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Preparing for incidents and crises

The content has been scaled based on the preliminary questions. You can edit the answers 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.

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.

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.