If a foreign state ever launched an air raid on British towns and cities using missiles or bombs, would you know the nearest places to shelter? Would you know how you’d be alerted and where to look for guidance?
Across northern Europe, most countries have published thorough advice for how and where to shelter. Many have networks of bunkers that can hold millions of people, having invested for decades. Most have thousands of air raid sirens ready to alert the public – and these are tested at least once a year.
In contrast, the UK has not maintained public shelters, hasn’t used air raid sirens in decades – apart from at nuclear sites or military bases – and has not offered advice for surviving airborne attacks.
This is despite the UK Government warning that the risk of war with Russia – although still slim – is rising.
In an interview with The i Paper last week, one of the official Strategic Defence Review’s authors, the retired General Sir Richard Barrons, called for the UK to urgently begin work on its own civil defence plans and educating the public.
The UK is planning another test of its emergency alert system on mobile phones this year and has started encouraging people to create survival packs of food and first aid. But what could British emergency planners learn from European allies – and how far behind are we?
Norway
Sirens across Norway will sound for a minute on Wednesday at midday. Tests are conducted every June and January to educate the public and check for technical issues.
The country has about 1,250 sirens in towns and cities. However, many Norwegians live in rural areas where nearly half of people are unable to hear them. Mobile phone alerts are therefore sent at the same time, like in many nations.
The Directorate for Civil Protection advises: “If the sirens sound in short bursts for about one minute, it means ‘Risk of attack – seek shelter.’” The police can also activate them for mass terrorist attacks, gas or radioactivity alerts, extreme weather and other emergencies.
People can listen to different signals online to learn what they mean. In a survey last year, a large majority of people in Norway agreed they improved resilience.
As per Bloomberg, A law was passed in January requiring all new homes to be built with bunkers. Citizens are encouraged to have enough supplies to live for seven days without power, and guidance on evacuation procedures is available from local authorities.
Finland
Commonly said to be the most prepared country in Europe, Finland has 50,500 air raid shelters, according to an official survey in 2023, because it’s long been mandatory for one to be built under every new apartment building.
Their floorspace is large enough to accommodate 90 per cent of the country’s 5.5 million people – one of the highest levels in Europe, ahead of Denmark at 80 per cent, Sweden’s 70 per cent, and 45 per cent in Norway.
Finland has many vast air raid shelters like this one in Helsinki (Photo: Alessandro RAMPAZZO / AFP via Getty Images) They are equipped with bunk beds (Photo: Roni Rekomaa / Bloomberg via Getty Images) During peacetime, some are used as sport centres and swimming pools (Photo: ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO / AFP via Getty Images)The Finnish survey found that 91 per cent of shelters could withstand conventional bombs and missiles, and 83 per cent can shield people from radiological emergencies. Laws require them to have ventilators, stackable beds and waterless toilets.
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Finland tests its sirens once a month for seven seconds. If the alarm lasts for a minute or longer, it is genuine. Citizens are advised: “Go indoors. Close all doors, windows, air vents and ventilation systems. Stay calm, turn on the radio and wait for instructions.” They are also asked to avoid using their phones “to prevent congestion on the lines”.
Finns aged up to 40 are advised to buy and store iodine tablets from pharmacies in case a nuclear accident or explosion ever spreads radiation. Concerns have risen since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in case any nuclear sites – including the disaster zone at Chernobyl – are damaged and leaks are spread by wind. However, Finland’s national preparedness website underlines that sheltering is still essential, as iodine only offers partial protection.
If a radiation hazard occurs, people are told to seal doors and windows with tape. If they must go outside, they are told: “Put on tight-fitting clothes that cover your entire body and skin… Use a respirator mask or cover your face with a towel or a paper towel to prevent radioactive particles from entering your lungs.”
Switzerland
It might seem surprising for a country with an official policy of neutrality dating back to 1815. But as The Guardian reports, Switzerland has more bunkers per person than any other country: 370,000 of them, able to shelter all 9 million of its citizens.
Like in Finland, where they serve as car parks and sport centres in peacetime, the Swiss have used them as wine cellars and saunas – but the facilities remain ready for emergencies. They are paid for by property developers.
The country also has 7,200 sirens which are tested every February, together with an alerts app.
Thousands of residential buildings in Switzerland have nuclear shelters underneath them, like this one in Meyrin, near Geneva (Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images)Sweden
A total of 4,500 outdoor horns are tested four times every year, most recently last week.
There are four different signals, but repeated two-second bleeps signal an air raid. People with hearing impediments can install phone apps to help.
The country has 64,000 shelters, located using an online map, with space for about 7 million of its 10.5 million population. Authorities say these facilities “will protect against a blast and shrapnel from a bomb that hits in the vicinity of the shelter, but it may not withstand a direct hit. The shelter also protects against gases, radioactivity and biological agents.”
To counter any false news from foreign enemies, citizens were told in a civil defence booklet last year: “If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.”
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
When more than 1,000 sirens were tested by Lithuania last November, they could even be heard in the countryside, reaching two thirds of the public. Another drill was held in April.
Emergency alerts were sent to every mobile phone in the country, with links to a map of shelters and stark advice about what to do in the event of war. Guidance was also broadcast on TV and radio.
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Lithuania recommends having a bag of essential items ready at home to grab at any time if an evacuation is ordered. It suggests including photos of friends and family, saying: “You will need them when looking for loved ones.”
If a bomb explodes, people are told to “drop to the ground and cover your head with arms,” while trying to find shelter. If the country is invaded and Lithuanians see foreign soldiers on their streets, they are told: “Do not stare at military equipment, weapons or armed people at close distance – you may be treated as a spy.”
Lithuania’s Baltic neighbours also held siren tests last month. In Latvia, most worked without any problems. But Estonia found that only 62 per cent of sirens activated properly and none were sufficiently loud, while app-based alerts were glitchy.
Other countries around the world are also prepared for attacks with sirens placed in cities, like here on the South Korean island of Ulleungdo (Photo: ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images) Air raid drills are also held in Taiwan, leading people to shelter in underground stations (Photo: Daniel Ceng / Anadolu via Getty Images)Poland
Bordering Ukraine, the nation has been on high alert since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022. The capital, Warsaw, held a full drill for the first time last year involving sirens, text messages and broadcast messages, while schools and businesses took part in a safety awareness week.
Poland only has space for 300,000 people in official bomb shelters, but it has inspected and designated other locations such as basements, tunnels and underground stations to serve as “hiding places” or “temporary shelter”.
Denmark
Sirens are tested in Denmark every May, in drills lasting 10 minutes. They are installed in urban areas with more than 1,000 residents. It has enough shelters and “safe rooms” to accommodate 3.6 million people, although this includes basements and underground car parks.
Germany
The network of air raid bunkers in Germany is being revamped under plans confirmed last week.
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The country’s Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance chief, Ralph Tiesler, revealed that just 580 of 2,000 shelters dating back to the Cold War are functional, enough to cater for 480,000 people – as The Guardian reports.
Germany is also producing an app for people to find their nearest shelter at short notice.
“We must quickly create space for 1 million people,” he said. “Existing structures must be assessed and adapted without delay.”
He explained that focusing on building new ones would take too long.
Tiesler suggests Germany must spend at least €10bn (£8.4bn) on civil defence over the next four years, calling for a civil protection service to be established and saying people should have enough emergency supplies to last 10 days.
Germany is starting a programme of revamping old air raid shelters, which may look like this one from the Second World War (Photo: MATTHIAS BALK / DPA / AFP via Getty Images)France
Apart from during the summer, France’s 2,100 sirens are tested once a month. This happens on the first Wednesday, at around midday. In a real emergency, three alarms would be sounded, with each blare lasting one minute and 41 seconds. The system is managed by the French Air Force but would also be used to signal natural disasters.
However, like the UK, France has no network of public shelters.
Netherlands
Tests of sirens are conducted once a month. “Everyone needs to know what the sirens sound like in a disaster or other emergency,” the government says. Nevertheless, there are no public shelters.
Air raid sirens were installed in British cities before the Second World War (Photo: Hulton-Deutsch Collection / Corbis via Getty Images) Air raid shelters were also produced using corrugated metal (Photo: Fox Photos / Hulton Archive / Getty Images) These were placed in people’s gardens (Photo: Fox Photos / Hulton Archive / Getty Images) In London, people began sheltering in Underground stations during the Blitz (Photo: Hulton-Deutsch Collection / Corbis via Getty Images)Austria
The country has 8,000 alert sirens maintained by the fire brigade, including 165 in the capital. Apart from in Vienna, these are tested every week for 15 seconds. A fuller drill with public information is conducted every October. Austria is not thought to have any public bunkers.
Belgium
Perhaps the only country in northern Europe with a comparable lack of preparedness to the UK is Belgium. It is not believed to have a siren network or public shelters. However, it issued advice at the end of last year on how to shelter, evacuate and form emergency plans – and is registering citizens for an alerts app.
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