Households should be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least three days in the event of a disruption. Such disruptions can be, for example, long term interruptions in the supply of electricity and water or in home heating. It would be a good idea to have at least three days' worth of food, water, and medicine in the house.

Self-preparedness of households is of great help to the authorities and society. If you are well prepared, you will be able to handle emergencies yourself and help others. This also gives the authorities more time to help the vulnerable and to cope with the crisis.

For more information and advice on self preparedness, visit the 72 hours website.

Civil protection involves a range of measures, in which the city also has a role to play. Civil protection can be divided into two different operations which are:

• interior protection of the population
• protection of the population by displacement in the event of an armed attack.
   

The aim is to protect the civilian population from the dangers of an attack and to help them cope with the immediate effects of the attack. It aims to create the necessary conditions for survival.

Civil protection tasks include warning the population, evacuation, sheltering in shelters, fire-fighting and rescue operations, and medical care. In addition to rescue operations, authorities that carry out civil protection related tasks under normal circumstances are also in charge here.

In the event of war or the threat of war, the resources of the public authorities may be supplemented under the Emergency Preparedness Act by assigning additional staff to fire-fighting, rescue, first aid, maintenance, clearance and clean-up tasks, as well as to the management and special tasks of the civil protection organisation.

Civil protection has a specific role defined by international agreements. Civil protection personnel, equipment and facilities enjoy special protection in armed conflicts. The symbol of civil protection is a blue equilateral triangle on an orange background.

Shelters are primarily intended to protect the population during a military attack. Under normal circumstances, civil defence shelters are usually used as recreational facilities, storage facilities or similar.

In Joensuu there are shelters in public buildings and on the premises of housing companies. These shelters are intended for people working and living on the premises. There are no public shelters in Joensuu.

There are usually no shelters in private house areas or in rural areas. In such cases, temporary shelters must be used. If the authorities give instructions to put shelters in a sheltering condition, instructions for the construction of temporary shelters will be given at the same time.

The rescue service will always inform and instruct separately if there is a need for civil protection, for example, to move to shelters or to a safer environment.

The owner of the building is responsible for the shelter. Each shelter must have a designated and trained shelter manager who is responsible for its commissioning.

For more information on shelters:
Rescue services of Finland - Civil defence

Planning for civilian transfer is the responsibility of the rescue services. The city, social and health services, and safety authorities are involved in evacuation planning under the leadership of the rescue services. Evacuations are planned for both normal and emergency situations and are carried out to the extent required by the situation, either before or after the event.

Evacuations in emergency situations are decided by the Council of State and managed by the Interior Ministry. The municipality or municipalities where the evacuated population is to be located will be decided on a case-by-case basis, depending on the requirements of the situation. Evacuees may be located either in the vicinity of the evacuation site or further away, depending on the situation.

An emergency alert is the main way for authorities to warn residents. The alert is read on the radio and shown on page 112 of Yle's Text TV and, if necessary, on TV as a running text at the top of the screen.

The alert will also be published on the 112 Finland app, the Yle newswatch app, and on the websites pelastustoimi.fi (Rescue Services) and 112.fi (The Emergency Response Centre Agency) among others.

If necessary, a warning or danger signal will also be issued by a public alarm to warn people outside.

A general warning signal is a one-minute rising and falling sound signal or a warning sounded by an authority.

A general warning signal is always accompanied by an emergency alert. When you hear the signal, go indoors and follow the news and official announcements. Check the origin of news and information.

The first working Monday of every month at 12 noon is the test day for the operation of the warning signal. During the test period, the test signal is played for seven seconds. The test signal is a continuous, steady alarm tone. When you hear the test tone, you do not need to do anything.

Read more:
Rescue Services of Finland - Alarm signal