IN SHORT:
Until January 1 of this year, all local governments had to include a section on actions in the event of a military invasion or war in their civil defense plan, which would not only reduce people’s concerns, but would also make the local authorities think about whether everything unacceptable had been done, so that in such a case, local governments could continue to provide people with critical important services.
“Municipal governments do not sufficiently explain how to act in a crisis situation”
Some municipalities, together with representatives of the National Armed Forces (NBS), have already developed a comprehensive defense plan in case of a military invasion. The purpose of such a plan is to provide the basic needs of the population in the administrative territory of the municipality and, ideally, to support the national defense system or help the army.
In Vidzeme, the plan is already ready for the municipalities of Sigulda, Valmiera and Limbaži, but it is still being developed for the municipalities of Cēsi and Saulkrasti.
Latvijas Radio asked the residents of Cēsis and Valmiera what they think – do municipalities tell their residents enough how to act in crisis situations?
“Many people don’t know what to do in a crisis situation. This actually worries me a lot. I think that there is something the municipality should do – they should look for some ways, maybe even organize some kind of movement, association, talk to people. But, first of all, they themselves need to know what to do.”
“I know that now everyone is talking about those bunkers, that the municipality does not think about them, they only think about themselves. Are the taxpayers themselves ready to invest, say, 2 billion [eiro], to build bunkers for at least half? That’s the question!”
“I have not seen such actions and such public activities. For me, security is created by the fact that there are many national guards in Cēsis, so I think that in the event of such a crisis, we would have many people who would indicate what and where and how to do it.”
“I think that others know what to do, but others don’t know either. There are booklets in municipalities where it is written what to do in a crisis situation, at least in our municipality.”
“We should inform, perhaps with some posters in public places, so that people know where, what and how.”
“People probably don’t have a concrete plan, and I think that the local governments are also not adequately explaining these issues to their residents.”
But do the residents themselves feel ready for crisis situations, without waiting for help from the outside. Do you know what to do in the event of a threat, has it been discussed in the family, where to look for information that should be prepared in advance?
“No, we haven’t. Yes, it’s left to rely on…”
“I would probably wait for what you would recommend to do. If no order followed, then I would probably go somewhere further, away from populated areas.”
“Thanks to the National Guard, I know what to do, but not thanks to the municipality. As an ordinary citizen, I have not seen any explanation from the municipality. I would definitely appreciate it if the municipality had a bigger plan, for example, which gathering places are indicated, which are known to all residents, where instructions can be obtained.”
“Well, first of all, you should turn on the TV or the radio and listen to what’s being said.”
It can be concluded that the majority of those approached in Cēsis and Valmiera would wait for someone to tell them what to do, where to go, how to react in case of a threat.
If you can’t help, you have to know how to “not mess around”
Civil-military cooperation specialist of the NBS Joint Headquarters, Richards Batarags, emphasized that, first of all, everyone should know how to protect themselves and not to endanger themselves unnecessarily:
“No matter which crisis it is, let’s take the example of Jēkabpils – it was a flood. It is very important to listen to what the municipality says at that moment or what the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) says at that moment. As I recall, in the case of Jēkabpils, the head of the municipality himself personally, on radio and other information channels, residents were asked not to go unnecessarily to the endangered place, while those who could help, were also specifically told what they could help with.
The first is not to do what you don’t need to do, and first take care of yourself and your loved ones. How exactly – it already depends on what has happened.
Whether it’s some kind of epidemic or a flood, or a big fire, or some kind of pollution, or a military threat, that’s where its action comes from.”
As Batarag pointed out, we have a whole range of options for acquiring knowledge that will help us overcome any threat ourselves and help others in case of need. In addition, it does not always mean joining the military. Batarags pointed out that non-governmental organizations can also get involved, for example the Samaritans Association of Latvia or the Red Cross of Latvia.
“In the example of Ukraine, we see that a whole series of volunteers took care of their land, they don’t even count refugees, internally displaced persons. There is a whole series of things that need to be helped. Where to stay, what will help them get food, medicine, look after and so on “There is no need for any special education, the main thing is the desire to act and participate,” said Batarag. “If I feel that I really can’t go militarily to help protect and I’m not ready to go as a volunteer for some reason,
then the minimum set would be to understand for myself what I can do to help myself in a moment of crisis. Then the minimum would be not to disturb the others, in simple language – not to move around.”
Batarag pointed out that everyone should take care of at least the minimum to be able to cope in a crisis situation. The more disabled people there are, the more resources they will attract.
The definition of the civil protection service is missing
As a state-level problem, Batarags mentioned that the civil defense service or civil defense forces in Latvia are not really defined in nature.
As a good example, he mentioned Switzerland, where those young people who do not choose military service are obliged to go to study civil defense. The state can use these trained people for 14 years – if there is a crisis, calling for help.
The specialist mentioned that, for example, during covid, when a lot of helping hands were needed, it turned out that only the NBS and the National Guard were the only resources that could come to the rescue.
He admitted that currently municipalities can only generally teach and tell citizens how to try to protect themselves and be more prepared for any kind of crisis.
Each municipality has its own priorities; Jelgava as a good example
The representative of the Union of Local Governments, Aino Salminņš, stated that there are five types of threats, in which local governments are responsible before the law. Civil Defense and Disaster Management Law stipulates that municipalities control disasters in the administrative territory of the municipality, which are related to the collapse of buildings and structures, accidents in the heat supply, water supply, wastewater or sewerage system.
Currently, each municipality determines the priorities on which to focus, for example, who identifies water reserves, who identifies bomb shelters, and all of this requires funding.
“Any survey costs something, and the involvement of any building board specialist is not for nothing. And at the same time, we need to know the possibilities of adapting shelters, which are also not for nothing.
We are very much waiting for the response from the ministries. We are waiting for an answer from the ministry – what is the shelter,” said Salminņš.
It must be admitted that before the war in Ukraine, municipalities treated their civil defense plans more formally. The threat was taken more seriously during covid and the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the municipality of Jelgava switched from plans to works already 13 years ago and created an operational information center, which successfully ensures the maintenance of the Jelgava municipality’s civil defense system, monitoring of critical infrastructure and information circulation between institutions, operational services and residents.
For now, Jelgava is the only place in Latvia where such a center operates, but it could also be used as an example in other municipalities and connected together with the national crisis management center.
Unusable cellars will suffer; Residents’ training will be held in Riga
entered into force on January 15 The revised edition of the State Civil Defense Planwhich revised the deadlines for several disaster management measures included in it and stipulated that municipalities should identify their existing shelters and build new ones.
The municipality of Cēsis has taken a step in this direction, two years ago it started surveying apartment buildings in the Cēsis region, evaluating how to adapt them or use them as shelters.
“When inspecting the residential buildings, we found that none of the basements that could be adapted were suitable. The rooms were crammed with old tires and household waste, which would definitely not be usable at the moment,” said Vija Gemza, head of the Cēsu District Municipality’s Construction Department.
However, the construction board recommends the arrangement of basements to building managers, rather than setting it as a requirement. The requirement is only fire safety issues.
The next steps, which are important if we are talking directly about shelters, according to the building board specialist, would be a regulation developed by the state with criteria for what buildings – both existing and newly built – should be, so that basements can serve as shelters. For now, there is no such regulation in the country.
Daugavpils municipality in Latgale has also identified more than 700 places that could be adapted as safe shelters in “X” hours. It is true that if “X” hour were to happen now, the municipality says that they would rely on the instructions of the National Armed Forces (NBS).
In Riga, this year, on the other hand, practical exercises will be held, where citizens will be able to learn the skills to do in the event of various potential threats, paying attention to military threats and cyber security.
Latvia is not far behind its neighbors
While our people are not really sure whether municipalities are ready for crises, especially military threats, neighbors in Lithuania say that they will hold almost 60 civil defense exercises over the course of three years to learn how to respond to a possible attack, hybrid or military threat, as well as a large-scale incident management.
NBS representative Batarags pointed out that we are not far behind our neighbors, as Latvia holds training in various sectors:
“Once a year, each municipality has the Pilskalns training, which is a specific training. In them, we learn to cooperate with the civil defense system at the regional level. Plus, there are trainings organized by VUGD and the Emergency Medical Service (NMPD). We also have training in those in companies that are possible crisis solvers, for example “Latvijas Dzelzceļš” or some other large companies that are involved in disaster prevention. Separate preparedness exercises are also held for them and scenarios are played out accordingly.”
Lecturer: Municipalities are speaking, it is important to listen
This year, a digitized course on civil defense is being taught to students in five Latvian universities. The representative of VUGD, Sandra Vējiņa, as a guest lecturer, presents it to the students of Vidzeme University in Valmiera, and after the first semester she has concluded that most people have not even thought about these issues.
“The civil defense course is like a foundation that every citizen of Latvia should know. The emphasis is more on what each of us can do, how we can prepare ourselves if some specific circumstances arise when we need to act. As I can I protect myself, my family, do I know where the civil protection plan of my municipality can be found and have I looked into it, have I read it and can I understand it. The task of this course is also to show where this information can be found,” Vējiņa explained the nature of the course .
“It seems to me that most residents do not even want to delve into these matters, they are not even ready to accept this information. But as we see everyday, floods, heavy hail, icing – these are also situations in which we have to understand what and how to do .
I will say this – local governments are talking, but how much do we on the other side want to hear it? I would invite every resident to look, look for this municipal civil protection plan, just read it. I know it seems daunting – these are not dozens, but hundreds of pages of documents. Just take it easy, at some point when it’s time to sit down, review. To understand what is the closest threat that can be in the municipality and to think about what I could do in such a situation. For example, if I had to leave my home, where would I go, how would I communicate with my family if the phone didn’t work. Such elementary things that we don’t even think about everyday.”
The Jēkabpils flood showed that communication is of great importance in any crisis. The NBS is also aware of this, so this year, for the first time, the training “Rupors” was organized for the employees of municipalities and state institutions – public relations specialists, in order to be able to communicate with the citizens more successfully in the event of a military threat.
2024-02-25 10:54:26
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