History Main / FleeingForTheFalloutShelter

!!Examples

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/BetterToReignInHeaven'' depicts the day the Great War broke out, as seen from the perspective of Tessa Dithers. At the time the sirens begin sounding, Tessa is hung-over and mistakes it for another evacuation drill until she notices the emergency broadcast on TV, sending her on a barefoot sprint through Washington D.C. to reach Vault 112. Tragically, many of the citizens she passes are also convinced that it's a drill and don't realize the danger until it's too late to do anything about it. Tessa arrives with just enough time to help the Neusbaums into the secret passage before Bill Foster closes it behind her, a nuclear ICBM detonating over Washington scant seconds later. Tessa and the other survivors are shaken but unharmed, and soon descend into the Vault itself, [[HopeSpot ready to begin their new lives in safety]]... right up until they take their places in their [[LotusEaterMachine Tranquility Loungers]] and meet [[PsychopathicManchild Dr. Stanislaus Braum]].

* In ''Literature/RedDwarf: Last Human,'' it's eventually revealed that the current star system the Starbug crew have set up shop in is slowly being drawn into the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Omni-Zone]], with apocalyptic results for the local civilization. In the finale, Lister, Rimmer, Kryten, Kochanski, Cat, [=McGruder=], and Reketrebn all end up on a habitable planet with deep caves where they can shelter long enough to survive the crossing into the Omni-Zone... but unfortunately, the [[DeityOfHumanOrigin godlike entity]] known as [[TheHeartless the Rage]] is blocking their path to the caves and they have no time to find another shelter. [[spoiler:In the end, [[HeroicSacrifice Rimmer infects himself with the Oblivion Virus]] and uses his light bee to spread it to the Rage, destroying it once and for all -- leaving the path to the caves clear with just a few minutes to spare.]]
* ''Literature/TheRats'':

* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'': The Keller Family holotapes, which can be found scattered across the ruins of Washington D.C, documents a pre-War family doing this. Unable to get access to an official Vault, the Keller family instead seeks shelter in the National Guard Depot thanks to the oldest son who was a member of the Guard (he never made it to the shelter and is implied to have been arrested for treason after giving his family the access code). However, Ralph Keller, the youngest son, refused to hole himself up with his overbearing father, and chose to face certain death in the nuclear apocalypse instead. Considering that the final holotape in the Depot hints that the father [[FalloutShelterFail kept letting in radiation whenever he went outside to scavenge]], which mutated him into the Glowing One found inside, Ralph probably made the right choice.
* The opening to ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' takes place in the PlayerCharacter's [[DoomedHometown pre-war hometown]] of Sanctuary Hills. After seeing a news report on TV about the bombs falling, you have to make a break for the local Vault with your spouse and infant son. Along the way, you pass by neighbors bogged down trying to bring belongings and armed guards at the gate turning away anyone who hasn't been registered as an official resident, including the very same Vault Tec rep who signed you up. You arrive just in time, with the bomb detonating over Boston just as you start to descend on the elevator platform into the Vault. Given that this is a ''Fallout'' game and the "[[CorporateConspiracy Vaults were never meant to save anybody...]]", things quickly go FromBadToWorse, kicking off the plot of the game.

* ''Series/Dark2017:''

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985:'' In the episode "Shelter Skelter," CrazySurvivalist Harry Dobbs builds a state-of-the-art fallout shelter in his basement, believing it will allow him and his family to survive the inevitable nuclear war -- though his obsession ends up driving his wife away. After seeing a news report suggesting that WorldWarIII might be imminent, Harry goes upstairs to call his wife, though she dismisses his call as him CryingWolf... and in that moment, a nuclear detonation lights up the town. Harry immediately runs back downstairs, frantically counting down his remaining time aloud as furniture bursts into flames around him, and though the blast wave knocks him over, he's able to get himself and his friend Nick into the shelter without sustaining injury. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for Harry, it wasn't nuclear war: it was just an accident at the local air force base that levelled the town and spread no further. Doubly unfortunately, the ruins are eventually encased in a concrete dome to prevent radiation from spreading, leaving Harry and Nick effectively buried alive.]]

* ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC:'' Late in ''After Hours,'' Lex Luthor's hideout is revealed to be a PocketDimension hidden outside space and time... which comes in handy during the events of ''Zero Hour'': future Lex Luthor explains that the events that led to the BadFuture kicked off with a massive energy surge from [[InnBetweenTheWorlds Stan's Place]]; with barely enough time to react, he [[ExtradimensionalEmergencyExit teleported himself into his pocket dimension]], where he remained until the energy receded to safe levels. He emerged to find that Stan's Place was in ruins, the heroes and villains were all dead, reality had been wrecked, and [[LastOfHisKind Lex was the last surviving human in the universe]]. [[spoiler:Turns out that it was due to Joker activating Luthor's Plan Q in the previous story arc, accidentally getting the attention of Darkseid and triggering an apocalyptic conflict.]]

* ''Manga/MobileSuitGundamTheOrigin:'' Downplayed at the start of Operation British. Zeon had ordered the citizens of Island Effish to enter the shelters for an emergency protocol simulation. One guard is standing outside at his post and notices that it's become exceptionally cold, and crawls over to the shelter and tries to get them to open up. He soon falls asleep and dies along with everyone else in the entire colony, as Zeon had shut off the environmental controls and gassed everyone in order to carry out their ColonyDrop.

* Played for laughs in ''Film/BlastFromThePast''. CrazyPrepared nerd Calvin Webber built a fully stocked family-size fallout shelter in his backyard in 1962. When news of the Cuban Missile Crisis hits, he and his pregnant wife, Helen, sprint for it... with Helen carrying a partially cooked pot roast in a Dutch oven. As luck would have it, a plane crashes into their house while they're underground. Thinking the Russians are attacking, Calvin activates a time-lock, trapping them for 35 years while they wait for the nuclear fallout to dissipate. They raise their son, Adam, underground before sending him out for supplies when the lock finally opens, allowing him to finally learn the truth.
* Less than a few hours after the ZombieApocalypse begins in ''Film/DawnOfTheDead2004'', Ana, Kenneth, and a few other survivors are left hurriedly searching for shelter after being caught out in the open. Fortunately, they happen upon a deserted shopping mall soon after, but they still have to get inside... and while they're getting a door open, prowling zombies happen to notice them, forcing the survivors to finish jimmying the door in record time before the worryingly swift zombies catch up with them.
* ''Film/TheDayAfter'' features huge swathes of the American population being caught off-guard by the nuclear attack warnings, leaving everyone hurrying for whatever cover they can find. The lucky ones are guided en mass into basements in panicked mobs, trampling at least one unlucky character in the process; everyone else is forced to take cover in whatever buildings were left open -- or if they were caught on the highway when the EMP went off, their cars. The Dahlbergs are fortunate enough to have a shelter prepared in their basement, but it takes some effort to get everyone to it, with Eve [[HeroicBSOD having a breakdown]] and having to be carried down to the shelter, and Danny Dahlberg getting [[BlindedByTheLight blinded by the flash]] from a detonation and having to be carried as well in the remaining seconds before the blast.
* In ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'', the eye of the superstorm proves to be the most cataclysmic of all the apocalyptic weather phenomena witnessed in the film, capable of [[KillItWithIce freezing just about anything in its path]]. Jack Hall is still on the way to the ruins of New York when he sees the eye overhead, forcing him to hastily dive into an abandoned kitchen and turn all the stoves on at once, barely managing to build up enough heat to survive the storm. Later, in New York itself, Sam and the others are looking for medical supplies on an abandoned Russian cargo ship when the superstorm appears overhead, forcing them to hurry back to their makeshift shelter in the library and frantically stoke the fireplace -- seemingly ''pursued'' by the apocalyptic snap-freeze as they do so.

-->I didn't think about it. My head still swam with all the information that had been thrown at me. The pink Crocs barely fit on my feet. The distant fire was further away than I thought. I had seen firsthand what hypothermia did to people.
-->So I turned toward the light, and I ran.

* ''VideoGame/SixtySeconds'':
** At the beginning of a normal game, the air sirens for a nuke begin to sound once the timer (which is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely 60 seconds long]]) begins, and the player has to fill the house's underground shelter with supplies, items and family members while assuring that the scavenging character is also able to enter it by the moment the timer ends.
** The sequel ''VideoGame/SixtyParsecs'' involves a similar things, with the crew captain having to bring crewmates and resources to a rocket in a space station when they receive the announcement that Earth is going to be destroyed.

* ''Film/WarGames'': After NORAD has declared [[DefconFive Defcon One]], meaning that nuclear war is imminent, David, Jennifer, and Dr. Falken try to get to NORAD before the base is sealed off. They barely make it inside because their jeep crashes and have to hurry in on foot.

** At the beginning of a normal game, the air sirens for a nuke begin to sound once the minute-long timer begins, and the player has to fill the house's underground shelter with supplies, items and family members while assuring that the scavenging character is also able to enter it by the moment the timer ends.

** The sequel ''VideoGame/SixtyParsecs''. The crew captain has to bring crewmates and resources to a rocket in a space station when they receive the announcement that Earth is going to be destroyed.

** However, episode 6 of season 3 reveals that [[spoiler:that Jonas, who was previously shown to be saved by ExtradimensionalEmergencyExit has been duplicated and another Jonas exists.]] This unfortunate character isn't saved by anyone else, so he has to find refuge anywhere he can, so he's forced to run for the basement of the house he is in.

->"We need to get to the Vault, NOW!"

Thus, the Fleeing For The Fallout Shelter. If you're lucky, you're within reach of your shelter and you can make it inside before the apocalypse catches up with you. If not, you'll have to make do with any cover you can find; depending on the severity of the disaster, this may end up being fatal. Of course, just because you can reach safety [[FalloutShelterFail doesn't mean that the shelter will remain safe]] for the duration of the disaster, but that's another story.

* In the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio drama "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho162ProtectAndSurvive Protect And Survive]]," Ace and Hex find themselves trapped in an alternate timeline where the Cold War turned nuclear, though they are lucky enough to end up in the vicinity of an older couple with a fallout shelter prepared in their basement. However, given that the couple aren't up to moving quickly, Ace and Hex are stuck helping them down the stairs -- during which Hex is blinded by the flash from the bomb. All four of them barely get to the shelter in time, surviving mostly unharmed... but unfortunately, the shelter was too close to the strike zone, and they begin experiencing the effects of acute radiation sickness soon after. [[spoiler:Fortunately, it turns out this particular dimension is on a time loop and everyone's soon alive again; less fortunately, the apocalypse cannot be stopped, and the sprint for the shelter is essential [[ImmortalityHurts unless you feel like burning alive this time around]].]]

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/BetterToReignInHeaven'' depicts the day the Great War broke out, as seen from the perspective of Tessa Dithers. At the time the sirens begin sounding, Tessa is hung-over and mistakes it for another evacuation drill until she notices the emergency broadcast on TV, sending her on a barefoot sprint through Washington D.C. to reach Vault 112. Tragically, many of the citizens she passes are also convinced that it's a drill and don't realize the danger until it's too late to do anything about it. Tessa arrives with just enough time to help the Neusbaums into the secret passage before Bill Foster closes it behind her, a nuclear ICBM detonating over Washington scant seconds later. Tessa and the other survivors are shaken but unharmed, and soon descend into the Vault itself, [[HopeSpot ready to begin their new lives in safety]]... right up until they take their places in their [[LotusEaterMachine Tranquility Loungers]] and meet [[PsychopathicManchild Dr Stanislaus Braum]].

* ''Film/WarGames'': After NORAD has declared [[DefconFive Defcon One]], meaning that nuclear war is imminent, David, Jennifer, and Dr. Falken try to get to NORAD before the base is sealed off. They barely make it inside because their jeep crashes and have to hurry in by foot.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E4SiliconAvatar Silicon Avatar]]", a being called the Crystaline Entity shows up at a planet that the Federation is attempting to colonize. Typically it destroys all life on the planets it attacks; in this episode, however, Riker succeeds in evacuating all but two of the planet's population into a cave, saving them.

* ''Film/WarGames'': After NORAD has declared [[DefconFive Defcon One]], meaning that nuclear war is imminent, David, Jennifer, and Dr. Falken try to get to NORAD before the base is sealed off. They barely make it inside because their jeep crashes and have to hurry in on foot.

* ''Manga/MobileSuitGundamTheOrigin:'' Downplayed at the start of Operation British. Zeon had ordered the citizens of Island Effish to enter into the shelters for an emergency protocol simulation. One guard is standing outside at his post and notices that it's become exceptionally cold, and crawls over to the shelter and tries to get them to open up. He soon falls asleep and dies along with everyone else in the entire colony, as Zeon had shut off the environmental controls and gassed everyone in order to carry out their ColonyDrop.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': The residents of Tokyo-3 appear to do this whenever Angels appear, which explains why [[ConvenientlyEmptyBuilding so little collateral damage]] happens during the early battles. Most notable in Episode 3, when an Angel shows up while Shinji is ''at school'' and the other students are forced to shelter there.

* ''ComicBook/WhatIf'': In Vol.1 #70 "What If... The Silver Surfer Had Not Betrayed Galactus?", with the Silver Surfer unwilling to side with humanity against Galactus, the Fantastic Four are forced to retreat from the roof of the Baxter Building to a shelter deep beneath it -- stopping only to rescue Alicia Masters. They just barely reach the shelter in time to get inside before the Devourer of Worlds begins consuming Earth. Some time later, the Fantastic Four and Alicia reemerge in space suits to find that they're all that's left of humanity. Doctor Doom also arrives, [[EnemyMine offering them the chance to avenge Earth]], since he himself was unable to get his people of Latveria to safety and barely able to save himself.
* ''ComicBook/WhenTheWindBlows'': When Soviet Russia launches a nuclear attack on the United Kingdom and four-minute warning is announced on the radio, Hilda fails to grasp the seriousness of the situation, decides to get the washing in, and dithers about the cake in the oven. Jim is reduced to [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness shouting at her for the first time in the entire comic]] -- to the point of calling her a "[[PrecisionFStrike stupid bitch]]" in the animated adaptation -- and physically dragging her into the Inner Core or Refuge just before the missile detonates.

* ''Film/TheDayAfter'' features huge swathes of the American population being caught off-guard by the nuclear attack warnings, leaving everyone hurrying for whatever cover they can find. The lucky ones are guided en mass into basements in panicked mobs, trampling at least one unlucky character in the process; everyone else is forced to take cover in whatever buildings were left open -- or, if they were caught on the highway when the EMP went off, their cars. The Dahlbergs are fortunate enough to have a shelter prepared in their basement, but it takes some effort to get everyone to it, with Eve [[HeroicBSOD having a breakdown]] and having to be carried down to the shelter, and Danny Dahlberg getting [[BlindedByTheLight blinded by the flash]] from a detonation and having to be carried as well in the remaining seconds before the blast.

** Howard claims that this also happened to him, and that he was speeding home to his shelter, hence why he crashed into Michelle and ended up taking her inside. [[spoiler:The events of the movie, specifically Howard having had a previous victim before Michelle, more or less confirms it was a lie.]]

* ''Film/WarGames'': After NORAD has declared [[DefconFive Defcon One]], meaning that nuclear war is imminent, David, Jennifer, and Dr. Falken try to get to NORAD before the base is sealed off. They barely make it inside, because their jeep crashes and have to hurry in by foot.

--> I didn't think about it. My head still swam with all the information that had been thrown at me. The pink Crocs barely fit on my feet. The distant fire was further away than I thought. I had seen first hand what hypothermia did to people.
--> So I turned toward the light, and I ran.
* In ''Literature/RedDwarf: Last Human,'' it's eventually revealed that the current star system the Starbug crew have set up shop in is slowly being drawn into the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Omni-Zone]], with apocalyptic results for the local civilization. In the finale, Lister, Rimmer, Kryten, Kochanski, Cat, [=McGruder=] and Reketrebn all end up on a habitable planet with deep caves where they can shelter long enough to survive the crossing into the Omni-Zone... but unfortunately, the [[DeityOfHumanOrigin godlike entity]] known as [[TheHeartless the Rage]] is blocking their path to the caves and they have no time to find another shelter. [[spoiler:In the end, [[HeroicSacrifice Rimmer infects himself with the Oblivion Virus]] and uses his light bee to spread it to the Rage, destroying it once and for all -- leaving the path to the caves clear with just a few minutes to spare.]]

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E4SiliconAvatar Silicon Avatar]]", a being called the Crystaline Entity shows up at a planet which the Federation is attempting to colonize. Typically it destroys all life on the planets it attacks; in this episode, however, Riker succeeds in evacuating all but two of the planet's population into a cave, saving them.

* Played for laughs in ''Film/BlastFromThePast.'' CrazyPrepared nerd Calvin Webber built a fully stocked family-size fallout shelter in his backyard in 1962. When news of the Cuban Missile Crisis hits, he and his pregnant wife, Helen, sprint for it... with Helen carrying a partially cooked pot roast in a Dutch oven. As luck would have it, a plane crashes into their house while they're underground. Thinking the Russians are attacking, Calvin activates a time-lock, trapping them for 35 years while they wait for the nuclear fallout to dissipate. They raise their son, Adam, underground before sending him out for supplies when the lock finally opens, allowing him to finally learn the truth.

'''Please note that this is a strictly apocalyptic trope: if an incident doesn't fall under one of the headings of ApocalypseHow, it doesn't belong here - ergo no mundane bombings and no examples from either of the World Wars.'''

* In the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio drama "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho162ProtectAndSurvive Protect And Survive]]," Ace and Hex find themselves trapped in an alternate timeline where the Cold War turned nuclear, though they are lucky enough to end up in the vicinity of an older couple with a fallout shelter prepared in their basement. However, given that the couple aren't up to moving quickly, Ace and Hex are stuck helping them down the stairs - during which Hex is blinded by the flash from the bomb. All four of them barely get to the shelter in time, surviving mostly unharmed... but unfortunately, the shelter was too close to the strike zone, and they begin experiencing the effects of acute radiation sickness soon after. [[spoiler: Fortunately, it turns out this particular dimension is on a time loop and everyone's soon alive again; less fortunately, the apocalypse cannot be stopped, and the sprint for the shelter is essential [[ImmortalityHurts unless you feel like burning alive this time around]].]]

* ''ComicBook/WhatIf'': In Vol.1 #70 "What If... The Silver Surfer Had Not Betrayed Galactus?", with the Silver Surfer unwilling to side with humanity against Galactus, the Fantastic Four are forced to retreat from the roof of the Baxter Building to a shelter deep beneath it - stopping only to rescue Alicia Masters. They just barely reach the shelter in time to get inside before the Devourer of Worlds begins consuming Earth. Some time later, the Fantastic Four and Alicia reemerge in space suits to find that they're all that's left of humanity. Doctor Doom also arrives, [[EnemyMine offering them the chance to avenge Earth]], since he himself was unable to get his people of Latveria to safety and barely able to save himself.
* ''ComicBook/WhenTheWindBlows'': When Soviet Russia launches a nuclear attack on the United Kingdom and four-minute warning is announced on the radio, Hilda fails to grasp the seriousness of the situation, decides to get the washing in, and dithers about the cake in the oven. Jim is reduced to [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness shouting at her for the first time in the entire comic]] - to the point of calling her a "[[PrecisionFStrike stupid bitch]]" in the animated adaptation - and physically dragging her into the Inner Core or Refuge just before the missile detonates.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'': Mansley tries to flee after impulsively ordering a nuclear missile strike on the Giant, who was standing right next to him - unwittingly bringing a localized apocalypse to the town. Fortunately, the Giant immediately stops him from escaping.

* ''Film/TheDayAfter'' features huge swathes of the American population being caught off-guard by the nuclear attack warnings, leaving everyone hurrying for whatever cover they can find. The lucky ones are guided en mass into basements in panicked mobs, trampling at least one unlucky character in the process; everyone else is forced to take cover in whatever buildings were left open - or, if they were caught on the highway when the EMP went off, their cars. The Dahlbergs are fortunate enough to have a shelter prepared in their basement, but it takes some effort to get everyone to it, with Eve [[HeroicBSOD having a breakdown]] and having to be carried down to the shelter, and Danny Dahlberg getting [[BlindedByTheLight blinded by the flash]] from a detonation and having to be carried as well in the remaining seconds before the blast.
* In ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'', the eye of the superstorm proves to be the most cataclysmic of all the apocalyptic weather phenomena witnessed in the film, capable of [[KillItWithIce freezing just about anything in its path]]. Jack Hall is still on the way to the ruins of New York when he sees the eye overhead, forcing him to hastily dive into an abandoned kitchen and turn all the stoves on at once, barely managing to build up enough heat to survive the storm. Later, in New York itself, Sam and the others are looking for medical supplies on an abandoned Russian cargo ship when the superstorm appears overhead, forcing them to hurry back to their makeshift shelter in the library and frantically stoke the fireplace - seemingly ''pursued'' by the apocalyptic snap-freeze as they do so.

** Howard claims that this also happened to him, and that he was speeding home to his shelter, hence why he crashed into Michelle and ended up taking her inside. [[spoiler: The events of the movie, specifically Howard having had a previous victim before Michelle, more or less confirms it was a lie.]]
* When the apocalyptic nuclear war finally breaks out in ''Film/{{Threads}}'', the only group prepared for it are the [[NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering Emergency Council]], who have already taken up permanent residence in a shelter under Sheffield Town Hall. Everyone else is left struggling for cover: the Becketts are at home, but have to carry the grandmother of the family downstairs to the cellar before the blast wave hits; the Kemps are at home but haven't finished their shelter, and spend the last few minutes trying to assemble everything before it's too late [[spoiler: but the house turns out to be right on the edge of a strike zone, [[FalloutShelterFail so it's rendered worthless]] anyway]]; finally, Jimmy is caught out at the local joinery, and with his car rendered useless by the EMP, he's left frantically sprinting home. [[spoiler: Given that he's never seen again, it can be presumed that he was killed in the blast.]]

* In ''Literature/RedDwarf: Last Human,'' it's eventually revealed that the current star system the Starbug crew have set up shop in is slowly being drawn into the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Omni-Zone]], with apocalyptic results for the local civilization. In the finale, Lister, Rimmer, Kryten, Kochanski, Cat, [=McGruder=] and Reketrebn all end up on a habitable planet with deep caves where they can shelter long enough to survive the crossing into the Omni-Zone... but unfortunately, the [[DeityOfHumanOrigin godlike entity]] known as [[TheHeartless the Rage]] is blocking their path to the caves and they have no time to find another shelter. [[spoiler: In the end, [[HeroicSacrifice Rimmer infects himself with the Oblivion Virus]] and uses his light bee to spread it to the Rage, destroying it once and for all - leaving the path to the caves clear with just a few minutes to spare.]]

** Over the course of season 2, it becomes evident that on the 27th of June 2020, [[ApocalypseHow the apocalypse]] is going to happen. [[spoiler: In the final episode of the season, most of the characters find refuge in the bunker or escape by [[EmergencyTemporalShift travelling to another time]].]]
** However, episode 6 of season 3 reveals that [[spoiler: that Jonas, who was previously shown to be saved by ExtradimensionalEmergencyExit has been duplicated and another Jonas exists.]] This unfortunate character isn't saved by anyone else, so he has to find refuge anywhere he can, so he's forced to run for the basement of the house he is in.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985:'' In the episode "Shelter Skelter," CrazySurvivalist Harry Dobbs builds a state-of-the-art fallout shelter in his basement, believing it will allow him and his family to survive the inevitable nuclear war - though his obsession ends up driving his wife away. After seeing a news report suggesting that WorldWarIII might be imminent, Harry goes upstairs to call his wife, though she dismisses his call as him CryingWolf... and in that moment, a nuclear detonation lights up the town. Harry immediately runs back downstairs, frantically counting down his remaining time aloud as furniture bursts into flames around him, and though the blast wave knocks him over, he's able to get himself and his friend Nick into the shelter without sustaining injury. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for Harry, it wasn't nuclear war: it was just an accident at the local air force base that levelled the town and spread no further. Doubly unfortunately, the ruins are eventually encased in a concrete dome to prevent radiation from spreading, leaving Harry and Nick effectively buried alive.]]

* In ''Magazine/{{MAD}}''[='s=] "Modern Chess" feature, which describes a UsefulNotes/ColdWar-themed SettingUpdate of the ancient game involving nuclear weapons, when the Air Raid Siren piece sounds its alarm, all the Pawns try to jump into the nearest Fallout Shelter - only for most of them to be shot by the first Pawn to occupy it.

** Once "Nanopocalypse" kicks off, everyone is rushing to find a shelter that's safe from the GreyGoo, but because the nanobots eat anything containing carbon - like concrete - the only viable shelter is another continent entirely. As such, airports are overrun with refugees, and because jet fuel also contains carbon, escaping player characters may find themselves boarding a plane with a huge wave of nanobots spilling onto the runway behind them. However, given that nanobots can travel on air currents, chances are you'll eventually be forced to flee again; the only viable long-term shelter for the players is an EerieArcticResearchStation, as polar temperatures disable nanobots on contact... but by the time this is realized, getting there will require another frantic escape from the country you're sheltering in, followed by another potentially lethal flight through nanobot-polluted airspace.

** Inverted during the finale; [[spoiler: after suffering a FalloutShelterFail due to years of strain on the bunker's internal systems, John has to escape ''from'' the bunker before he dies of radiation exposure.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Exmortis}} 2'', once it became clear that the war against the eponymous demons had turned apocalyptic, towns isolated enough to have avoided the Exmortis horde began building shelters in their basements, arranging for community-wide alarms via walkie-talkies and air horns in the event of an attack. Given the terrifying speed and power of the Exmortis, residents would usually have a minute to move from their homes to their shelters; the ApocalypticLog at Lochear Fields Ranch mentions at least one unlucky household was caught off-guard and slaughtered before they could get anywhere near the shelter. [[spoiler: Worse still, it turns out that the shelters only work against small bands of Exmortis; once the entire horde arrived, ''nothing'' could hide from them, hence why Mr Lochear opts to kill his family and himself rather than bother with the shelter once he hears air horns in the distance.]]

* ''VideoGame/FarCry5'': [[spoiler: The Resist ending has nuclear bombs go off just as Joseph Seed has been subdued, forcing the Junior Deputy and their fellow sheriffs to try fleeing to Dutch's bunker. The Deputy and Seed (handcuffed in the back) end up being the sole survivors after their police car crashes into a tree and kills everyone else inside, and the former ends up becoming the latter's prisoner after they murder Dutch inside the bunker while the Deputy is still unconscious.]]

* ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC:'' Late in ''After Hours,'' Lex Luthor's hideout is revealed to be a PocketDimension hidden outside space and time... which comes in handy during the events of ''Zero Hour'': future Lex Luthor explains that the events that led to the BadFuture kicked off with a massive energy surge from [[InnBetweenTheWorlds Stan's Place]]; with barely enough time to react, he [[ExtradimensionalEmergencyExit teleported himself into his pocket dimension]], where he remained until the energy receded to safe levels. He emerged to find that Stan's Place was in ruins, the heroes and villains were all dead, reality had been wrecked, and [[LastOfHisKind Lex was the last surviving human in the universe]]. [[spoiler: Turns out that it was due to Joker activating Luthor's Plan Q in the previous story arc, accidentally getting the attention of Darkseid and triggering an apocalyptic conflict.]]

* According to the ''Protect And Survive'' pamphlet produced by the British Government between 1974 and 1980, an attack warning gives you about two minutes to make all the necessary preparations and get into the fallout shelter. If you happen to be caught outside when the warning is sounded, the pamphlet advises you to only attempt this trope only if you can get home in under two minutes; otherwise, you're told to take shelter in the nearest available building - or else just lie flat on the ground (preferably in a ditch).

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Thus, the Sprint For The Shelter. If you're lucky, you're within reach of your shelter and you can make it inside before the apocalypse catches up with you. If not, you'll have to make do with any cover you can find; depending on the severity of the disaster, this may end up being fatal. Of course, just because you can reach safety [[FalloutShelterFail doesn't mean that the shelter will remain safe]] for the duration of the disaster, but that's another story.

* ''Film/TheDayAfter'' features huge swathes of the American population being caught off-guard by the nuclear attack warnings, leaving everyone sprinting for whatever cover they can find. The lucky ones are guided en mass into basements in panicked mobs, trampling at least one unlucky character in the process; everyone else is forced to take cover in whatever buildings were left open - or, if they were caught on the highway when the EMP went off, their cars. The Dahlbergs are fortunate enough to have a shelter prepared in their basement, but it takes some effort to get everyone to it, with Eve [[HeroicBSOD having a breakdown]] and having to be carried down to the shelter, and Danny Dahlberg getting [[BlindedByTheLight blinded by the flash]] from a detonation and having to be carried as well in the remaining seconds before the blast.