Map reveals where to find nuclear fallout shelters if the US is bombed

The fear of a nuclear apocalypse has reached a level not seen in decades as leaders in the US, Israel, Iran, and Russia continue to warn about the start of ‘all-out war.’

The world has been waiting to see if President Donald Trump will deploy US forces to strike Iran, which has refused to give up its development of a nuclear weapon, a move that could ignite World War III.

For everyday Americans, the only question that may matter in the minutes and seconds before a nuclear weapon strikes the US is where are the nearest fallout shelters.

A nuclear fallout shelter is designed to shield people from radioactive particles, known as fallout, that spread after a nuclear explosion.

Although they’re not built to withstand the initial blast, extreme heat, and shockwaves of a nuclear explosion, they can act as a safe room for anyone who lives to see the aftermath.

Using tools like Google Maps and historical records from the Cold War, when most of these shelters were built, doomsday preppers have been able to find where thousands of them may still be standing.

Even after several decades, records show that states like New York, Maryland, Michigan, Texas, and Wisconsin all still have hundreds and possibly thousands of underground facilities labeled as emergency fallout shelters.

A new map has now revealed where Americans can find safety during a nuclear attack, unearthing the locations still listed as fallout shelters throughout the country.

The new fallout shelter map reveals that the vast majority of these radiation bunkers are scattered throughout America’s largest cities.

This includes dozens (and possibly hundreds) of basement shelters in cities like Boston, Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Memphis, Milwaukee, New York, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and Washington DC.

Sean Gold, an Air Force veteran and founder of the survival guide website TruePrepper, is one of the experts trying to find all of the fallout shelters that are still viable for Americans to use in the event of a nuclear attack.

He noted that the canned food and medical supplies that were originally put in these bunkers decades ago are likely not there anymore, making it harder for people in 2025 to survive without bringing their own food and water.

As for what makes a good fallout shelter, Gold said that shielding is the most important factor.

Thick walls and a roof made of concrete or steel are necessary to block out the radiation produced by a nuclear explosion.

‘The thicker the shielding, the better the protection. Alternatively, several yards of dirt will work, so many shelters are below ground,’ Gold explained in an April report.

Fallout shelters also need good ventilation with proper filters to trap radioactive particles in the air.

Those inside will need enough food and clean water to last for weeks or months, an area for waste disposal so you don’t contaminate clean supplies, and a comfortable place to sit or sleep.

Additionally, Gold noted that the location of a fallout shelter should be in an area that isn’t likely to take a direct hit from a nuclear bomb, and it should also be within a short distance of the people planning to use it.

The US began building fallout shelters at a rapid pace during the 1950s and 1960s, with efforts intensifying around 1961 through the National Fallout Shelter Survey, a project to identify public buildings, including schools, libraries, and basements, as potential shelters.

Bradley Garrett, a cultural geographer and author of the book Bunker: What It Takes to Survive the Apocalypse, has studied the history of how these bunkers have been designed through the years and how well they’d protect you in an emergency.

‘They would not be able to take a direct hit,’ Garrett told Newsweek in 2022.

‘But you could shelter in them for the 14 days that would be necessary after a nuclear attack until the radiation levels fall to a point where it’s relatively safe to emerge from the bunker,’ he continued. 

To this day, residents in large metropolitan areas like New York will still see the fallout shelter symbol (three yellow triangles) on building plaques throughout the city.

This lets the public know there’s a nuclear fallout shelter down in the basement and may even provide directions on how to get there and how many people can fit inside.

Thousands of these bunkers were built all around the US during the Cold War. In New York alone, there were reportedly more than 18,000 during the height of nuclear tensions with Russia.

However, they were largely forgotten as the threat of nuclear war faded in the 1980s. Many Cold War-era shelters have been repurposed for storage, parking, or other uses, especially in major cities.

Since the 9/11 terror attacks and Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, however, doomsday preppers have been feverishly trying to track down all of these hidden shelters as the threat of global destruction has returned.

Unfortunately, actually accessing a fallout shelter in your community may be harder than it sounds.

There is currently no public list of active shelters available for everyday Americans, since most are now defunct or privately owned by homeowners who built one for themselves in their basements and backyards.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) now advises the public to shelter in place instead of looking for an old fallout shelter.

Federal officials have recommended basements or inner rooms with thick walls to block radiation.

In FEMA’s 2023 Nuclear Detonation Planning Guide, they explained that the change in their reasoning focused on practicality, claiming that modern nuclear threats are unpredictable.

FEMA also claimed that maintaining a nationwide shelter network was logistically and financially impossible for the US government.

The agency recommended staying indoors for at least 24 to 48 hours, even though it could take much longer for the fallout to completely clear the area.