Could the Budapest subway become a shelter?
Looking at the images and videos leaked about the Russian-Ukrainian war, more and more people are wondering what would happen in a similar situation in Hungary. Few know, but Budapest’s metro lines could play an important role in a disaster management situation. How would subways function as a shelter in the Hungarian capital?
Shelter in Budapest
Perhaps a few have heard the fact that the Budapest metro could also operate as a shelter. Unfortunately, this has become relevant again due to the current horrific world political events. One of the most iconic images of the Russian-Ukrainian war is the crowd fleeing to the Kyiv subway from the war.
It is a misconception that the capital’s metro shelter would serve as an atomic bunker.
The construction of the metro lines started in the midst of the threat of the Cold War, writes urbanlegends.hu.
Therefore, it had a dual function during its design. However, the shelter function soon became obsolete. It was an effective shelter against the weapons at the time, but it is almost completely unprotected against today’s technology. Index.hu wrote in an article in 2018 that
there are 687 smaller and 1 huge shelter in Budapest for the event of airstrikes or nuclear strikes.
This huge shelter is an interconnected system of subway tunnels 2 and 3. There is room for up to 220,000 people there. Metro lines M1 and M4 do not play a part.
The metro is an ideal shelter not only because it can accommodate a large crowd but also because the stops open from busy streets and squares, providing easy access. In addition, it is also important that they provide physical protection for those inside, writes raketa.hu.
There is physical protection, but is that enough?
The metro has its own drinking water network.
It is available from so-called tap wells. It also has its own power supply system, which provides 72 hours of continuous operation. In addition, various equipment cleans the surface air and ensures healthy conditions.
However, contrary to legends, there is no food depot in the subway.
Many thought the subway had warehouses to store durable food. However, the station or line warehouse is not filled with food, but there are sanitary facilities and water blocks.
An important advantage of the metro network is that the individual stations can communicate with each other. They can also supply each other with energy or clean air in case of trouble. We can only hope that it is more of a curiosity, and we will never have to use the metro line as shelter.
- Szijjártó: “Hungary won’t allow Hungarian people to pay the price of war”
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Source: index.hu, raketa.hu, urbanlegends.hu
Realistically – it does appear – if the Red Buttons – are pushed and we enter into a Nuclear War – our time, if we can obtain entry, in a subway – would just be a short prolonging of our lives – Europe and the World.
We – Hope & Pray – this NEVER – is Witnessed – in Hungary and Globally.
Realistically – the film footage seen of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – in 1945 – the after effects let alone when these Atomic Bombs – where released on Humans, what in 2022 – nuclear bombs MASSIVE increase to 1945 models – the real question is – the survival of human life – would it be POSSIBLE ???
Stay Safe & Well – ALL.
Before any place needs to be considered for shelter under any circumstances some historical information needs to be considered. For instance, it was widely reported that huge sport venues which were used as emergency shelters after Louisiana was flooded became nothing more than violence filled spaces. People smashed the only bathrooms that were available. Women/girls were raped in site of the crowds & no one castrated or hung the men. In otherwords, the scum of society ended up being given what should have been safe shelter along with the people worth saving. Then for months afterwards people scammed the systems which were set in place to give people $$$ funds to help them get relocated etc. When a Canadian businessman had a brand new community built, with an understanding from each of the families which were given the new furnished houses for immediate use with the understanding that they would then work the fields to start providing food products, they refused to show up for work. Not only that but the communities surrounding this new ‘subdivision’ had to keep sending police there due to the bad behaviors of adults, family violence. The taxpayers paying for those police services were furious because it wasn’t all those who got brand new houses for free.
Good intentions can go so wrong if many provisions are not put in place to ensure basic lawful and honest behaviors. AND then how do you move people out when things go sideways? In North America for instance I have noticed that the ‘homeless’ take over the parks & sidewalks of only places which have high end housing and infrastructure. They turn any place into a toilet, finding $ for booze, smokes, drugs but not to go rent a room somewhere so that they can then also go to work. Rural places have lots of available inexpensive places to buy or rent, but they prefer to live in places where they with their bad lifestyle choices for sure can’t afford to live properly without begging AND getting lots of free meals, clothing etc. When people talk about saving people from dire circumstances I sometimes wonder, are we worth saving? I look around and am sad by what I see.