Lithuania’s emergency response to air threat alert worked well, but schools failed to follow protocols

Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) has assessed the country’s response to Wednesday’s air threat alert as largely effective, though schools emerged as a critical weak point in emergency procedures, the centre’s director Vilmantas Vitkauskas said in an interview with politika.lt.

“The overall reaction was quite good,” Vitkauskas stated. Institutions with pre-existing emergency plans activated them successfully, he noted, citing examples such as the continuation of essential medical procedures like transplant surgeries. “There was no mass panic—no chaos in the streets, no overwhelmed emergency lines, no abandonment of critical operations. People were guided to shelters, and essential services maintained composure.”

However, Vitkauskas highlighted a “serious problem” in educational institutions, where some schools failed to move students to shelters despite the alert. “The issue lies in how schools interpret evacuation plans,” he explained. “Their protocols often treat all threats the same—whether it’s a fire or an air raid—but the correct response differs. For a fire, you evacuate outside; for an air threat, you move to a basement immediately, without delay.”

Another concern was parental behaviour, with some parents rushing to collect children from schools during the alert. “In these situations, there’s no time for experimentation,” Vitkauskas warned. “The priority is to reach shelter and wait for the all-clear. Parents assuming they can ensure safety better than trained staff only adds risk.”

The director also addressed Latvia’s concurrent “red” alert—the highest threat level—noting that Lithuania’s first-ever “red” air threat declaration on Wednesday provided valuable lessons. Among the key takeaways, he emphasised three positives: the absence of widespread panic, the functional readiness of institutional emergency plans, and the public’s overall disciplined response.

“We’ve drilled these scenarios before, but this was a real-world test,” Vitkauskas said. “The results show that while improvements are needed—particularly in schools—the system held up under pressure.”