Watching TV series The 100 reminded me of one huge flaw of Fallout shelters.
(Spoiler ahead, I think?)
Most of the bunkers depicted in popular works have one huge design flaw:
There is only one entrance to the fallout bunker
Examples: Games Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 show atomic bunkers with only one exit. (I haven't played any other Fallout game, shame on me.)
Most of the bunkers shown in the TV series The 100 also have just only one exit.
I understand, that if you want to have a bunker strong enough to survive an atomic blast, you have to seal it as much as possible, therefore having only one exit from the bunker is a reasonable idea.
However, having just one exit from the bunker creates a huge design flaw. For instance, if a bunker is under a building, such a building can collapse on such an exit, literally trapping you inside.
Yes, it creates nice plot ideas, however it feeels pretty dumb. Because, you just survived a freaking atomic blast, just to be killed by not having the possibility to go out and therefore starving to death.
Should my atomic bunker have more than one exit? What drawbacks will I have if the bunker will have more than one exit?
To clarify: I am designing "both in one." I want to have a bunker, possibly under a building. This bunker has to survive a nuclear blast, which results such building collapsing on it. Then, such bunker should be able to keep 1200 people alive for about 5 years. After that people should be able to go out and seek for food.
Plausibility of the rest in the specification is solved. Assume the bunker is capable to do all of above, when answering, focus on the exits and possible drawbacks.
Please keep in mind, that I want to have reality in check. So the design does not to count with possibility of building collapsing. Say the bunker itself is on the outskirts and you do not actually expect direct hit.