People Living in Las Vegas’s Tunnels Urged to Get Medical Treatment Outreach workers say more people are retreating underground. Though dark and damp, the tunnels provide cover from the harsh desert sun, warmth when temperatures drop, and privacy from society’s judgment above ground.
Constructed in the 1990s and measuring some 600 miles, the tunnels provide flood control for the city and outlying communities. Homeless outreach workers said 1,200 to 1,500 people live in them. Many have constructed elaborate shelters, often out of plywood and scraps of metal or brick below the casinos that define the Strip.
Life there is a lot sadder than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made me expect it to be.