Given the recent scare with bed bugs infiltrating home and hotel beds, "underground bunkers" first sounded to me like some kind of bug bunking below the earth, or below the sheets.

On second thought and some research, however, I discovered that “underground bunkers” is not a creature. Rather, it is an ingenious creation to put at ease the most paranoid planners in the case of world disaster.

Underground bunkers are rooms under the ground—stocked with everything the average person would need should calamity strike.

They are designed particularly with protection against nuclear war in mind. Because they are below the surface, many of the effects from any kind of explosion would not be felt by those living in them.

Underground bunkers can be fully equipped with food and supplies, and are often, much like shelters of old, connected to the owner's home, thus ensuring quick access should an emergency situation arise. Notwithstanding external delays, owners will be securely inside a sealed and secured bunker in ten minutes' time.

A bunker can double as a cellar, a storeroom or even a playroom. This type of bunker would fall under the Multi-use category. This Multi-use type bunker would need to adhere to city and building code regulations.

The Single-use type underground bunker denotes that the bunker was designed solely for and is to be used only for the purpose of potentially necessary evacuation in an emergency situation such as a nuclear blast.

Should a highly unlikely bomb attack from an enemy group occur, its effects will extend to approximately 3000 square feet and will take multiple years to dissipate and/or be cleaned up.  Hundreds of thousands of creatures, including humans, will be affected. A “dirty” and slow dispersion of a radiological nature is, according to the Department of Homeland Security, more likely to take place than a full-blown nuclear bomb attack.

For this reason, Multi-Hazard Engineering processes need to be employed.

The Underground bunker must be easily accessible, have readily available evacuation options, and be completely full-proofed against forced entry, tornado, hurricane, flood and earthquakes in addition to nuclear threats.

With each passing year, the innovation of new life-threatening tools and techniques will force the re-evaluation of the bunker. It will more than likely evolve and be adapted to accommodate new needs as they arise.

—Maggie Pagratis