RIGA, May 22 (LETA) - The provision of official shelters in Riga in the event of a drone threat is significantly worse than previously reported, according to information provided to members of the press on Friday by the leadership of the Riga City Council’s Committee on Security, Public Order, and Corruption Prevention.

In April of last year, Gints Reinsons, then-head of the Civil Protection and Operational Information Administration, reported to the Security, Public Order, and Corruption Prevention Committee that the capital’s shelters could accommodate slightly more than 200,000 residents.

However, at a press conference today, committee chair Girts Lapins (National Alliance) acknowledged that official shelters could accommodate a much smaller number of residents.

Currently, the Riga City Council is implementing a project to establish 146 shelters. The first shelters are expected to be ready in August or September. In total, these shelters will be able to accommodate approximately 52,000 people. The politician promised to do everything possible to increase the number of shelter spaces.

Given that most of these shelters are being set up in educational institutions, residents must understand that once classes begin, children and school staff will first seek safety in shelters located in schools and kindergartens, noted local government representatives.

Lapins could only urge residents to familiarize themselves with the established procedures for emergency situations and consider potential shelter locations.

At the same time, he emphasized that Riga currently faces no such threat, but given the situation in Latgale and elsewhere in the Baltic States, it is necessary to prepare for such a possibility.

As reported, local governments in Latvia’s eastern border region received warnings about potential airspace threats for three consecutive days this week. A drone actually entered Latvian airspace in only one instance, but it has not yet been located. Meanwhile, in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, reports of potential drone threats were issued on Wednesday, prompting residents to seek shelter in bomb shelters, access to which was significantly limited.