California man turning old Kansas limestone mine into doomsday survival shelter

Californian Robert Vicino is preparing for the end of the world by making plans to turn a limestone cave in rural Kansas into a survival shelter. The cave is a former Army storage facility on the southeast edge of Atchison, about 50 miles northwest of Kansas City, Mo., reports Bill Draper for The Associated Press. The caverns, which are 100 to 150 feet below the surface, and have a constant temperature, were created by limestone mining operations that started in the late 1880s. (AP photo by Orlin Wagner)

Investor Coby Cullins bought the property for $510,000 and leased the 45-acre west cave to Vicino, who plans to call it Vivos Shelter and Resort, reports Draper. Cullins is marketing the 25-acre eastern cave to local businesses. Vicino's shelter will "have enough space for more than 1,000 RVs and up to about 5,000 people." The shelter, though, will be members only, and will require a steep fee to occupy. Vicino also owns other shelters, including one in Indiana, but won't say where "because he fears there would be anarchy in the event of a world-changing catastrophe." (Read more)