The opinions of residents of Daugavpils are divided – some believe there will be no war, some have a basement, but some will rely on others.
Jelena, a Daugavpilian: “I trust the employer to give some order and instructions what to do, but if it happens out of hours, then I'm not really sure.”
Ivars: “I have a basement in the countryside, but I don't know in the city – somewhere to hide. In a stairwell, I don't know.”
Andrejs: “If there's a war, it'll be bad for everyone. I think there will be no war. We'll run in the basement, (laughs) I guess so.”
Antonina: “I think if sirens start to sound, there will be some instructions where to go, how to get there, where the bunkers are.”
The municipality says booklets are available to the city Council explaining how to deal with a crisis situation. If crisis happened now, it would mostly rely on the army.
Deputy Executive Director of Daugavpils City Council Kārlis Rasis said that the municipality would coordinate all activities with the NBS which would indicate the routes of evacuation of people.
According to the civil protection plan of the Daugavpils Cooperation area, residents would be evacuated by public transport of the city. When it comes to shelters, 34 bunkers were built in Soviet times, but they are all practically in a state of emergency.
“A list of more than 700 sites that could be used for short-term shelter for residents has been drawn up. They are basements, they are the old bomb shelters, other structures,” Rasis noted.
In order to survey these sites, a committee will be set up to await the expert opinion.
The State Fire and Rescue Service has invited local governments to inform them about civil protection plans by February 20.
