With all attention on President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address today—especially in light of the extension of martial law by the Congress—some are convinced that doomsday is rapidly approaching. Maybe they know something that the rest of us do not.
Certainly, there is a fear in some quarters that North Korea may soon have the capability of committing an Electromagnetic Pulse attack on the United States that would send that part of the world back to the technological Stone Age. But the real “doomsday” events in recorded history have always been more natural than man-made.
We might say that the Black Death—one of the most devastating events in human history, peaking in Europe around 1350 with 30 percent to 60 percent of the population killed—was sort of caused by human trade. But the root source was still found in nature.
Two 1998 movies—Armageddon and Deep Impact—spoke of the possibility of a potential Life Extinction Event by a major asteroid hit on the planet. In fact, an asteroid named 2017 AG13 just missed impacting Earth—by an astronomically infinitesimal 129,000 miles. Had it hit, the blast of the meteor burning up in the atmosphere would be about 30 times as powerful as the atomic bomb dropped at Hiroshima.
In the US, attention has been on the Yellowstone Caldera, which is part of a supervolcano. Scientists estimate that if an eruption occurs—as the last one did 174,000 years ago—most of the Western US would be uninhabitable for a long time and we might see a global “nuclear winter”. So much for global warming worries.
Just so we do not feel left out, Taal Volcano is considered the ninth- most dangerous volcano in the world after others, such as Mount Vesuvius in Italy and Mount Merapi in Indonesia. But don’t let that stop you from buying a new condo in Tagaytay. Our greatest worry comes from much farther south. The Toba Caldera in North Sumatra, Indonesia, is the only supervolcano in existence that can be described as Yellowstone’s “big sister” and blew her top only 74,000 years ago.
However, something may be going on that justifies all the doomsday worries. In an article last month, Forbes Magazine reported that the world’s billionaires are spending if not billions, at least many millions, on doomsday bunkers.
A company called Survival Condos has turned unused nuclear missile silos into underground “high-rise” condominiums at $3 million per floor. The 300-square-meter Penthouse unit goes at $4.3 million. The Vivos Europa One complex in Germany has been sold out by invitation only and is billed as having five-star amenities and protection. Needless to say, if you have to ask the price, you cannot afford it.
But the doomsday bunker for the fabulously wealthy is located in an unnamed Eastern European nation. A buyer is given the location after the purchase is made. It is accessible only by personal airplane or helicopter and is designed to be entirely self-sufficient for 100 residents—and their pets, of course—for five years. Only having money will not get you in the door. The developer has made clear that the Kardashians need not apply.
While that all sounds exciting, most of us will gladly ride out doomsday Filipino style. Good friends, good sisig and good Philippine beer. The billionaires do not know what they are missing.