What do I do?

Preparing for incidents and crises

To get the best help for your situation, first answer the questions on the guide's start page.

Checklist for preparing for incidents and crises

On this page you can find a summary of the key instructions for preparing for incidents and crises. The instructions will be displayed based on the selections you made on the start page.

Basic knowledge and skills help you cope with many situations

Preparedness means preparing for various incidents, crises and emergency conditions in advance. By thinking things through beforehand, your everyday life will be disrupted as little as possible if something unusual happens.

You will be able to cope with most situations when you:

Stay calm.
Think about how the situation might affect you and your loved ones, and what instructions you already know that apply.
List the most important things to do in the situation and take action.
Follow official communications.
Follow the instructions.
Help others to the best of your ability.

Home emergency supplies lay the foundation for preparedness

Having supplies for at least three days provides an excellent basis for many situations. Remember that even a small stock of home emergency supplies can help meet your everyday needs if you are unable to get everything you need.

Home emergency supplies include

bottled water and clean lidded containers for storing water
ready-to-eat and easy-to-cook foods that you use in your regular everyday life
a radio that runs on batteries or otherwise without mains power
a flashlight or some other light that runs on batteries or otherwise without mains power
a charged backup power supply
essential medicines that last you a little longer
hygiene supplies that allow you to stay clean without water
a small amount of cash
duct tape for sealing windows and vents
iodine tablets if there is someone in your household who is aged 40 or younger, pregnant or breastfeeding
also enough food and water for your pets.

Pay attention to functional capacity in preparedness

Ways of preparing depend on a person’s ability to cope with different situations.

Use the questions below to consider how, for example, ageing, disability or illness might affect your home emergency supplies and preparedness:

How will the incidents specifically affect your everyday life?
What restrictions should be taken into account?
What can you do yourself and where do you need help from others in various situations?
Who could help you the quickest if something happened?
Should you improve your safety net?

Warning of emergencies and sheltering indoors

The authorities use the following means to warn the public of imminent danger

emergency warnings
the public warning signal
early warnings.

An emergency warning is transmitted on the radio, the 112 Suomi application, websites and, if necessary, television.

Follow these steps if you hear the public warning signal or an emergency warning advises you to take shelter indoors:

Go inside your home or the nearest indoor space.
Stop ventilation and seal any openings from which air can flow into the interior space.
Follow the authorities’ emergency warnings and act according to their instructions.
Seek shelter indoors until the authority reports that the situation is over.

You should seek shelter indoors, for example, if toxic smoke, chemicals or radioactive substances spread into the air.

Calling for help in an emergency

In urgent situations call the emergency number 112. Everyone has a duty to help if someone is in danger.

If you have an emergency or someone else's life, health or property is at risk:

Call or text the emergency number 112.
Answer the questions asked of you.
Follow the instructions given by the emergency response centre operator.

Remember to install the 112 Suomi applicationOpens in a new window. on your phone.

Epidemics and pandemics

Epidemics and pandemics are highly infectious diseases that everyone can help prevent through good hygiene and vaccinations. You can prepare for epidemics and pandemics by thinking ahead about how a serious health emergency could affect your life and the lives of your loved ones.

Each epidemiological situation is unique and requires appropriate measures. The most important thing is to follow the instructions and recommendations of the authorities and healthcare.

Information influence and hybrid influence activities

Hybrid influence activities are systematic and continuous acts of a foreign state. They usually manifest as ordinary disruptions, such as service interruptions, which can be managed if you are prepared for them.

Information influence activities, on the other hand, refer to deliberate dissemination of false or incorrect information.

How to protect yourself from information influence activities:

Learn more about means of information influence activities.
Recognize the topics that most strongly influence your thoughts and emotions.
Assess how much you may be exposed to false or misleading information and attempts to manipulate your emotions.
Think about how you react to incidents that upset or anger you, and what kind of behaviour they usually bring out in you.
Consider whether the way you search for information help support or undermine your wellbeing.
Do not disseminate false information.

Cyberattacks and cyberincidents

Cyberattacks and cyberincidents may affect your everyday life as follows:

Your network and telephone connections may be interrupted and power may be cut.
Card payments and online banking services may be disabled.
Authority services or websites may be inaccessible.
Your data stored in the systems may be stolen.

How to protect yourself from attacks:

Make sure that your accounts and services have strong passwords and use multi-factor authentication.
Use several electronic identification devices.
Do not share your login IDs or passwords with others.
Learn how to identify online scams. When visiting the websites of the authorities or a bank, for instance, make sure that the website is genuine.
Do not open links whose sender you do not recognise or that seem suspicious.
Install device updates and protect your devices against viruses, for example.
Act securely in online services and also pay attention to information security at the workplace.

Wildfires and major building fires

Anticipation and safe handling of fire are the most important means of avoiding human-induced fires.

How to prevent and prepare for wildfires and building fires:

Identify situations that may pose a risk of fire.
When handling fire or using electrical appliances, always act in a way that does not pose a fire risk.
Make sure your smoke alarms are in order.
Learn first-aid firefighting skills.
Check the current wildfire warnings on the website of the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Follow these steps if you notice a fire:

Report the fire to the emergency number 112.
Try to extinguish the fire if it can be safely done.
Warn and help others.
Save yourself.

Disruptions in payment systems

Disruptions in payment and banking services will be quickly visible in everyday life.

How to prepare for disruptions in payment services:

Keep a small amount of cash at home.
Get home emergency supplies for everyday needs.
Have cards from two different banks.
Use several strong identification methods.

What should I do during a disruption in payment or banking services?

Follow the information provided by your bank about the situation.
Find out if any of your other means of payment is working.
Use your home emergency supplies for everyday needs.

Storms and floods

A storm may emerge quickly. Taking precautions allows you to avoid accidents and storm damage.

During a flood, people and animals may become marooned and there is no safe way to exit the flooded area by walking or driving.

How to prepare for storms:

Follow the weather reports and warnings in your area.
Think about the risks that may arise in your environment during a storm and use this as the basis for preparing.
Get home emergency supplies for everyday needs, as well as supplies to protect your belongings.

During a storm:

Stay indoors.
Follow the communications of the rescue department in your area.
Avoid unnecessary calls to the emergency number. Call the emergency number 112 if the storm causes an immediate accident or danger to life.

How to prepare for floods:

Find out if you live in a flood risk area or if an urban flood can affect your residential area.
Follow the weather reports and warnings in your area.
Get home emergency supplies for everyday needs, along with supplies to block floodwater.

During a flood:

Protect your property from flood damage.
Move away from the area or go to the upper floors of your building.
Do not enter floodwater.
Follow the instructions given by the rescue department and the authorities in your area.

Military conflicts and civil defence

Preparedness and the maintenance of defence aim to create a preventive restraint to avoid a military threat to Finland. There are many ways to prevent threats and if threat prevention fails, any attacks will be countered by military defence.

Preparing for civil defence is a statutory task of the authorities. Civil defence means that civilians are protected from the effects of war and the conditions for survival and safeguarding society’s functional capacity are ensured.

Your role during a military conflict:

In the event of a war, persons who have completed military service and persons liable for non-military service will carry out their duties in accordance with their training and competence.
Civilians would have more responsibility for maintaining the functioning of society, and they would be obliged to participate in tasks that meet their abilities.

Civil defence shelters and evacuation

Civil defence shelters are activated and used for seeking shelter if so ordered by the rescue authorities.

You can get instructions for going to a civil defence shelter from

the instructions of your municipality of residence
your housing company's emergency plan if you live in a housing company
the emergency plan of your workplace if you are in employment.

Evacuation is not always necessary even in a war. The authorities will inform you if there is a need to start a local or more extensive evacuation. They also issue more detailed instructions on how to carry out the evacuation and who it applies to.

Power cuts

Everyday life is highly dependent on electricity.

How to prepare for long power cuts:

Get home emergency supplies for everyday needs.
Learn the skills you need when there is no electricity.
Get a light and a radio that run on batteries or without mains power.
Enable disruption notifications from your power grid company for your area, if available.
Make sure that you know how to get information about the situation during a prolonged power cut.
Agree with your loved ones how to keep in touch without electrical appliances.

During a power cut:

Switch off electrical appliances, especially any heat-generating devices.
Collect water in a clean container if water is still running from the tap.
Do not pour water down the drain or flush the toilet.
Try to keep your home warm.

When the power cut ends:

Do not start all electrical appliances at once.
Check that no heat-generating appliances are switched on unless used as they pose a fire hazard.

Radiation hazards

A radiation hazard may be caused, for example, by a serious accident at a nuclear power plant. The rescue department in your area will issue an emergency warning about a radiation hazard and give instructions.

How to prepare for a situation involving a radiation hazard:

Get home emergency supplies for everyday needs.
Learn how to seek shelter indoors.
Make sure you know how the authorities warn and communicate about the danger.
Buy iodine tablets from a pharmacy for home use if there is someone in your household who is aged 40 or younger, pregnant or breastfeeding.

If the authorities warn about a radiation hazard:

Seek shelter indoors as soon as the public warning signal or an emergency warning is given.
See and follow the instructions given by the authorities in emergency warnings.
Stay indoors until you are informed that the threat is over.

Terrorism

The authorities combat the threat of terrorism through continuous cooperation.

If you fall victim to a life-threatening attack or a terrorist attack:

If you can, get away.
If you cannot escape, hide and seek shelter.
If you are in a safe place, call 112 for help.

Disruptions in communications infrastructure

Network disruptions may affect the functioning of the internet, mobile phone connections, and television and radio connections.

How to prepare for disruptions in communications infrastructure:

Find out how your internet and mobile service provider communicates during disruptions, and enable any available disruption alerts.
Save your operator's customer service number.
Get a radio that runs on batteries or without mains power.
Discuss with your loved ones what to do if you cannot contact each other.
Agree with your loved ones how to keep in touch during the disruption.

If network and telephone connections do not work:

If possible, check for information about the incident either on your operator's website or customer service by telephone.
Follow your operator’s communications about the situation.
Listen to YLE’s radio channels if the website and telephone connections do not work.

The spreading of hazardous materials into the environment

Dangerous substances may end up in the environment, for example, as a result of a road accident, a major accident at a factory dealing with dangerous substances or intentional vandalism.

If you are in an area where a potentially dangerous substance is spreading into the environment:

Cover our respiratory tract and walk away from the area.
Call 112 for help.
Follow the instructions given by the authorities.

If the authorities report a dangerous substance spreading into the environment:

Seek shelter indoors as soon as the public warning signal or an emergency warning is given.
See and follow the instructions given by the authorities in emergency warnings.
Stay indoors until you are informed that the threat is over.

Water outages and water contamination

Tap water may be out of service either due to an interruption or water contamination.

How to prepare for water outages and water contamination:

Store at least two litres of drinking water per person per day for three days.
Get hygiene supplies that you can use without water.
Get clean, lidded containers for transporting and storing water in case the outage lasts longer.
Reserve lidded buckets for collecting toilet waste.
Enable disruption notifications from your water utility for your area, if available.

If water is out or contaminated:

Follow the communications of the water utility and the municipality.
Use the water you have reserved in your home emergency supplies as your drinking water and take care of your hygiene using the supplies reserved for this purpose.
Follow the instructions given by the authorities, such as for boiling water and disposing of toilet waste.
Help your loved ones and those living nearby with tasks such as collecting water.

When the water outage ends:

Follow the instructions issued by the water utility and the municipality.
Run the taps to clean the pipes.

Maintaining your functional capacity during a crisis

Everyone reacts differently to crises. Long incidents and crises test everyone’s coping.

How to support your own coping:

Hold on to routines and everyday matters as far as possible.
Seek the company of others if possible. Familiar people make you feel safe.
Give priority to your and your loved ones’ basic needs, such as eating and sleeping.
Spend time playing games, reading books, crafting, handicrafts, etc.
Engage in physical activity and do exercises that soothe your mind.
Ask for help if you are struggling or unable to cope on your own.

Professional help and peer support are provided, for example, by

healthcare and social welfare
church and other religious communities
non-governmental organisations.

Helping others during a crisis

Everyone has a duty to help if someone is in danger.

How to help and improve everyone’s ability to cope in unusual and difficult situations:

Share information about the instructions issued by the authorities with your loved ones and those living nearby.
Learn skills that help you and others. Different parties offer training in areas such as first aid, first-aid firefighting, preparedness and national defence.
Participate in volunteering. As a volunteer, you can contribute to building a sense of community, help others and participate in rescue tasks, for example, during an unusual situation.
Build a sense of community. You can participate in joint activities and discussions in your neighbourhood, village, workplace and other groups in your area.
Be prepared to help others. Children and young people, older people or other special groups may especially need support during unusual situations.

Preparedness in housing companies

Housing companies must prepare for various incidents and crises.

At least make sure that:

The building has an up-to-date emergency plan.
Residents know their responsibilities.
Residents are familiar with safety instructions and know how to follow them.
If the housing company has a civil defence shelter, it is properly maintained and has the necessary equipment, the shelter can be activated within 72 hours of the order of the rescue authorities and the building residents know how to prepare the shelter for use by themselves.

Preparedness instructions in print and in sign languages

A printable summary of the key instructions is available in several languages. The key content is also available in Finnish Sign Language and Finland-Swedish Sign Language.