Why Switzerland is busy repairing its vast network of nuclear bunkers

There's no need to have a nuclear bunker under your home if you have boxes of old Christmas decorations blocking the door.

That is not an unusual situation in Switzerland, a country with a large network of Cold War-era nuclear shelters, both public and private, many of which double as storage units and which have since become obsolete.

But an increase in global conflict, along with an increased reliance on nuclear energy, has once again prepared the country for the worst-case scenario.

Switzerland is spending 220 million Swiss francs ($354 million Cdn) to ensure its shelters are in tip-top shape and ready to accommodate the nine million Swiss residents, if the need will arise.

“Almost everyone in Switzerland has a bomb shelter, which has been used for a long time as their storage unit,” says nuclear expert Stephen Herzog As it happens hosted by Nil Köksal.

“Now there are reasons to reconsider this.”

Nuclear stability 'built into Swiss psyche'

Herzog is a professor at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif., who previously worked at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

Nuclear bunkers, he says, are “built into the Swiss psyche.”

According to Swiss law in 1963, all residents of the country, including refugees and foreign workers, are guaranteed a place in a bunker to protect them from bombs and nuclear radiation.

“In general, if you live in Switzerland, you know where your shelter is, you know where your neighbor's shelter is, you have your designated place,” Herzog said.

Some of these bunkers belong to public networks, but many are private and built under people's homes.

“Over the decades since the '60s, when these shelters were mandated to be built into every home in these private shelters, they've taken on a new meaning,” Herzog said.

“People use them as wine cellars. People use them as woodworking workshops. People use them as storage for Christmas decorations.”

When asked if he himself was in a Swiss bunker, Herzog replied: “Of course.”

“If you're at a party and someone says, 'Will you go to my wine cellar and grab the next bottle of wine?' you are going to the shelter,” he said.

Prepared, not paranoid

But in recent years, global conflicts and changes to the country's energy policies have changed people's priorities.

Almost a third of Switzerland's electricity production comes from nuclear power. And this summer, the country's Federal Council we reversed the 2017 decision to leave nuclear power.

Russia's war on Ukraine – and beyond taking over that country's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station – also fueled nuclear concerns in the country.

Louis-Henri Delarageaz, head of civil protection for the canton of Vaud, says his office has received an increase in calls from residents worried about shelters after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. (Yes canton in Switzerland equivalent to a province in Canada.)

“All of a sudden… we were really in demand with people wanting to know: where were the shelters, where is my place, is my shelter ready? ” he said.

In that spirit, the government launched consultations in October to ensure that the Swiss would be “happy in the event of an armed conflict” and to plan the renewal of their national shelter.

“In the coming years, the (Swiss) Confederation wants to remove some of the existing exceptions from the current rules and renovate some of the old shelters,” said Delarageaz.

That means repairing public bunkers and making sure there is enough space for everyone who needs it. It also means going door to door and checking private shelters.

Last week in the town of Bercher, Reuters followed civil defense officers in orange overalls searching a bunker under an apartment block.

A man tried to pull the bunker door to close it but it wouldn't budge. An air conditioner between plant pots and stone decorations was thought to be adequate, but an escape tunnel filled with clutter led to a deep hole without a ladder.

“This shelter is unusable in the current situation,” team leader Gregory Fuhrer concluded.

The owner will be given a year to repair the faults or will have to pay 800 francs ($1,287 Cdn)​​​​for each resident's place in a public shelter, he said.

Herzog says that this work is the result of “increased awareness and awareness” of nuclear threats in Switzerland, but that it should not be mistaken for paranoia.

“Nobody's panicking that they're going to need the shelters tomorrow or anything like that,” he said.

Delarageaz echoed that sentiment.

“That does not mean we are preparing for conflict. That is not the message. But we have a network of shelters and we must maintain them and make sure they are functional,” he said.

“In Switzerland we have a vision…. There is a Latin saying that says: 'If you want peace, prepare for war.'”