Design For Doomsday: Underground Survival Communities By The Vivos Group

It is unsettling for most of us to think about the end of the world.  But many, including religious, military, and scientific groups believe it will come... and soon.  Whether people think that a natural disaster, a pandemic, an economic collapse, bio-terrorism, or a biblical prophesy will come true, there is a swelling movement of survivalists readying their futures for when the end of their worlds come. 

A privately funded company, the Vivos Group, in Del Mar, California, is preparing for that doomsday right now, by retrofitting a shelter in Barstow,California, half-way between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.  There will be 19 other shelters throughout the United States mainland in Vivos's Nationwide Underground Shelter Network for Survival of Future Catastrophes. They are scheduled to be completed by December 21, 2012, (around the day that the Mayan calendar and the I Ching predicted severe natural disasters would cause devastating earthquakes and tsunamis).

 Vivos shelter locations: ©Vivos Group

Everything from the security of the shelter to communications to the medical supplies to the foods the shelters will store has been designed.  And so have the spacious interiors, which will accommodate up to 200 persons. Vivos has thought of everything so that its 'members' won't have to.  As you will see, this is not your 1950's bomb shelter!

Vivos underground shelter: ©Vivos Group

The shelters will have two levels.  The dome centers are designed for common activities, storage and survival needs, while the 'spokes' are designed as living quarters for the members.  The upper level dome encompasses communal eating, lounging, and entertainment areas.

Vivos underground shelter, upper level dome: ©Vivos Group

Vivos underground shelter, dining area: ©Vivos Group

Vivos underground shelter, lounge and movie theatre: ©Vivos Group

The living quarters are apartments, surprisingly spacious, but economically designed, each with its own bedroom, living room, bath, and kitchen, complete with all appliances.

Vivos underground shelter, private living room area: ©Vivos Group

Vivos underground shelter, private kitchen and dining area: ©Vivos Group

Vivos underground shelter, bedroom: ©Vivos Group

Vivos underground shelter, bathroom

This is the lower common level which houses power and water equipment, offices with laptop computers, an informal meeting room, a medical unit, and a security center with vaults and a prison cell.

Vivos underground shelter: ©Vivos Group

 Vivos underground shelter, office: ©Vivos Group

Vivos underground shelter, hospital: ©Vivos Group

Vivos underground shelter, security center

Whatever you previously imagined about living underground in a survival shelter... it's not what the Vivos Group has in mind.  Vivos has thought of every aspect of survival and your comfort, with supplies and food for up to a year, in case doomsday happens.  It's the 'modern day Noah's Ark.'

Here is a first look at the nuts and bolts of the Barstow shelter as the retrofitting takes place for the first Noah's Ark...

For more information about the possible disasters that survivalists of many persuasions are predicting, the Vivos website is actually a pretty good place to start researching... as well, of course, as a place to learn more about the Vivos Underground Shelter Network.

sources:  Vivos, Survivalist Versus Survivors (Vivos White Paper), Surviving Economic Anarchy, (Vivos White Paper)  via: PopSci