Map Shows Where America's Nuclear War Fallout Shelters Are Located

What's New

A doomsday prepper has compiled several detailed maps showing the locations of hundreds of fallout shelters in dozens of U.S. states and across the world.

Sean Gold, the founder of TruePrepper.com compiled the resource earlier in December, so people can find the closest shelter to them in the instance of a nuclear accident or attack.

Why It Matters

Although the threat of nuclear war has shrunk significantly from public discourse since its peak in the Cold War era, the subculture of doomsday prepping is on the rise.

Whether driven by the aftershocks of a post-COVID-19 environment, supply-chain disruptions, natural calamities, or growing geopolitical tensions, "preppers" develop plans involving survival skills and special equipment to protect themselves after a theoretical societal collapse.

What To Know

In a statement to Newsweek, Gold said that although supplies in local fallout shelters have not been replenished since the Cold War, the shelters still provide adequate radiation shielding.

A fallout shelter sign in New York City, New York, January 16, 2018. A doomsday prepper has compiled a map of fallout shelters across the United States. Mary Altaffer/ASSOCIATED PRESS

"The fallout shelter implementation was all over the place—some counties and cities dove in and maintained robust programs and other counties shrugged it off," Gold said.

"To create most of the maps on my website, I found those old local plans and transcribed the locations into Google Maps (which also helped to see if they still existed)."

As well as the maps, Gold's comprehensive guide gives information about what makes a good fallout shelter, how fast you should get to one in case of a nuclear accident or attack, and how long to stay inside.

He said that broader survival skills, as well as knowing where to go, would be necessary in the case of a nuclear emergency.

"I think many of my readers come into my article hoping for a convenient solution—a point to travel to on a map if things get bad. Unfortunately, a nuclear accident or attack would never be that simple.

"Having just a few emergency supplies on hand can help anyone be much better prepared for a worst-case situation, with minimal effort."

Where Are The Shelters?

So far, TruePrepper.com has created maps for 21 states, as well as for Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.

The 21 states are Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, , Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Here are the maps:

Alabama:

Alaska:

California:

Colorado:

Florida:

Georgia:

Hawaii:

Illinois:

Indiana:

Kansas:

Massachusetts:

Michigan:

New York:

North Carolina:

Ohio:

Oklahoma:

Oregon:

Puerto Rico:

Rhode Island:

Texas:

Washington:

Washington D.C.:

Wisconsin:

Is a Nuclear War Possible?

Although the threat of nuclear war has declined since the Cold War, growing geopolitical tensions have caused analysts to suggest the risk is once again on the rise.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Vladimir Putin and his allies in Moscow have repeatedly issued warnings about the possibility that they could use nuclear weapons, even potentially against NATO nations.

North Korea and Iran's nuclear programs also continue to be top of U.S. national security concerns.

Nine countries currently are known to have nuclear weapons. These are China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. Iran does not currently possess nuclear weapons, but many national security analysts believe it could easily develop one with its existing nuclear program.