Officials say no separate alert is needed to open shelters

Municipalities do not need a separate notice to open emergency shelters when an air-raid warning is issued, the National Crisis Management Centre says. The statement follows reports that some shelters were locked during Sunday’s alert, LRT reported.

Residents of Panevėžys and Šiauliai counties received a red air-raid warning on their phones on Sunday morning. The alert meant they should go to shelters immediately, but some found the doors locked. A drone had fallen in Pasvalys district.

Pasvalys District Municipality administration director Povilas Balčiūnas said local officials had not received a separate instruction to open the shelters. He said the shelters had anti-vandal locks, with contact numbers and designated people responsible for unlocking them. Under the procedure, a responsible person gives callers a code to access a key, he said.

The National Crisis Management Centre said municipalities are responsible for providing shelters and ensuring residents can access them in time. It said the centre is not required to issue a separate instruction to each municipality or shelter manager, but it does inform municipal officials in real time about the risk of an air threat.

Under current regulations, shelters normally used for other purposes must be prepared for use within 12 hours of an instruction from a municipal mayor or an emergency situation operations leader. The Fire and Rescue Department said the law does not require a separate notice to municipalities when an air-raid warning is issued.

The National Crisis Management Centre also said the Fire and Rescue Department prepared recommendations for municipalities after drone incidents in May, on how to ensure people can enter shelters immediately when an air-raid warning is announced.