MEMA Bunker, Massachusetts

FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) does not have the only network of underground emergency operations centers. Many state, county, and even city agencies across the country have built their own emergency bunkers, some with accommodations for people to stay for long periods too (though not necessarily to wait out the fallout, but to rest between shifts while managing an ongoing crisis). Though not always underground, they are often sited at communication sites, and may also house services such as call centers for state or local police. Such is the case for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), which is housed in a bunker on Route 9, near Framingham. With JFK directing the nation to build fallout shelters at the beginning of the 1960s, it perhaps no surprise that his home state was among the most responsive in this regard. Originally, and allegedly, the operation center was intended to provide shelter for up to 300 state-selected people, including the governor.