Super-rich American "preppers" are buying up New Zealand land to escape to in case the US collapses or the poor rise up in revolt against them, The New Yorker reports.

It's unclear exactly how many wealthy Americans are buying property there with the apocalypse in mind - many just want a holiday home - but the amount of land they have bought in the past few years has increased dramatically.

New Yorker journalist Evan Osnos talked to several of the "preppers".

Preppers, or "survivalists", believe in preparation in case of societal collapse. In the past, preppers were usually associated with guns, powdered food and underground bunkers - but now it seems New Zealand is a focus, especially for the cosmopolitan Silicon Valley set.