Science question about underground survival.

[potioncat]

> Tonks:
> I plan to build a house, but my apartment does have a basement, but 
I 
> would not want to go down there, it is full of bats. Long story. 


Potioncat:
Well, there's preparing for short-term natural disasters and there's 
preparing for man-made disasters. It sounds like you're thinking of 
the latter. From my point of view, which could be wrong, a safe room 
would be a place in your home that would be safest in the case of an 
emergency. A bomb shelter would a place built to protect the 
residents from hostile action.

Did the FEMA web site address bomb shelters? "I'm from the government 
and I'm here to help" is an old joke, but I'd want to know exactly 
what I wanted before I trusted a builder to tell me what I needed.

I wonder how you would know when to come out of a personal bomb 
shelter? What if the bomb shelter was in your basement and the house 
fell down on top of it. How would you get out?

Not making a point, just curious.

Also thinking, that based on what members have suggested, is it 
possible the pyramids were safe rooms? They had the sorts of items 
we've considered--food, companionship, security. 

Potioncat