Americans voting with their “shovels?” This is hardly a statement in favor of nuclear power or disaster preparedness in the United States. Of course, it is probably the American idea that if you throw enough money at a problem you can fix it. (We only believe that now about certain subjects.) It might be better to have a FEMA that we can trust but after the disaster in Louisiana, that kind of trust is never coming back.

James Pilant

Sales of deluxe doomsday bunkers up 1,000% from CNN

A devastating earthquake strikes Japan. A massive tsunami kills thousands. Fears of a nuclear meltdown run rampant. Bloodshed and violence escalate in Libya.

And U.S. companies selling doomsday bunkers are seeing sales skyrocket anywhere from 20% to 1,000%.

Northwest Shelter Systems, which offers shelters ranging in price from $200,000 to $20 million, has seen sales surge 70% since the uprisings in the Middle East, with the Japanese earthquake only spurring further interest. In hard numbers, that’s 12 shelters already booked when the company normally sells four shelters per year.

“Sales have gone through the roof, to the point where we are having trouble keeping up,” said Northwest Shelter Systems owner Kevin Thompson.