Latvia's Saeima approves bunker regulations
In a bid to enhance civil protection and disaster management, Latvia has updated its regulations, setting specific standards for three categories of shelters. These standards ensure public accessibility, safety, and readiness in the event of emergencies or threats.
Approval and Public Availability
Under the Civil Protection and Disaster Management Act and its recent amendments, shelters designated for civil protection use must be approved as appropriate and made available free of charge to the public. This means that shelters intended for sheltering the population under threat cannot be sold or privately reserved as commercial property; instead, they remain public resources.
Facility Requirements
Shelters, especially those of the first category, are required to have full operational facilities such as heating, electricity, ventilation, sewerage, emergency generators, water supply, food storage, showers, and beds. These facilities ensure preparedness for sustained sheltering during emergencies.
Classification and Standards
While the explicit criteria differentiating first, second, and third category shelters are not fully detailed, their classification implies varying levels of protection and readiness. First category shelters likely provide the highest standard, including full equipped facilities and compliance with safety and capacity standards for immediate public use. Second and third category shelters presumably have progressively fewer facilities or lower readiness standards but still form part of the civil defense infrastructure.
Regulatory Compliance
The shelters must comply with guidelines issued under the Civil Protection Act, including structural safety, functionality, and readiness inspection by authorities like the State Fire and Rescue Service. Uninspected or privately sold shelters do not guarantee compliance or safety.
Ownership and Recognition
The owners of buildings will be responsible for maintaining the shelters. The draft law requires the Cabinet of Ministers to determine the procedure for recognising an adapted building or part thereof as a shelter.
Amendments Impact
The new amendments emphasise that only shelters officially approved for public use have guaranteed, free access. This distinction is made from properties with shelters in basements sold on the private market, which are not necessarily inspected or safe for emergency use.
Shelter Creation and Inspection
The draft law also requires the Cabinet of Ministers to determine the procedure for inspecting shelters. Local governments will have the authority to set out rules for assisting with the setup of shelters.
Shelter Requirements and Existing Buildings
In properties that do not meet the above requirements, third-category shelters may be built according to the guidelines developed by the State Fire and Rescue Service and the Ministry of the Interior. The State Fire and Rescue Service has surveyed over 4,710 objects in Latvia.
Shelter Requirements for New Infrastructure
The new amendments stipulate that first-category shelters must be built in new A and B category critical infrastructure facilities where personnel are present daily.
Shelter Requirements for New Buildings
Second-category shelters must be constructed in new multi-storey residential buildings, public buildings, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and other buildings with a high concentration of people by 2027.
Shelter Location Information
Local governments will be responsible for keeping information on the location of shelters in their area.
According to the survey conducted by the State Fire and Rescue Service, 394 objects in Latvia meet shelter requirements, while 1,200 partially meet these requirements. This initiative underscores Latvia's commitment to ensuring the safety and preparedness of its citizens in the face of emergencies and threats.
- To align with the Civil Protection and Disaster Management Act, the government will determine procedures for recognizing buildings as public shelters, ensuring that these resources remain accessible for the population during emergencies.
- In adherence to the new regulations, all first-category shelters will be constructed within new critical infrastructure facilities as well as new multi-storey residential buildings, public buildings, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and other buildings with high population concentrations by 2027.
- During sports events or community gatherings, local radio stations are urged to disseminate information about the nearest available and approved public shelters in case of emergencies, enhancing citizen awareness and preparedness.
