Latgale exercises test readiness for civilian evacuation
Wednesday 2nd September 2026 on 19:30 in
Latvia
Rēzekne held civil protection exercise Pilskalns to test residents’ readiness for evacuation, LSM reported. The exercise took place alongside the national defence exercise Namejs 2026.
Similar exercises were also held in Ludza and Viļāni to test and improve the knowledge and cooperation of municipal institutions, emergency services and residents by simulating crisis situations.
In Rēzekne, participants practised what to do in the event of a threat. Volunteer residents gathered at designated stops and waited for public transport, which took them to an evacuation point in the former Rēzekne 4th secondary school building.
Residents were met at the evacuation point by Pāvels Savickis, civil protection administrator of Rēzekne municipality.
“The evacuation point is equipped for situations when there is no electricity, with toilets, drinking water and waste disposal,” Savickis said.
Residents were registered at the evacuation point and, if necessary, given folding beds and linen.
The exercise also revealed a shortcoming: only eight residents had registered to take part voluntarily in Rēzekne. By comparison, 90 residents participated in Viļāni and more than 20 in Ludza.
Organisers said they had failed to reach a sufficiently wide audience with information about the exercise. They said more people might have participated if they had received the information and acknowledged that this was a shortcoming they would address.