The Ark Two Shelter is a nuclear

fallout shelter A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. Durin ...

built by Bruce Beach (14 April 1934 – 10 May 2021) in the village of Horning's Mills (north of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

). The shelter first became habitable in 1980 and has been continuously expanded and improved since then. The shelter is composed of 42

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to Student transport, transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter ...

es, which were buried underground as

pattern A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...

s for concrete that was then poured over to provide the main structure, onto which up to 5 meters (14 feet) of earth were piled to provide fallout protection. With construction beginning in the early 1980s (during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

), the shelter was designed to accommodate as many as five hundred people for the length of time required to allow the widespread

nuclear fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the mushroom cloud, radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is ...

to decay to a level allowing a safe return to the surface after a cataclysmic nuclear event. Powered by redundant

diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of an engine generator. A diesel compress ...

s, the heavily fortified ("virtually impenetrable to anything short of a direct nuclear strike") shelter includes two commercial kitchens, full plumbing (including a private well for

potable water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

and a

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...

-sized

septic tank A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatment ...

), three months' worth of diesel, a radio-based communications centre, a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

, and a decontamination room. Ark Two is equipped with a communications room capable of broadcasting locally on the

FM broadcast band The FM broadcast band is a range of radio frequencies used for FM broadcasting by radio stations. The range of frequencies used differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa (defined as International Telecommunication Union ( ...

and throughout

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on the AM and Shortwave bands. A particularly novel feature is a collapsible, weather-balloon-deployed antenna, capable of being launched from within the shelter. All Ark Two communication equipment is EMP-hardened and generator-powered so as to be able to transmit survival information to the general public in the event of

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

. Beach did not charge money for admission to the shelter, instead guaranteeing individuals admission in return for sweat equity and active involvement in the Ark Two communities' various activities. In addition, "Everyone is welcome here, regardless of religion, race, nationality, political views..." In return for the promise of safe haven in times of

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

attack, a person residing in nearby areas might be expected to, for example, work at the shelter several weekends each year, assisting in the routine maintenance or continuing renovations of the facility. A large percentage of the shelter population is expected to be children, as the primary purpose of the shelter is to serve as an "underground orphanage, a place where a new generation could be saved from nuclear apocalypse," which, according to Beach, would otherwise wipe out over 80% of the world's population. "We're going to say to people: 'Well, we have room for your children, but we don't have room for you.' That's the nature of life... this is the lifeboat." Beach believed that the majority of preppers are too concerned with personal survival, when they should be focused on reconstructing the world after a cataclysmic disaster. He ran an online "reconstruction network" (the "SAFE" community) through which he shared information about Ark Two and his evacuation plans. Ark Two was featured in Beach's interview for

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

's '' Doomsday Preppers'', episode 8: "It's Gonna Get Worse". It was also featured on the

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language terrestrial television, terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's se ...

series '' 16:9'', and on the Showtime series '' Penn & Teller: Bullshit!'' episode " End of the World" and How the World Ends - "Nostradamus". Beach died on May 10, 2021, of a heart attack. Beach has authored two related books: ''Society After Doomsday'' and ''TRIAD Individual Networking: Preparedness For Disastrous Times''.

References

External links

Official website of the shelter and the Ark Two Community
{{Coord, 44, 9, 35.19, N, 80, 12, 2.22, W, type:landmark_region:CA-ON, display=title Buildings and structures in Dufferin County Survivalism Radiation protection Nuclear fallout Subterranea (geography)

See also

References

External links