his livestock and wildlife, we can live quite well for a long time out there.

T-Woody2014 said:

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Ignorant here, but explain to me why you'd be a target? Does this assume that electronics go out forever and people start turning on each other (survival of the fittest in an apocalypse) ? Or is the assumption that there will be an invading army?

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Anything with heat or light or the smell of cooking food is going to be a target. From a purely tactical point of view I would team up with 3-5 people of like mind (family) and plan to control terrain, not put all my assets into a central bunker system. I would create several "hides"-dugouts under cover for temporary rest. For cooking? African style peanut soup/stew is very nutritious, filling and could be made quickly with hot water, dehydrated onions, garlic powder, ginger, pepper sauce, tomato paste and peanut butter or peanut powder. Pair that with some field made flatbread with an egg on top and your staying outside on a cold day will be much more tolerable. The key is to remain alert, get sufficient rest and fluids (with electrolytes) and maintain morale. You likely wouldn't survive contact with experienced infantry, but you may be in good stead to survive predatory neighbors.
Also, you want devote sufficient time for reconnaissance activities on the ground. Finally, assuming clothing, food and at least rudimentary shelter needs are met, plan to have the Bible around. The insights you get as you read under a stress will take you to a whole new level of faith and trust in God.

K_P said:

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Realistically the EMP comes from a nuke, right? So if you live in the city, good chance you get fried?

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Not really. Sure if Russia or China go the full nuclear option it's no bueno, but the higher likilhood is Iran, Pakistan, or NK hits up with a couple of strategic nukes.

Even if you are in say Katy and Houston gets nuked, the odds are you are well outside the blast area. Then what you have to worry about is fall out.

Also, I've heard from friend in Strategic Command that the liklihood of your particular vehicle being destroyed in an EMP isn't terribly high unless you are near the blast location. The more likely problem is that and EMP takes down the power grid the cascading effects that follow that.

Carrington event and the 2012 eruption of a similar strength took less than 24 hrs to make it to earth, you aren't making it to a bug out place before everything goes kaput

terradactylexpress said:

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Carrington event and the 2012 eruption of a similar strength took less than 24 hrs to make it to earth, you aren't making it to a bug out place before everything goes kaput

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Given that the bug out place is about 3 hours from my door, and we will have almost real-time notice of an event that large, 24 hours will be plenty. If you subscribe to space weather alerts, you will know about it within an hour or so after it happens.

A) Become billionaire

B) Buy large remote spread in temperate climate, ideally an entire valley/both ends of it.

C) Invite a large number of Amish to become tenants.

D) Incorporate as a town, and invite re-reactors and others to recreate "Colonial Kohrland" (along with incentivizing small scale machine shops, etc to move in)

E) Get retired Tier 1 types and docs with expertise in 3rd world conditions to move in and become the local police force.

the reality is that without electricity, you can see, smell, and hear a fire, generator, or whatever for literally MILES. you can see a ****ing cigarrette for miles. gunshot, multiple miles. with millions in trouble, no one is going to be 'secure' unless they are in a fully and equally prepped extremely remote community, fully stocked, and manned by enough people to keep 24/7 guard and be able to fend off hundreds at a time.

IOW, stay healthy, informed, prepare for the basics, and be ready to move and hope to get lucky.

It's also going to have to be a community capable of killing on a massive scale.

The political class/bureaucrats without real knowledge, etc will be a major liability.

So would any bleeding heart, hell, a large portion of the population. (Including lots of the right as well as the left. Disease prevention will be a major issue, which will mean enforcing and people complying with sanitation requirements, etc).

At a certain point, it becomes an issue of whether you're willing to live in a society that is that way.

It requires being able to refuse food to starving children.

Just finished One Second After. Was a good series (3 Books) on an EMP hitting NA. Might get some ideas there too

Appreciate all of the feedback! It confirmed some of my suspicions that no matter the plan, in a really bad scenario we are talking a small likelihood of success.

We do have some land that is semi remote (not like, in the mountains or anything). But accessible from where we live now by country roads or driving through fields if necessary.

Thanks all! A lot of good points made.