Nuclear bunker sales increase, despite expert warnings they aren’t going to provide protection
Global security leaders are warning nuclear threats are growing as weapons spending surged to $91.4 billion last year
By MARTHA MENDOZA
Published - Dec 17, 2024, 07:12 PM ET
Last Updated - Dec 17, 2024, 07:12 PM EST
When Bernard Jones Jr. and his wife, Doris, built their dream home, they didn’t hold back. A grotto swimming pool with a waterfall for hot summer days. A home theater for cozy winter nights. A fruit orchard to harvest in fall. And a vast underground bunker in case disaster strikes.
“The world’s not becoming a safer place,” he said. “We wanted to be prepared.”
Under a nondescript metal hatch near the private basketball court, there’s a hidden staircase that leads down into rooms with beds for about 25 people, bathrooms and two kitchens, all backed by a self-sufficient energy source.
With water, electricity, clean air and food, they felt ready for any disaster, even a nuclear blast, at their bucolic home in California’s Inland Empire.
