Estonia must expand emergency shelters as crisis readiness improves

Estonia is becoming better prepared for major crises, but emergency shelters remain a critical shortfall, Interior Minister Igor Taro and the Rescue Board say, ERR reports.

Estonia currently has just over 300 designated shelters, a small fraction of what the country needs. Taro said authorities had identified and marked the existing shelters, but the next challenge is adapting suitable spaces in buildings already in use.

Apartment associations have been slow to convert basements into shelters, despite financial support. Tallinn has €1.5 million in its budget for this year, and the city offers to cover 70 percent of costs for basement improvements, including electrical, water and ventilation work, for projects costing around €10,000, Deputy Mayor Tiit Terik said.

The city also plans to add mobile public shelters to Tallinn’s streets next year. Public shelter options are most plentiful in the city centre and become more limited towards the outskirts, Terik said. From this year, all new large buildings, including apartment blocks, must include a proper shelter.

The Rescue Board is also concerned about crisis preparations at schools and kindergartens. Its director general, Margo Klaos, said few preparations had been made so far and that significant work to adapt the buildings may not be possible until a couple of years from now, using European Union funding.

Recent crises include a water outage that left much of Tallinn without water for several hours at New Year, and drones that have strayed into Estonia from Russian airspace since spring.