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Germans  Hamburg - Amid growing angst about climate change and terrorism, backyard pre-fabricated "panic rooms" are all the rage in Germany this summer.

 Call it a storm shelter or a fall-out shelter or just an old- fashioned German air-raid bunker, the government-approved "Gartenschutzraum" (backyard shelter) is just the thing for suburbanites who are tired of Japanese fishponds and garden gnomes.

 Sales have skyrocketed this summer after an announcement that the Federal Disaster Relief Office had approved the shelters following four years of rigorous testing.

 The manufacturer, ABC Guard Safety Systems of Hanover, insists the underground shelters can withstand nuclear, biological or chemical arms attacks in addition to providing shelter from increasingly violent weather in Central Europe.

 Sales have been sparked by unusually severe summer thunderstorms which have spawned tornadoes and torrential rains. Once almost unknown here, tornadoes have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Dozens of people have been hit by lightning across Germany so far this summer, and half a dozen were killed by lightning bolts.

 In a country where severe weather is rare, the recent spate of violent storms during the past two summers has unsettled Germans. Surveys show over 70 per cent of Germans are convinced the climate is changing for the worse and that the weather will get more violent.

 Then there are those nagging reports of rising crime rates. Tabloid TV in Germany is full of reports of stalkers laying siege to innocent homeowners, reminiscent of the plot of the 2002 Hollywood movie "Panic Room" about a woman ensconced in her basement shelter as a maniac stalks her.

 Factor in the incipient fear of terrorist attacks, and you have a climate of angst that has Germans wondering, if their immaculate backyards are as safe as they ought to be.

 And then there is the status factor. Everybody has a zen rock garden or a koi fish pond. But who has a pre-fab bunker with an air- lock entrance and with reinforced concrete walls 30 centimetres thick (12 inches)?

   The manufacturer says its satisfied customers include well-heeled professionals such as lawyers and doctors, which increases the social status factor even further.

 One does need to be a bit well-heeled to buy one. The starting price is 89,000 euros - well over 100,000 dollars. But that includes delivery and installation.

 That is only for the basic model. If you want a shelter with a door that will withstand a mortar shell, the price goes up to 119,000 euros, which is getting close to 150,000 dollars.

 The portable shelter is a steel cube fitted with a life support system and a power generator. It can be transported on a lorry and built installed within a week.

 The container in the basic version is 6 by 2.5 metres (21 feet by 8 feet, surrounded by 30 centimetres of reinforced concrete. It is equipped with an air purification system and a hand-driven generator, and can accommodate up to seven people.

 Concrete steps lead down 4.3 metres (15 feet) below the earth to the air-lock entrance to the shelter. Optionally, you can have an underground tunnel direct from your cellar to the shelter, obviating the need to go outdoors when, say, a tornado is heading straight for your house.

 In case disaster debris blocks that main entrance, there is also an emergency escape hatch at the rear of the shelter.

 "It has storage space for foodstuffs and water so that up to seven people could survive inside for up to a month," company engineer Oliver Langwich told Wirtschaftswoche newspaper.

 Using the marketing slogan "You can depend on absolute security made in Germany," Langwich said the pre-fab panic room is something of a sign of the times in post-unification Germany.

 "The Cold War is over. But the war on terror is increasingly making the world an unsafe place and there is talk of a new Cold War or even nuclear confrontation," he said.

 "And climate change is fuelling fears of natural disasters. Modern and safe protection 'Made in Germany' is our answer to all that. We have found a market niche," he told the paper.

//DPA