Riga, Oct 1 (LETA) - On Wednesday, the Riga municipality will start marking the first places of safe shelter, which are suitable for protecting the population in case of disasters and military threats, the Riga City Council external communications department informed LETA.

The marking of shelters will start at 10.00 a.m. at the kindergarten at Dzilnas Street 20 in the Dreilini neighborhood, as well as in the adjacent residential buildings with suitable basements.

In cooperation with the public authorities, work is continuing in Riga to check possible shelters. The municipality is now ready to start marking shelter locations in the city.

Signs will be placed in front of buildings whose basements have been assessed by the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) as fully or partially suitable for shelter purposes and will be publicly accessible during a threat.

These areas will not be open to the public on a daily basis, unless the purpose of the building and the premises require it, e.g. the basement of an educational establishment will only be open to staff and pupils on a daily basis and not to outside visitors.

Shelters can be created in the basements or underground floors of various structures, such as basements of residential buildings, underground car parks, etc.

Safe shelters should be located close to where people live in order to ensure that people reach the shelter as soon as possible after being informed of a threat.

As reported, on March 27, the Riga City Council unanimously adopted the new civil protection plan for the capital, which develops algorithms and provides specific advice on how to deal with various crisis situations, including a military threat.