On Tuesday, 9 January, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the updated version of the State Civil Protection Plan (CP Plan). The CP Plan is a planning document that contains disaster management measures in the event of war, military invasion or the threat thereof. The updated version provides for a number of important additions to the functioning of the civil protection system.
The annex on floods, inundations and wind-driven floods has been updated to take into account the weather-related challenges that Latvia has faced in recent years. The updated version of the plan also revises the deadlines for other disaster management measures included in the CP Plan.
Due to geopolitical developments in recent years, in particular the war in Ukraine caused by Russia, the measures on public security in the event of a war threat have been updated. For example, the plan includes measures related to the identification, repair, equipping and inspection of shelters and structures to be adapted to them, as well as measures related to civil protection formations to be mobilized (defining their number and tasks in sectors and municipalities, defining their material and technical support, organizing training and exercises, involvement in fire-fighting and rescue operations).
In addition, information on the controlled evacuation and relocation of mass populations in the event of a military invasion, disaster or threat thereof, guidelines for the establishment of an evacuation point and the identification of assembly areas in the event of an evacuation have been updated.
The plan has been updated in line with the proposals of line ministries and their subordinate authorities, the findings of the State Audit Office compliance audit report “Planning and Preparedness of the State Civil Protection System”, as well as the findings of the Hazard Management Exercise 2022.
The CP Plan also clarifies the information on the procedure for notifying the population through the public media. Citizens can receive information about the disaster or its threat, actions and measures to be taken through the following electronic mass media – Latvian Radio 1, Latvian Radio 2, Latvian Radio 3, Latvian Radio 4, Latvian Radio 5, Latvian Radio 6 (Radio Nab), Latvian Television LTV1 and LTV7, as well as “Re:TV” television and news agency LETA.
Prepared by:
Ministry of the Interior
Communication Department
e-mail: kn@iem.gov.lv