Civil defence in Finland

The ministry delegates the implementation of national policy to county and municipal authorities, which act through locally appointed civil defence boards.

Personnel in national and local government agencies, committed to civil defence in emergency situations, and in independent voluntary organizations that would come under their jurisdiction number over 100,000.

Medical services for civilian casualties would be provided at local facilities in coordination with the civil defence branch of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

In the 1980s, civil defence authorities considered, however, that evacuation of the civilian population to escape fallout following a nuclear attack would be pointless, and no provision was made for such a contingency.

The nuclear accident at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union in 1986 underscored Finland's vulnerability and triggered renewed concern over shortcomings in the civil defence program.

In response, the government announced plans in 1988 to introduce an automatic radiation surveillance network to supplement the existing manual one and to ensure that an outdoor alarm system was operational in all municipalities.

The Helsinki metro stations double as hard shelters. The Finnish shelter system is among the most comprehensive in the western world, being capable of accommodating the country's urban population completely.
The fortified door of a shelter. Apartment blocks in Finland often have such shelters in the basement if there is no community shelter nearby. Note the international civil defence symbol on the door.