Doomsday preppers head underground as bunker economy enters mainstream society

Milton Torres is worried about the state of the world — so worried that the 42-year-old biomedical engineer has packed up his life and moved to a remote, underground bunker in the Midwest of the United States.

A man in a beanie stands outside a concrete bunker.
PHOTO Milton Torres, outside his bunker in South Dakota, says he "doesn't even know what's real anymore".

SUPPLIED: THE VIVOS GROUP
He's part of a growing number of Americans preparing for social, economic and environmental collapse.

"I don't even know what is real or not anymore," Mr Torres says.

"They have us so confused, but they don't want to panic the people about what's happening.

"You think the government is going to save you? If you think that, good luck."
Mr Torres is the first to move permanently into Vivos xPoint, a community of 575 bunkers designed to accommodate up to 5,000 people in a former army munitions site in South Dakota.

He paid $US25,000 for a 200-square-metre underground bunker, which can survive water, air, and gas penetration, as well as significant internal and external explosions.

"It's a steal — especially when compared to a house that won't survive a meteor strike," he says.

[link to mobile.abc.net.au (secure)]