One Place You Can Hide If Asteroid Hit Earth Suddenly

This is it... the end! You’re packing up everything you can in whatever bags you have. Food, clothes, toiletries. The news in the background goes on, red alerts flash all over the screen. You check your watch, and you know it’s time. You haven’t even finished packing yet.

You rush out of your house and see everyone else lugging suitcases hurriedly. You get in your car and drive out as fast as you can, dodging all the people running around. You arrive at a secluded place in the woods. You’ve been working on your personal bunker for years. It’s able to withstand the worst conditions — tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and... hopefully... asteroids.

You run to the bunker hidden away next to some bushes and trees. There’s no way anybody would know it’s there! The door looks like the ones in bank vaults that contain huge piles of money. On the other side: a ladder that goes down 30 feet through a dark tunnel.

The first thing you do is power up the place. It’s all run on heavy-duty batteries powered by solar panels above. As a backup: a fuel-powered generator. Hopefully, you won’t need to use it, but your life motto is, a person can’t have too many fail-safes. The entire bunker is built from concrete and steel to maintain maximum durability. The walls are several feet thick. You can finally let out that sigh of relief — because you made it just in time...

You suddenly feel the ground vibrate. The walls tremble. Fear tightens in your chest when all the cabinet doors shake open and the stored food starts tumbling out. Did you miscalculate? Is this thing gonna hold up?! The asteroid made contact, far from where YOU are. But it feels like it fell right on top of you! The sound is deafening, and the shockwaves seem to never end!

The light flickers. The flying dust is hazing your vision and filling your lungs. You grab a mask with one final thought: This is it. The bunker’s going to collapse. At least I tried...

1 month later

You’re making breakfast after another sleepless night. Luckily you stored more than enough food. And what variety! Canned tuna, corn beef, beans, sardines. Then there are the dried goods. Rice, powdered milk, pasta, noodles, and even some treats — honey and chocolate! You also allowed yourself soda and juice, but water makes up most of your stored hydrators.

This place has been and will continue to be your home for — who knows? Weeks? Months?... Years? The thought sends a chill down your spine... At least you’re in an ideal location. Far inland and away from any coast, so any possible tidal waves shouldn’t have flooded your area. You can’t imagine what it looks like up there. Please don’t let it be like the Dinosaurs Part 2...

You need a distraction, to take your thoughts away from the worst-case scenario! You walk through your “house” like a real-estate agent giving a tour to potential buyers. At the entrance, you have the living quarters. A couch and coffee table with some outdated magazines and board games. In front of you, is a small flat-screen TV with a DVD player. Sadly, no internet, but all those movies should keep you company.

On a table nearby, you have a radio and telecommunications speaker that’s like your ears and mouth to the outside. You also have your library with all sorts of books. Classics, contemporary, and any genre — as long as it keeps your mind occupied.

And if none of that helps you pass the time, there’s always the video game consoles linked up to the TV! Ah, yes, the gym area! It’s modest. Just a treadmill and some dumbbells. You try to get plenty of cardio and weightlifting in to keep yourself fit and healthy. Well, for someone living underground like a mole...

Of course, you have the kitchen. It’s got a good-sized minifridge and a stainless-steel sink with a bunch of cabinets storing all the goodies. You hooked this place up with plumbing and pipes bringing in clean drinking water. In case those stop working, you have water stored.

The bathroom has a functioning toilet, sink, and shower that’s connected to the hot water pump. There’s even a washer and dryer nearby! There’s also a little workshop area. If something breaks, you can fix it here. You can also build some things out of scrap material. A chair or table if need be. A little figurine to put on the shelf and keep you company!

Down some steps you have another vital piece of the bunker: the greenhouse. It’s all on lamps with artificial sunlight for obvious reasons. You’d be way worse off if you didn’t have your fresh fruits and veggies. It’s all self-sustaining too. Any rotten or bad crops go into making compost for the soil to keep it well nourished.

You can forget about relying on meat for protein. Quinoa, beans, lentils, chickpeas, mushrooms — they get the job done. And just in case you’re not getting every single mineral your body needs, you managed to stock up on multis. Vitamin D is a big one for life underground without the sun.

Not far away from your little subterranean farm is your bedroom. It’s got a queen-sized bed, nightstand on the right, small wardrobe on the left. You don’t have much variety in your attire, but who’s gonna notice if you wear the same outfit twice — the dust mites?

You go down a ladder to find the generator room. There’s a reason why it’s further underground and sealed with soundproof material. The generator kicks in every now and then, and it’s pretty noisy. It’s also hooked up with the ventilation system, so the exhaust goes outside.

Then there’s the “lung” room. All these weird-looking boxes are pumps that bring in oxygen from the outside world. But it has an advanced filtration system to clean the air before pumping it into your shelter. Down here is also the storage room. Every spare part of anything goes here. Extra couch, mattress, sinks. Even two freezers for those frozen goods just in case.

So, what’s a day like in the bunker? First: whip up some breakfast and enjoy a cup of coffee. Then you head over to the communication radio to hear if there’s any news from the outside world. So far, there’s been none... As soon as you’re done, you head to the greenhouse for some quick farming. You really like being in there because it feels like you’re outside enjoying nature... at least a little bit. You pick anything that’s ripe and bring it into the kitchen for a wash.

And wouldn’t you know it, it’s lunchtime! You prepare yourself a nice salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce. Some beats on the side, pasta, and you eat it up! After lunch, you pop in a DVD you haven’t watched in a while. After the movie, you go around and do a quick check on the oxygen levels and water.

Today happens to be your scheduled generator check-up as well. You head down to the basement to glance at the fuel level and oxygen filters. All good so far. Though, the thought of an even more extended stay worries you. What if you run out of fuel?...

You spend a few hours in the workshop tinkering around. Currently, no fixer-upper projects, and you’re not feeling especially creative today, so you head to the gym. Today’s leg day. Uuugh, you dread it. Some things never change! Before you know it, it’s time for dinner! You heat up some noodles and chill in the living room listening to some tunes in the music player.

This place cost you a little over $100,000, from digging up the site, to construction, and finally installing all the necessary systems needed for survival. And that’s not including the extra food and personal activities for the bunker. Yes, you’re lucky! All those luxuries make life good... almost. Nothing new from the outside world after a whole month. You’ve always been a bit of an introvert, but this place is starting to push you a little. You’re getting lonely...

The sound of the radio snaps you out of your thoughts. Static? No, a muffled voice! Someone is trying to contact you! You bolt over to the communication radio, nearly tripping over your own feet from the shock! We made it, ha! You’re overcome with emotion! You’ve gotten pretty used to your life underground. But it’s finally time to swing the door open and head out into the world...