The rising demand for nuclear bunkers

Private nuclear bunkers, "from small metal boxes to crawl inside of to extravagant underground mansions", are in high demand and the market is increasing, said The Associated Press.

In 2023, countries with nuclear weapons spent a combined $91.4 billion (£72.7 billion) on their arsenal, and "global security leaders are warning nuclear threats are growing". In response, more people are investing in at-home shelters, hoping to dodge theoretical warfare.

Some experts say they are unnecessary and unhelpful against blasts or nuclear fallout, and that they "create a false perception that a nuclear war is survivable", but "buyers say bunkers offer a sense of security", said AP. That's partially why manufacturers are seeing a spike in sales.

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The bunker interest isn't limited to anxious individuals. Governments are taking note of threats, too, with officials taking stock of nuclear shelter networks.

The business of bunkers

When Russia attacked Ukraine with a hypersonic missile in November, Ron Hubbard’s phone started to ring nonstop.

Chief executive of what he calls the world's largest bunker manufacturing company, Hubbard told AP his shelters are "good for anything from a tornado to a hurricane to nuclear fallout". His products sell for an average of $500,000 (£397,883) apiece, and he claims he usually sells at least one per day.

The US market for bomb and fallout shelters is expected to hit $175 million (£139.3 million) by 2030, reported AP, and other countries are also seeing a spike in demand. In Spain, "fears of the growing threats from war and a rise in catastrophic natural disasters" like floods have bolstered the market, said the i news site.

Spain is formulating a new national security plan that will tell citizens what to do in case of war. Meanwhile, "wealthy clients" across the country are buying under-home bunkers, with one company saying a "middle-class family" took out a loan to have one installed.

Governments taking inventory

This surge in bunker demand comes as Swiss leaders start to upgrade the country’s stock of 370,000 nuclear shelters. Residents of Switzerland are entitled to a place in one of these and this £200 million project will ensure that existing shelters are operational.

"The country already has bunker space for each of its nine million inhabitants – a situation long dismissed as paranoia by its neighbours – but it will now update and improve old structures", said The Times.

But Germany, which "dismantled many of its Cold War bunkers in recent decades" now has space for only 480,000 of its population – just 0.57% – and is also responding to warnings from intelligence experts.

In response, officials are now preparing a "list of bunkers that could provide emergency shelter for civilians", and compiling it into a "digital directory" so that people can find them using an app, reported The Guardian.