Finland’s bunkers ready to shelter almost every citizen PHOTO

Finland has prepared bomb shelters for nearly all of its residents, highlighting the country’s long-standing focus on civil defence.

Of the 50,500 shelters built continuously since the 1939–1940 war with the Soviet Union, 4.8 million of Finland’s 5.5 million citizens could take refuge simultaneously, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media. 

By comparison, Germany, home to 84.7 million people, has shelters for just 480,000.

Finnish law requires every building over 1,200 square metres to have a reinforced basement. The largest shelter is in Helsinki, 20 metres underground, and can hold up to 6,000 people. Civil defence instructor and “shelter custodian” Tomi Raski said that it is designed to withstand a nuclear strike. The facility also generates revenue, housing a gym, children’s playground, ice hockey arena, and underground parking.

However, the shelters do not store food supplies. Residents are expected to bring their own essentials in an emergency, including three days’ worth of food, torches, batteries, sleeping mats and bags, medicines, hygiene items, iodine tablets, and, if possible, books and writing materials. “Down here, it’s really just about survival,” Raski explained.

In a first for Finnish lawmakers, parliament will hold drills in a specialised shelter in November as part of preparations for a potential conflict, amid heightened security concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland, which joined NATO in 2023 in response to growing threats from Russia, has also conducted a nationwide inventory of its shelters, most of which were found to be in satisfactory condition.

By Aghakazim Guliyev