Finland: Siltanews – News Desk
The new Preparing for incidents and crises guide aimed at the entire population has been published in Suomi.fi. The Ministry of the Interior produced the online guide together with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency and an extensive cooperation network. The guide collects preparedness instructions in one place.
The Preparing for Incidents and Crises guide published on Suomi.fi deals with situations that would have a broad impact on society and communities. Situations that require preparedness include long power cuts, water outages, interruptions in telecommunications, extreme weather events, major accidents, and longer-term crises, such as a pandemic or military conflict. In addition to instructions, the guide contains information on hybrid and information influence activities, maintaining functional capacity, coping during crises, and helping others.
Preparedness means preparing for various incidents, crises and emergency conditions in advance. For that reason, users should familiarize themselves with the Suomi.fi preparedness guide when there are no ongoing incidents in society. Individual emergency planning and action affect individuals’ and communities’ ability to cope.
According to a population survey conducted by the Ministry of the Interior in September, 58 per cent of Finns have acquired home emergency supplies for crisis situations, i.e. food, money and supplies. Correspondingly, around 40 per cent of citizens have not acquired enough home emergency supplies and do not necessarily trust their skills in crisis situations.
Around half of young people and urban residents have ensured that they are adequately prepared, while those living in rural areas are clearly better prepared (74%). Women have acquired better home emergency supplies than men.
“Preparedness is a civic skill in the current global situation. Knowing what to do in case of an incident is a good foundation for society’s resilience. This prepares people better to help those close to them. The authorities can then focus on their tasks that involve resolving the situation and helping those who need it most,” says Kimmo Kohvakka, Director General for Rescue Services at the Ministry of the Interior.
The Suomi.fi Web Service, which is maintained by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, guides citizens in different life situations. Suomi.fi provides services and clear instructions that authorities, non-profit organizations and experts have produced in cooperation.
Compiling key information and instructions from different actors into a single online guide makes it easier for citizens to find information. The publication of the Suomi.fi preparedness guide does not make significant changes to the content of the instructions. The guide also contains links to other key online content on preparedness.